ICAPA Network · Legislative Advocacy Library
Legislative Advocacy
A self-guided educational library for survivors, advocates, and concerned citizens who want to turn their passion into policy. Six modules. Real tools. Real examples from the campaigns that changed federal law.
Knowledge is the foundation of every successful campaign.
The ICAPA Legislative Advocacy Library is a free, open-access educational resource designed to equip anyone, regardless of background, with the tools to engage lawmakers, understand the legislative process, and advocate for the protection of vulnerable youth.
Each module builds on the last, taking you from the foundations of government all the way through running a full legislative campaign: media strategy, coalition building, testimony, press conferences, and everything in between.
All materials are drawn from ICAPA's real advocacy work in the fight to end institutional child abuse. Real campaigns. Real legislation. Real outcomes, including the passage of the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in December 2024.
From constituent to advocate.
This library is fully self-guided.
Read the module
Each module covers a core advocacy topic with instructional content drawn from ICAPA's real legislative campaigns.
Watch the videos
Most modules include testimony footage, hearings, and instructional videos that bring the material to life.
Use the templates
Every module includes practical templates: pitch decks, policy memos, bill trackers, power maps. Copy and adapt them for your own campaign.
Go deeper
Each section links to ICAPA resources, Google Drive guides, and real-world examples to extend your learning.
Orientation + Six Modules. One Mission.
Begin with Orientation to get your bearings, then work through the modules in order or jump to wherever you are in your advocacy journey.
Start Here Before Anything Else
The Orientation module introduces the ICAPA Legislative Advocacy Library: what it is, who it is for, and how to use it. Learn about ICAPA Network's mission, the issue of institutional child abuse, and where to begin your advocacy journey. No prior knowledge required.
Intro to Lobbying
Understand how government works, how a bill becomes law at the state and federal level, what a lobbyist actually does, and how SICAA proved that ordinary people can change federal law.
Initiative: Your Voice in Action
How to testify at legislative hearings, write letters of support and opposition, organize petitions, and mobilize your community into a force lawmakers cannot ignore.
Intention: Shaping Policy
Define your issue with precision, choose whether to support existing legislation or write your own, and produce the policy memos and fact sheets that make lawmakers take you seriously.
Deep Dive: Research & Power Mapping
Legislative research, reading and auditing existing laws, tracking bills through the process, and mapping the political landscape so you know exactly where to apply pressure.
Strategy: Building Your Campaign
Build lasting relationships with legislators and their staff, construct a coalition, plan your social media strategy, and bring everything together into a full legislative campaign plan.
Attention: Media & Public Presence
Write press releases that get picked up, run a press conference, execute media outreach, organize rallies, and take your campaign to the Capitol for Hill Day meetings with legislators.
Intro to Lobbying
An introduction to the structures, processes, and people that make up American government. Covers how the three branches function, how a bill becomes law at the state and federal level, what a lobbyist actually does, and how to research your own state's specific legislative process. Grounded in real examples from ICAPA's advocacy work, including the passage of SICAA in December 2024.
Survivors and advocates are the most powerful force for legislative change. When lived experience meets the knowledge of how to navigate the system, nothing is more compelling to a lawmaker. This library exists to give you that knowledge.
ICAPA Network · Institutional Child Abuse Prevention & Advocacy
Get involved with ICAPA.
This library is one piece of a larger effort. If you want to take action, volunteer, connect with our legal network, or support the policy campaigns currently in progress, ICAPA wants to hear from you.
Create your advocate account
Register for a free account to engage with fellow advocates in the discussion sections, ask questions, and get responses from the ICAPA team. This is a community of people doing serious work. Your account keeps the space safe and the conversations meaningful.
Welcome to the ICAPA Legislative Advocacy Library!
This is where your advocacy journey begins.
Whether you’re just discovering this issue or you’ve been fighting for reform for years, this library was built to give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to show up in the legislative process and make your voice count.
You’ll move through six sessions at your own pace — from understanding how government works and what lobbying actually means, to testifying at hearings, building coalitions, and walking into a legislator’s office with a pitch deck and a plan. By the time you finish, you’ll have everything you need to run a real advocacy campaign.
A few things to know before you dive in:
The library is self-guided, so there are no deadlines and no pressure. Go at whatever pace works for you. Each session builds on the last, so we recommend starting with Session 1 and working forward.
Create a free account to engage with the discussion sections at the bottom of each session. Ask questions, share what resonates, and connect with fellow advocates who are on the same journey. I read every comment and will do my best to respond personally.
This work matters. The children who are still in these facilities right now are counting on people like you to understand the system well enough to change it.
Let’s get to work.
— Chelsea Filer
Executive Director & Founder, ICAPA Network