Systemic Advocacy

CCDC systemic advocacy focuses on changing systems which affect the daily lives of people with disabilities. While we do some work in
local communities and join our national allies in contacting our federal officials on national issues, most of our systemic work is on a
statewide level. Our systemic advocacy occurs in both the Legislative and Executive branches of government. When we need to involve
the third branch of government (Judicial), our Legal Program becomes involved. Our systems advocacy issues are chosen the following
ways:

• The calls we get through our individual advocacy program inform us about systemic problems. The issues people bring to us shows us broken systems where reform is needed.
• We gather with our systems advocates and colleagues several times a year to prioritize which issues are most critical. CCDC believes in the power of coalition, so often we will not work on issues if they are being covered by other organizations.
• Our strategic plan guides our priority issues and values. The plan is reviewed quarterly by the board of directors and updated every three to five years with broad input from the membership and staff.
• Systems Advocacy work involves attending policy related meetings including formal boards and commissions, informal work groups, showing up at the state capitol, and grassroots organizing. Systems organizing can be done on a local or statewide level and most meetings have a phone in options to facilitate rural participation. If you’d like to participate in our Systems Advocacy work, you will need to take the Basic Advocacy Training. This 10 week class provides basic information on advocacy as well as the systems we encounter. You also will be paired with a mentor upon completion. In order to be a certified advocate and represent CCDC, this class is required. If you are interested in the class, please contact our Director of Training Angela Nevin at anevin@ccdconline.org.

Our advocacy efforts are always focused on creating independence and equality for people with disabilities. Our advocacy embraces our values and our motto: Nothing About Us Without Us!