Candidate Forums

When elections approach, candidates for office go into the community for forums and town hall meetings. This is a great time to find out if candidates for office are on children’s side. To get thoughtful answers, ask for specific examples of how a candidate would act once in office. Start your question with specific facts relevant to Texas or to your community, and then be prepared to give additional information if requested.

Questions to consider asking:

• How would you help low-income working families and poor families get and keep better-paying jobs?
• What steps should Texas take to increase the number of children who have health insurance?
• How would you increase immunization rates so more children are protected from outbreaks of illness?
• What policies would you support to keep children with mental illnesses out of the juvenile justice system?
• How do you propose helping working parents afford safe, quality child care?
• What should the state of Texas be doing differently to ensure that children are ready for school?
• What strategies do you support to prevent child abuse and neglect?
• How would you ensure that youth who have substance abuse or mental health issues receive treatment?