What are legislators currently doing to address your selected advocacy priorities for a vulnerable population? Are there current policies in place? Are there current policies proposed at either the state or federal level? What are the most obvious strengths and weaknesses of these policies as they relate to your advocacy priority? What might need to change? Legislators Address Advocacy Priorities

Advocates are Priorities for Legislators

Members of Congress as well as state legislators play an important role in shaping policies which affect vulnerable groups. These legislators may be responsible for passing laws and allocating funding that address issues specific to these populations, like access to education, healthcare, or housing. Barone and colleagues, 2019, suggest that legislators may engage in advocacy to increase awareness of issues impacting vulnerable populations as well as to support policies to address them. Legislators may also work in partnership with advocates and other stakeholders in order to propose and develop policies that are responsive to the needs and wants of such groups. These policies have strengths and limitations depending on their specific implementation. Although some policies are effective in meeting the needs of vulnerable groups, other policies could be unintended or insufficient to meet their full potential. To address shortcomings and respond to changing requirements, it may be necessary for policies to be revised or updated over time (Russell and al. 2020). Cont…