When Arkansas voters go to the polls on Nov. 5, they'll be thinking about the issues that matter most to them. Veteran children's advocate Michael Petit has spent the last six months working hard to make sure that the well-being of the state's children is one of them.

For Petit, Arkansas is the first step in his effort to prove that children�the ultimate non-voters�can still be a powerful political constituency. The key to giving kids' issues clout, Petit believes, is using tools like polling, focus groups and targeted media to turn up the volume on those kids' issues voters are already concerned about.

A New Spin on an Old Strategy
The vehicle for testing Petit's theory is Every Child Matters, which began operating in Arkansas in May 2002, with four full-time employees�including founders Petit and associate Tom LaPointe�and nearly $1 million in foundation and private funds. The group plans to branch out into six more states by 2003 and every state in time to have a voice in the 2004 presidential elections.

The group selected Arkansas because it's a small state, with an affordable media market and well-defined children's needs: The state has the highest rate of substantiated child sexual abuse cases per 1,000 children in the nation, and rates of physical abuse and neglect that are above the national average. The state's tight Senate race between incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson and the Democratic challenger, Attorney General Mark Pryor was likely to generate national media attention as one that could determine control of the Senate in the next Congress.

Petit decided to launch Every Child Matters as the next step in a career that has spanned 30 years�and included heading Maine's Department of Human Services and serving as deputy director of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA).

Leaving CWLA�one of the best-known children's advocacy groups in the country�to start a fledgling nonprofit felt risky. But Petit says it was the only way to do the work he felt was most important. "As an advocate, I spent years going to Capitol Hill to urge legislators [to vote with kids in mind], only to be politely referred to a junior staff member who paid little very attention because there were no consequences."

CWLA and other advocacy groups are limited in their ability to get involved in politics�their IRS tax status determines whether they can endorse or oppose political candidates, or take stands on certain issues. Among the groups that can get political, few have the funding or outreach capability to attract much media attention.

Petit hopes Every Child Matters, based in Washington, DC, can change all that. For now, the group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, like CWLA, and its work in Arkansas is limited to raising voters' awareness. But before the end of this month, Petit plans to launch a branch of Every Child Matters in another state under 501(c)4 IRS status�freeing the group to focus more directly on candidates' positions.

The strategies behind Every Child Matters aren't new, but Petit believes this is the first time they've been applied to children's issues on this scale. Modeled after the League of Conservation Voters, Every Child Matters has used a public opinion poll, print and radio ads, and forums across the state to remind voters to keep kids in mind.

"Our work starts with the idea of making children's needs more visible in the political process," says Petit. "It continues by holding members of Congress accountable on their votes on kids' issues, and culminates in the adoption of a more progressive policy agenda for children and families."

Harnessing the Power of Politics�for Kids' Sake
For Petit and the staff of Every Child Matters, the connection between kids and the rough-and-tumble of electoral politics is simple: Children's well-being depends not only on good parents but on safe, supportive communities, quality child care and strong schools�and these require government involvement.

"Whether it's funding the GI bill, social security or efforts reducing infant mortality, when the government, says, 'This is a priority,' then people's lives get better," says Petit.

Janine Parry, assistant professor of political science at the University of Arkansas, has been following the group's work. She agrees that government plays a critical role in children's well-being�but that may not always be clear to the public. "Dealing with an individual child is one thing. We all do the best we can there. But thinking in a longer-term community-wide way is sometimes more difficult, especially if it means � [making] an investment, or paying more taxes to support somebody else's kids in schools, hospitals, day care centers or at home," she says.

"I think Americans have a propensity to think of kids and families as private issues, and that's reflected in our lower-than-average social welfare spending, compared with our industrialized peers," says Parry

Connecting Candidates and Kids
For Every Child Matters, the first step was gauging public support. "You have to commit to an idea where there's a felt need," says Petit. "[Then, ask] what's the problem? How do we know it's a problem, what do the numbers say? That's the elementary first step."

In May 2002, Every Child Matters contracted with an independent polling firm to carry out a public opinion poll of Arkansas voters. The poll asked 802 adults about their political priorities, and what they saw as government's role in combating social problems.

Respondents were asked whether they'd support reductions in promised tax cuts if the money went towards programs to reduce child abuse, boost health care coverage, or increase access to child care or after-school programs for kids at risk. In each example, 60 percent or more said they would support shifting funds from tax cuts to these types of programs. (The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.)

Petit and his colleagues were surprised and encouraged by what they found: Eighty-six percent of those polled said children's health and well-being should be the top political priority in the upcoming election. On the other hand, most were unsure where their candidates stood on children's issues.

When asked to rank several political issues�including reducing crime, improving the economy, and adding prescription drug coverage under Medicare�respondents selected education and preventing child abuse and neglect as the top two concerns; fighting terrorism was third.

With the poll results in hand, the next step was generating publicity. The group held a press conference at the state house to broadcast the findings, inviting pediatricians, clergy and others to speak. They also hosted a public forum on child abuse and neglect.

"We had to develop skills around the use of the media in all its forms to deliver a straight-forward message that people get, that is not only intelligent but has emotional power. The press is good at doing that," says Petit.

Every Child Matters spent $50,000 on its advertising, which ran in July and August, reminding voters to "tell the politicians to protect our children" and to find out where elected officials stand on proposals affecting kids and families.

Holding Their Feet to the Fire
Within a few months, the group had generated enough visibility�through its own ads and independent newspaper columns and press coverage�that Petit was able to arrange in-person meetings with all six members of the Arkansas Congressional delegation, several officials from the governor's office and other state and local politicians.

In addition to attracting the attention of candidates and incumbents, Every Child Matters has received positive responses from voters who have seen the ads or attended the public forums.

And the campaigns of the two Senate candidates have been paying attention, too. Michael Teague, press director for challenger Pryor, says he has seen the ads, and their visibility has kept children's issues in the minds of campaign staff. "What Every Child Matters has done is not allow these issues to go away," he says.

"Their willingness to insert themselves into Congressional and senate races in a public way is different than other groups, like Children's Defense Fund. Their tactics are different, and by not being partisan � they have been effective in raising children's concerns to the forefront, " says D.J. O'Brien, communications director for Senator Hutchinson. "They help remind us that constituents and voters also have the well-being of kids in mind."

Petit says he's optimistic that the bipartisan public education work in Arkansas will help make children a high-stakes political issue.

"There are millions of people who work in the field of children's advocacy, and tens of millions of parents," says Petit. "Legislators are the best mathematicians in America, they know better than anyone what the numbers mean."

For More Information To learn more about Every Child that Matters, the public opinion poll, or how you can help make children's issues more visible in your state, visit http://www.everychildmatters.org.

Michael Petit will answer specific questions about taking action. You can reach him via an email to mpetit@everychildmatters.org.

Connect for Kids has more tools and resources to help you get active in our Kids and Politics feature.

Talk Back

If you've got comments or questions about this story, we'd like to hear them. Send your response to Caitlin Johnson.

---

Caitlin Johnson is a senior writer at Connect for Kids.