Public Policy

As the statewide membership organization for Florida’s 34 local United Ways, the United Way of Florida works in many ways to achieve its mission: “…to enhance Florida United Ways’ efforts to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another.”  One of the primary ways in which the United Way of Florida fulfills this mission is through effective participation in public policy at the state and nation levels.

Through their funding and community building efforts, Florida’s local United Ways are an integral part of Florida’s human service system.  Focusing on education, income, and health, they are engaged in myriad ways to improve the quality of life for everyone in their communities and across the Sunshine State.  The United Way of Florida represents the interests of Florida’s United Ways on legislative and regulatory issues relating to education, income, and health, and also on general issues impacting the nonprofit community and those related to disaster preparation, recovery, and response.

The United Way of Florida also works in concert with United Way Worldwide on issues of importance to United Ways, the communities we serve and other nonprofits on education, income, and health issues, among others.  Visit the United Way Worldwide website to review their public policy positions for the 111th Congress.

The United Way of Florida’s 2012 Florida United Way Consensus Legislative Agenda, represents the first time Florida’s United Ways have joined together in a unified effort to advocate for legislative issues of critical importance to the communities they serve throughout the state.  It  includes guiding principles urging Florida Legislators to use a scalpel if the budget needs cutting, to maximize federal revenues, to support the authority of local government and communities to determine the best use of resources, and to focus on prevention.

The Agenda targets three United Way priority issues.  First, it urges the 2012 Florida Legislature to create a comprehensive background screening system that, while ensuring protection of vulnerable populations, does not excessively burden volunteers, employers and employees and does not impede the ability of well-meaning volunteers and legitimate nonprofit agencies to provide critically needed assistance to people in their communities.  Second, it asks the 2012 Legislature to maximize funding for Community Based Care for the Elderly and Home Care for the Elderly.  Lastly, it urges Legislators to provide greater access to high quality school readiness programs for Florida’s children.

Supporting these three issues will ensure that volunteerism can continue to thrive, the elderly can live with dignity and with less cost to the state, and our future work force will be improved.  At the same time, they will save taxpayer costs for nursing home placements, juvenile justice, crime fighting, corrections, education and more.  A win-win for everyone!

To find out what is happening on these and other issues during the legislative session, read the United Way of Florida’s Legislative Link.

One of the highlights of each legislative session is Children’s Week.  This celebration of Florida’s children draws nearly 5,000 children, parents, advocates, teachers, and others to the Florida Capitol each year to celebrate children and highlight the critical issues they face.  From prenatal care to juvenile justice, from quality early care and education to transition out of the child welfare system, and from health care to afterschool care, Children’s Week provides a forum for all Floridians to show their support for our most precious natural resource: our children.

With its focus on education, income, and health, the United Way of Florida provides important public policy support for all of the issues promoted during Children’s Week.  But the policy support that the United Way of Florida provides to its members and United Way community partners throughout the state extends far beyond that, and touches on issues impacting the elderly, 2-1-1, the developmentally disabled, hunger, volunteerism, and much more.  Our work supports the efforts of your local United Way to help us Live United.

To access the Florida Legislature’s website, which contains information regarding all legislation filed during a particular legislative session, together with information regarding legislators, committees, calendars, staff and much more, visit Online Sunshine.

We need your help!  The United Way of Florida and Florida’s nonprofits need people in every sector of the community and from all walks of life to engage in the public policy arena to make sure that legislators know where you stand on issues of importance to you, your family, your community and your business.  The United Way of Florida has drafted a Communicating with Policy Makers: A Toolkit document, describing the legislative process and providing helpful tips on how you can be most effective in contacting and raising the awareness of legislators regarding the issues important to you.