Technical Assistance

SEPAC Membership & Technical Assistance

 

SEPAC members are eligible to receive a wide range of technical assistance support from SIECUS to enact their vision for sex education. Technical assistance looks different for each member depending on the goals of the organization.

 

All SEPAC members are able to benefit from basic Technical Assistance services from SIECUS. SEPAC members requiring more tailored support may work with SIECUS to develop a technical assistance project plan at the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level.

 

Basic Technical Assistance (Included with SEPAC Membership)

• SIECUS staff join state coalition calls, providing legislative updates;

• Work with your policy staff as a think-partner for policy and coalition strategy;

• Support or promotion of state/local action alerts , submit organizational sign-on’s, and provide public comment;

• General message development and strategic and crisis communications support;

• Support creating sex ed advocacy resources, factsheets development;

• Providing webinars or presentations on federal or state legislative landscapes or state of sex ed policy;

• Support using national organizational relationships to help SEPAC member build local power & movement;

• Eligibility for microgrant opportunities;

• Advocacy trainings.

 

Fee-Based Technical Assistance

​As a SEPAC member, you are able to receive additional, customized and tailored support for state/local advocacy for comprehensive sex education policies. These Technical Assistance levels are tier based, and were developed as a starting point for members to consider given their history of CSE efforts, capacity of organizations, and the desired engagement of SIECUS staff.

 

SIECUS is aware of the financial realities that many organizations face. SIECUS does not want cost to be prohibitive to engaging in SEPAC and/or Technical Assistance. As such, we are happy to offer a sliding scale for each level of Technical Assistance, as requested. If needed, SIECUS can also work with you to develop a fundraising plan that would enable the SEPAC member and its sub-grantee (SIECUS) to be supported to achieve success. Please do not hesitate to ask for more information about SEPAC cost by contacting us at SEPAC@siecus.org.​

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SEPAC Silver Level

 

 All of the above membership benefits, plus up to 15 hours of customized assistance from SIECUS staff around issues of your choosing. Assistance can be provided via phone, email, and video conference. This level might be right for you if you have been working in an established coalition on sex ed or related topics but you are looking for occasional ad-hoc support. This level may also be right for you if you have limited experience in policy advocacy around sex education and are not yet ready to engage in an in-depth process to advance legislation. You’d like occasional, tailored assistance in supporting or opposing efforts related to adolescent reproductive and sexual health in your state. 

• TA included in General SEPAC membership;

• Coalition building & development, including relational organizing;

• State legislator engagement and vote tracking;

• Draft legislation at the state or local level for introduction;

• Tailored message development and strategic and crisis communications support;

• Basic environmental scan, including identify key champions, opponents, and allies to sex education policy advancement;

• Act as a subject matter expert for legislative and executive branch meetings;

• Brainstorm other opportunities to advance sex education policy outside the legislature (eg. school boards, State Board of Education, public health departments, etc.);

• Support advocacy event planning.

 

SEPAC Gold Level

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    All of the above, plus 50 hours of customized assistance from SIECUS staff. This level of assistance will allow for more intensive project-based guidance and may be right for you if you have been working in coalition on sex education or related legislation but you feel less secure about your organization’s capacity on this front. This level of membership will provide consistent, ongoing support to help you take regular action that uses your resources most wisely and helps to build partnerships and staff expertise on the policy front.

 

• TA included in General SEPAC membership and Silver Level support;

• Support state-level power mapping, including assessing strategies, opportunities and threats in the current political environment;

• SWOT analysis of political environment and organizational readiness to activate on opportunities;

• Meeting directly with state legislators and champions; 

• Draft policy, analyze policy, and review policy for opportunities to engage in proactive or reactive response strategies;

• Power mapping beyond analyzing voting data to do deeper local power map analysis;

• Providing workshops or trainings on how to work with and develop relationships with state agencies and education departments in this political environment.

 

SEPAC Platinum Level 

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    All of the above, plus 100 hours of customized assistance from SIECUS staff. This level of assistance will allow for regular, ongoing, structured communication and assistance and may be right for you if you do not have a solid coalition and/or plan for passing sex education legislation in the state. With this level of membership, you will receive intensive help in creating an in depth strategic plan to pass legislation, including coalition-building strategy. SIECUS anticipates working with partners at this membership level for at least two-three years in order to honor the time necessary to build partnerships, cultivate policy makers, etc.

 

• TA included in General SEPAC membership, Silver and Gold Level support;

• Provide long-term assistance such as statewide strategic framing and campaign planning;

• Support local-level power mapping, including assessing strategies, opportunities and threats in the current political environment. This includes conducting focus groups, surveys, individual interviews, etc to compile data into a strategic campaign plan;

• Meeting directly with state legislators and champions or leading member lobbying efforts;

• Tracking and analysis of key, substantive, and controversial policy issues related to sex education; 

• Providing support for advancing culturally responsive sex education for sexual and racial minorities; or other similar topics as identified and/or suggested by member.

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Request Technical Assistance