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Advocating for Children's Safety: Georgia Child Care Association

MEDIA RELATIONS AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

Across the state of Georgia, fly-by-night operators were opening up summer camps, drawing in parents with promises of affordable summer activities for kids. But many of these operators weren’t following state safety rules because they were technically exempt under state law, putting children at risk of injury, abuse — even death.

The camps were supposed to notify parents that they’re exempt from state safety laws, but many buried the notification in the fine print, leaving most parents in the dark and kids at risk . The Georgia Child Care Association, the non-profit member

The camps were supposed to notify parents that they’re exempt from state safety laws, but many buried the notification in the fine print, leaving most parents in the dark and kids at risk .

The Georgia Child Care Association, the non-profit membership organization serving as the voice of Georgia’s licensed child care providers, hired us to help educate parents and keep kids safe.

In addition, the Association faced two other pressing communications challenges:

Their members — daycare centers across the state — regularly needed to communicate with their communities and the media about local crises, but were cobbling responses together independently on an ad hoc basis. That often resulted in inaccurate information, untimely responses and negative media coverage.

And the Association faced challenges on the legislative front. They needed more funding for classroom supplies and operations, but struggled to be heard amid all the interests vying state legislators’ attention.

[SOLUTIONS]

[SOLUTIONS]

To make parents and communities aware of the danger posed by unlicensed camps, we conducted media outreach to successfully shape and place stories about these camps and how parents can protect their children.

We developed a crisis communications strategy and customized response handbook for members to use in responding to local crises. The handbook included a step-by-step guide to crisis communications response, tailored to the needs of childcare center operators with models to apply to commonly encountered situations.

We conducted legislative advocacy, crafting the messages and communications to get the Association’s needs considered at the Capitol. Our work included messaging research, communications strategy and media outreach, utilizing our extensive network of media contacts to get the story out.

[RESULTS]

[RESULTS]

We successfully placed stories on the dangers of unlicensed summer camps in outlets including the state’s leading TV investigative team and largest newspaper.

Association members put our customized crisis communications handbook into action responding to local crises, resulting in improved communication with parents, increased community trust, less negative media coverage — and more positive impressions.

And we helped the Association tell their story at the Capitol, winning an additional $1 million for pre-K classroom supply funding and ensuring proposed funding bills provided equitable support to all providers.