Your Voice Matters: A Practitioner's Guide for Engaging in Policy through Advocacy

In early care and education (ECE), including early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE), professionals regularly express a love for the individualized nature of the work with children and families as a large reason why they enter this workforce. This article aims to provide ECE professionals supporting young children with disabilities and their families with foundational knowledge of systems, strategies, and processes for engaging in educational policy and advocacy. Specifically, the authors (a) discuss policy impacts on systems and practices, (b) summarize foundations for understanding policy, and (c) provide a scaffolded approach for ECE professionals to begin engaging in policy and advocacy through dipping a toe in, wading in, or diving in to support a range of engagement styles, resources, and levels of understanding. This introductory article provides foundational knowledge and a range of opportunities for engaging with policy. By engaging with advocacy to influence policy, ECE professionals are not only enacting professional and ethical obligations but are also impacting systems that have long-term influence on the lives of young children and their families.