How 5 Milwaukee Fellows Learned to Advocate for Change

The Parents Advocating for Child Care (PACC) Fellowship was an 8-month paid program that taught parents and caregivers of young children how to champion for change in the early childhood sector. Organized by the Wisconsin Partnership, the program involved several local cohorts throughout the state, including Milwaukee Succeeds.

Beginning in November of 2020, 20 parents from across Wisconsin began meeting virtually to learn more about how child care works – and how it could work better. These monthly meetings were supplemented by local trainings at the county level, as well as coaching sessions and independent assignments. Milwaukee Succeeds oversaw five fellows with varying levels of advocacy and ECE knowledge, guiding their training and helping them get the most from their experience.

The trainings covered topics ranging from how policy works to how to influence decision-makers, ultimately teaching participants how to advocate for issues that matter to them and how to utilize data to support their ideas. Fellows graduated in June of 2021, with all five Milwaukee parents – and 95% of all participants – completing the program.

Based on pre and post survey data, after the program participants felt more knowledgeable on child care, better understood how the government works, and were more comfortable acting as advocates for change. Milwaukee participants even put this knowledge to use by sending letters to state representatives advocating for an increase in state ECE funds.

“It’s given me a greater respect for those who do larger advocacy projects,” says Milwaukee PACC Fellow Quintoya Eskridge. “It’s also given me a lot to work with – knowing how to write to people, what to say, and different ways to get their attention. It’s been very insightful around things I can do to try to help my community.”