Spark the Debate: An Electoral Tool Kit. What State and Local Child Advocates Need To Know for Election 2000 and Beyond.

Noting that the national, state, and local elections in 2000 provide an important opportunity for child advocates nationwide to make their message known, this kit is designed to assist child advocates in their electoral advocacy efforts. The kit includes questions for candidates, ideas for action within individual communities and states, voter statistics, public opinion information on children's issues, and resources related to advocacy. Section 1 of the kit provides tips for posing questions to candidates and lists sample questions in the following areas: (1) general children's issues; (2) child health; (3) child welfare; (4) early care and education; (5) devolution/welfare reform; and (6) juvenile justice/prevention. Section 2 presents statistics and facts to use with candidates on education, the family, health care, race, welfare and poverty, crime, and child care. Section 3 details techniques that child advocates have found effective in the past and suggests ways to connect nonpartisan politics to children's policy. Section 4 discusses what nonprofit organizations registered as 501(c)(3) organizations can legally do, including lobbying and election-related activity on the Internet, and federal law governing election-related advocacy. Section 5 provides statistics on voter registration, demographics, and voter turnout. Section 6 delineates the number of openings in each state for the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, and governors; describes each state's term limits; and discusses the problems with term limits. Section 7 discusses strategies for following up and monitoring elected officials by analyzing governors' first budgets or whether the implementation of programs follows candidates' promises. Section 8 lists resources. (KB)