OPRA Advocacy Army
Why Now?
OPRA’s provider community has done an outstanding job of protecting the people they support and their staff from COVID-19, but the pandemic exacerbated a pre-existing workforce crisis, threatening the safety net of services for Ohioans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). More than ever, OPRA Members are willing to commit their time and resources to advocate with their state and federal elected officials for their services, their staff, and the people they support. In order to capitalize on the Membership's energy, OPRA developed Advocacy Army to arm providers, families, and Ohioans with I/DD with the skills and knowledge of how to be effective legislative advocates.
The Advocacy Army Curriculum
The Advocacy Army curriculum is an interactive experience that combines in-person training, webinars, and scheduled visits with state legislators. The curriculum combines lectures from the OPRA team, active learning exercises, and presentations from system partners.
Topics:
| State and Federal Advocacy | The Legislative Process | Planning and Hosting Effective Legislative Meetings |
| Building Effective Narratives | Mapping Relationships | The Role of the OPRA PAC |
Who Should Participate?
The Advocacy Army curriculum is designed to be taken by teams of up to five representatives from an OPRA Provider Member. Representatives can include agency administrators, frontline supervisors or direct support professionals (DSPs), people served by the agency, and families served by the agency. Each participant is expected to participate in each in-person training session and webinar.
Training Location, Dates, and Times
This training will be held biennially. The next Advocacy Army training is scheduled to begin in 2024.
*In-person training may be switched to Zoom depending on the state of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
