Adapted from: 2005, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. All rights reserved.

MOAMFT Legislative Meeting Structure

A face-to-face meeting with your member of the Missouri Legislature or the Legislative Assistant who handles health care issues is often the best way to voice your concerns. Meetings with your legislator can take place in the members' state or regional offices Both locations are effective sites for getting your message across to the appropriate audience.    

To be a successful communicator during meetings with a legislator and/or legislative staff, it is helpful to follow a set meeting structure. Below is a step-by-step model meeting for an MAMFT group and/or one-on-one meeting with a legislator and/or legislative staff:

1. PRE-MEETING

·        Be prepared for legislative meetings to last 15 minutes or less and to be held

     anywhere from a small office in the Capitol, to a crowded hallway in a legislative

     office building.

·        Meeting participants should strive to arrive to the meeting 5-15 minutes early for

     a last minute review of the meeting talking points, speaking order and to get

     comfortable with the surroundings.

·        Be ready for the legislator not to attend your meeting at the last moment and

     pass the meeting responsibilities onto his/her staff - staff may be young, but they

     have a great deal of influence on a legislator's health care policy pursuits.

2. INTRODUCTIONS

·        To conduct a successful presentation it is important to plan your introduction ahead of time. The introduction should include a description of your marriage and family therapy focus area (i.e. - clinical, research, or MFT student). Also, take this time to thank the legislator for his/her past support on MOAMFT's legislative priorities or to request his/her support on MOAMFT priorities, when appropriate.

·        If you attend your meeting in a group, it is best for the legislator's actual constituent to lead the group presentation, especially the introductions. (This can also apply to a group member having a personal relationship with a particular legislator) A "hometown connection" gives the meeting added relevance.

·        Contact MOAMFT Legislative Chair for assistance if needed

3. BACKGROUND ON MAMFT

·        Some legislators may not be familiar with the MOAMFT, its mission and its membership. It is crucial to always provide basic details about the organization immediately following your introduction.

• Emphasize the extent of MFTs' education and post-graduate experience!

4. STATISTICS & PERSONAL STORIES

• Legislators and their staff are very impressed by statistics, especially statistics that are relevant to their home district and/or state. To get their immediate attention, it is recommended that you provide them with any facts you may have to enhance the presentation of your requests and to add relevancy to the issues you are discussing.

·        Get personal with the legislator and describe, for example, stories about clients/patients whose care is being affected by a lack of Medicare or insurance MFT recognition.

 5. REQUEST

·        At this point in the meeting, you need to succinctly present your legislative priorities. This should include the MOAMFT priority issues: Scope of Practice inclusion of “diagnosis,” Medicaid recognition of MFTs, etc. Remember that when presenting MOAMFT legislative priorities, it is important to focus on the patient benefits resulting from those requests.

·        If you are part of a group, the specific MOAMFT issues can be divided up amongst group members based on which members feel most comfortable discussing particular issues. But all group members should feel free to provide input on every issue even if he/she is not leading the meeting.

·        Please remember to be clear and concise.

 6. CONCLUSION

·        At the end of the meeting, thank the legislator or staffer for his/her time, ask for a commitment of support on the issues you are discussing, and if applicable, convey that you would be happy to serve as a resource to the legislator on mental health policy.

·        Provide the legislator or his/her staff with your individual contact information preferably in the form of a business card. You may also want to indicate whether or not you would be interested in providing the legislator with a tour of your practice.

·        If meeting in a group, your group should have designated a "closer" for the presentation who says most, if not all of the closing statements listed above.

 In order to be effective on legislative visits, it is essential to have an organized and polished presentation.

 Legislative Meetings are Like a Performance...

1. Start out with a strong opening and continue to hold an audience's interest until a strong closing:

2. Your audience has a limited amount of time, so you need to keep your performance within a specific timeframe;

3. Provide your audience with adequate detail so that they can easily follow the "plot" or message of your performance;

4. During the performance you need to connect with them in some way, preferably by relaying personal stories and experiences that draw on the audience's interests;

5. All of the players within your group should contribute to make the performance whole.