2021 NFP SITE VISIT WEEK TOOLKIT

This page will be updated as Site Visit Week approaches. We encourage you to save this as a bookmark to your browser for ease of reference. Please reach out with any questions.

 

Background and Issues

Each August, federal legislators head back to their district offices for a month-long congressional recess, providing us with the perfect time to invite them to learn more about NFP in their hometowns. While the Congressional Calendars are always in flux, members of Congress should be back home in their districts for much of August

To take advantage of this opportunity, the NFP-NSO created NFP National Site Visit Week in 2016. This is a week dedicated to educating policy makers about the positive impact NFP is having on their community and provides the opportunity for NFP Network Partners to be involved in gaining much-deserved recognition. NFP Site Visit Week has grown into a successful nationwide effort and we hope to make it easy for every Network Partner to participate.

Network Partners should plan to discuss NFP’s 2021 Public Policy Priorities, including reauthorization of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, as well as the impact that NFP makes in their local communities and lawmakers’ district(s). You can prepare for meetings with materials with the 2021 NFP Federal Legislative Agenda and other materials that describe how NFP impacts communities, including case studies, anecdotes, and stories submitted by NFP graduates as starting points.

It’s crucial that federal lawmakers hear about the funding that the MIECHV program provides for developing and implementing your evidence-based home visiting programs, and the need to increase MIECHV funding to a total of $1.4 billion by 2027, including reauthorizing MIECHV by the end of FY2022. Congress should also expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from the current 60 days to 365 days postpartum to help reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, among other changes to this critical program. 

Below you will find planning materials, including a guide to scheduling meetings by inviting members of Congress to for in-person or virtual site visits using invitation templates, written materials and videos to help you understand the legislative process and prepare for your meetings, sample social media posts to promote Congressional meetings, talking points and more.

 

Who Is Site Visit Week For?

Site Visit Week is not just limited to federal legislators! Our network partners are welcome to invite state and local elected officials and other community leaders. Our materials are geared toward the U.S. House and Senate, but they can be easily adapted for other elected offices. Positive conversations and established relationships on the state and local level will provide Network Partners with benefits for years to come.

The Toolkit

Scheduling Meetings

[1] Find Your Members of Congress

  • Click on the link above
  • Enter the address of your office into the search bar
  • You'll see your two U.S. Senators and your Representative in the House
  • You can click on the name of your member of the House to see what
  • Congressional District your office is in
  • Then…

[2] Find Their Scheduling Staff

  • Once you identify your Members of Congress and your Congressional District, you can search the document above (linked) to find their names and identify who their scheduler is
  • Note the scheduler's name, email address, and job title
  • Then…

[3] Send the First Email Inviting Your Members of Congress

  • With the information gleaned from the above (linked) document, copy and paste the sample email into your own draft email
  • Fill in the red bolded blanks of this email template to customize it to your state and offices’ details
  • Send three versions of that email, one to each of your U.S. Senator's schedulers, and a third to your House representative

[4] Send a Follow-Up Email One Week After Your Invitation

  • Copy and paste the second linked, sample email as a reply to your original email, if you haven’t heard back from any of the three offices you emailed
  • Fill in the red bolded blanks of this email template to customize it to your state and offices’ details
  • Send the customized follow-up to your representative’s scheduler

[5] Send a "Two Weeks Away!" Reminder Email

  • Copy and paste the "Two Weeks Away" linked, sample email as a reply to your original email. This can be customized and sent regardless if you have a meeting officially on the calendar or not. This 2-week reminder is a great nudge!
  • Fill in the red bolded blanks of this email template to customize it to your state and offices’ details
  • Send the customized follow-up to your representative’s scheduler

[6] Send a "Thank You" Email to Your Policymaker(s)

  • Copy and paste the "Thank You" linked, sample email into your own draft email to your policymaker and/or their staff members.
  • Fill in the red bolded blanks of this email template to customize it to your state and offices’ details
  • Send the customized to thank your representative for their time and to further foster the relationship!

 

Preparing for Meetings

 

Share Your NFP Story!

  • Involve Your Advocates by collecting video & written stories. This can be a great option for those who are not able to make an in-person or virtual event work this year, or this can be a tool to include recorded messages or written stories as part of your meeting with a policymaker.

 

Video Library

 

If you have any questions regarding any of the provided materials or how to go about setting up your Site Visit Week meeting(s), please reach out to your GAM by emailing pga@nursefamilypartnership.org.