The Little Program That Could: Saving Emergency Medical Services for Children

The experience of the federal Emergency Medical Services for Children program over the past 30 years illustrates many of the challenges facing those who advocate for programs that serve special populations or targeted purposes. Even programs that are well run and successful may find themselves targeted for budget cuts or elimination if they do not have committed champions, a readily identifiable constituency, and a range of resources at their disposal. The long campaign to preserve the Emergency Medical Services for Children program has yielded valuable lessons for advocates working at any level of government.