Families and Youth Advocacy
As the children's mental health field moves toward an evidence-based culture, it is essential that families and youth stay informed, ask questions, and keep the goals of individualized and culturally competent services and supports a priority throughout the process. Specific ideas about how to actively advocate for yourself, your family, and your community may be found in the Family-Driven and Youth Guided and Families and Youth as Providers and Evaluators sections of this Resource Guide.
Family and youth advocacy can be thought of in several ways:
- A peer-to-peer supportive activity, such as providing information and encouragement from one youth or family member to another
- A family-run organization sending a trained advocate to an Individualized Education Planning (IEP) meeting to ensure the rights of a family are protected
- Encouraging policy and funding decisions be made according to what families and youth know is best for families and youth in their community, tribe, territory, or state
See www.ffcmh.org for resources on finding or starting a family-run information, support and advocacy organization for children and youth with mental, emotional, or behavioral problems and their families.
Visit the United Advocates for Children of California’s report on “The Role of Family Organizations in the Evidence-Based Practice Movement” to learn more about the important and valuable roles families play in shaping the evidence-based practice movement.