Bring the Vote Home Step 2: Prepare for Legislator’s Visit at Your Client’s Home

​From now through November, home care agencies across the country are ​inviting elected officials into the homes of clients (their constituents!) to learn about home care as part of HCAOA’s Bring the Vote Home campaign. Once you’ve identified and invited the legislator, it’s time to get ready for the visit. HCAOA put together a simple checklist to help you prepare…

Once the staff/legislator has agreed to a visit, here is a checklist to prepare:

• Have the client/representative sign a permission and photo release form.
• Provide the legislator will background information on the client/constituent and family. Make certain to include any background on the family, such as a daughter who happens to be the school superintendent, or a father of a local council woman, etc. Also, are there any pets in the house? Where will the visit take place? Outside on porch, in a living room, at the kitchen table?
• Make sure you provide an advanced copy of HCAOA’s “State of Home Care: Industry at a Crossroads” report to the legislator. Email [email protected] to order hard copies.
• Send background information on the legislator to your client and family.
• Send a confirmation email to the legislator’s staff indicating the date/time and address of the client/constituent.
• Determine who from your organization will be part of this visit. The most important people to include are the home care aide, the client and a member of their family, and the owner/director of the home care agency. Make certain to keep the group small. Think of this as a small group of visitors coming to see the client.
• Designate one person to begin the conversation. A sample of how the visit discussion should go is provided here.

 
Click here to visit the Bring the Vote Home website, which includes the full guidebook and downloadable templates of all the materials.