ࡱ> -/,M bjbj== "WW l~~~~~~~VVV8 2(******$ N~N ~~c   4~~( ( $ . r(T~~( @OrV|(y0 ( ~~~~ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICES GUIDELINES FOR THE PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE MISSION: To advance human services in Howard County BACKGROUND ACS advances human services in Howard County by offering organizations and individuals the information, support, training, education and connections they need to operate successfully, provide services more efficiently, inform the community about their services and address pressing human services issues. According to the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, Advocacy is a natural mission for nonprofit organizations and a role that must be protected and strengthened. Nonprofit advocacy is critical in preserving public confidence in the policy-making process. As a member organization, ACS has the advantage of being able to advocate for human services without the appearance of being self-serving for any given type of service. POLICY It is the policy of ACS to advocate on behalf of the needs of the constituents of public, for-profit and non-profit human service providers serving Howard County. Advocacy will occur with the general public and with elected and public officials at a local, state and/or national level as appropriate. The Public Policy Committee is responsible, with approval of the Board, for developing and communicating ACS response to community issues, legislation and public agency budgets. GUIDELINES ACS endeavors to assure that all public policy and advocacy efforts are in the best interest of human services recipients and providers. ACS identifies strategic priority issues that will guide public policy efforts. The Public Policy Committee acts within the identified strategic priorities. Action on all other issues of interest requires Board approval. Public Policy activities include but are not limited to: Identifying strategic issues for human services in Howard County Convening public forums with elected and other public officials and other community groups and leaders to promote dialog between the officials, the human service community and constituents Providing community-wide education on health and human service issues. Educating and encouraging members to participate in advocacy Monitoring and advocating for legislation integral to the priority issues and determining ACS positions on legislation Monitoring state and county budgets Informing ACS members of legislative activities and opportunities for advocacy Preparing testimony and/or testifying at hearings Individual members may request that ACS support or oppose bills specific to that organizations programs. ACSs response to such requests will be based on the possible impact of the position on the whole human service community. Advocacy for issues not related to the Board approved priority issues must receive Board approval before any public position is taken. ACS may take one of four positions in responding to community issues: support, support with amendments, oppose and no position. In presenting policy positions, ACS will not single out any individual or entity unless it is essential to convey the position. "#PZ&I}d o CJ B*ph 0JB*ph6]5\"#NOP}d o H  P T   & Fd[$ & Fd[$ & Fdx[$dd[$\$$a$ , { $a$ & Fdx[$ & Fdx[$ & Fd[$ 1h/ =!"#$% i8@8 NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH J@J Heading 1$dd@&[$\$5B*\ph2@2 Heading 2$@&5\<A@< Default Paragraph Font*>@* Title$a$5\0J@0 Subtitle$a$5\:^@: Normal (Web)dd[$\$"W@!" Strong5\,@2, Header  !, B, Footer  !>B@R> Body Textdd[$\$ B*ph "#NOP}doHP T , {     000000000000}0}0 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0d 0 0 0 0@0 0              Nancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.docNancy S. Weber\C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of Public Policy Guidelines.asdNancy S. Weber\C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of Public Policy Guidelines.asdNancy S. Weber\C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of Public Policy Guidelines.asdNancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.docNancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.docNancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.docNancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.docNancy S. Weber0C:\My Documents\ACS\Public Policy Guidelines.doc Anne Towne?I:\Brenda\Committees\Public Policy\Public Policy Guidelines.docFzT JzT;\zTR5u|Z ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o pp^p`OJQJo( @ @ ^@ `OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o PP^P`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(^`QJo(o pp^p`OJQJo( @ @ ^@ `OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o PP^P`OJQJo(^`QJo(o ^`OJQJo(o pp^p`OJQJo( @ @ ^@ `OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo( ^`OJQJo(o PP^P`OJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(opp^p`CJOJQJo(@ @ ^@ `CJOJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(^`CJOJQJo(PP^P`CJOJQJo(R5u;\F J&Hr        &Hr~JB        6        -t5tp4jn|Sr( @d P@UnknownG:Times New Roman5Symbol3& :Arial?5 :Courier New;Wingdings"qhKFKFKF !r0d@ 2Q!ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICESNancy S. Weber Anne Towne Oh+'0 ,8 T ` l x"ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICESosSSONancy S. WeberCancancNormal. 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