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The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that the law ought to protect the health and well-being of children just as arduously as pediatricians do. When state legislators assemble, children's issues deserve the same consideration as other matters.

The AAP Division of State Government Affairs is tasked with providing assistance to AAP state chapters as they advocate for children. The Division offers resources for advocates on vital children's health issues like Medicaid, injury and violence prevention, immunizations, and many others. Advocacy materials produced by the Division cover the legislative, research, and strategic dimensions of an issue. We keep a constant watch of children's health issues in all states and store laws and pending or recently defeated bills on pediatric advocacy issues. The Division also maintains legislation charts which summarize the status of legislation on issues of pediatric concern. The Division has assisted many chapters to develop a state government affairs program by forming a chapter government affairs committee, organizing a telephone tree, and establishing a key contact system. The Division provides training and strategy development seminars for advocates through the AAP Legislative Conference and the Chapter Advocacy Summit. Finally, the Division provides guidance on appropriate involvement in election campaigns and has designed materials to promote children's health issues in election debates.

For further information, please e-mail us at stgov@aap.org, or call us at 847/434-7799.

Due to the complex nature of legislative issues, we request that you include your name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, and/or fax number in your e-mail correspondence, so that we may contact you for more information if necessary.