Advocates history

In 1976, Ramon Wagner -- formerly a priest in the Catholic Church -- and two volunteers opened the doors of Community Advocates in a small storefront on Milwaukee’s north side.

The CASA movement began in 1977 in Seattle Washington under the direction of Judge David W. Soukup.

In 1978, Governor Jerry Brown designated Disability Rights California, then known as Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PAI), as this state’s organization with headquarters in Sacramento.

In 1982, legislation was created in Indiana that defined the role of the Court Appointed Special Advocate in relationship to the juvenile court proceedings.

Cleburne Living Center, Inc. was a 1985 US Supreme Court case about discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.

In 1986, Governor Deukmejian signed AB 3900 establishing safeguards in authorizing conservators to give substitute consent for sterilization with due process protections. drc provided assistance in drafting the bill.

AI’s story begins with the collapse of communism in 1989 when Sam and then Campbell University Professor Lynn Buzzard met with key leadership in the Soviet Union to discuss and introduce justice and moral values to the system.

In 1990, La Porte County trained its first volunteers and over the past 30 years 422 CASA volunteers have spent approximately 1,448,445 hours advocating for 2,300 abused and neglected children in La Porte County.

“Mad Pride”, started in 1992, is a mass movement of the users of mental health services, former users, and their allies.

In January 1995, Evangelical Health Systems Corporation and Lutheran General HealthSystem merged to create Advocate Health Care.

In 1996, a group of national, grassroots disability rights activists founded “Not Dead Yet.” It opposes legalization of assisted suicide as deadly forms of discrimination against people with disabilities.

In 1997, the World Wide Web Consortium developed the Web Accessibility Initiative to make the internet more accessible.

In 1998, drc and co-counsel filed a federal class action lawsuit to make California cover the services that Elizabeth and other children like her needed to live safely in the community.

In 1999, The La Porte County CASA Program and Swanson Center entered into an agreement to create a supervised visitation and safe exchange program in the old Swanson Center outpatient building at 1005 Michigan Avenue in La Porte.

In 2002, disability rights advocates, including Disability Rights California's Peer Self-Advocacy Program began an effort to restore the graves and collect the names of those who died.

The lawsuit led to the creation of an entirely new mental health service for children and youth called Therapeutic Behavior Services, or TBS. Elizabeth was released from the state hospital in 2003 and lives in the community with support.

In 2004, the La Porte County CASA Program, Inc and Harmony House of La Porte County, Inc became Harmony House/CASA Program of La Porte County, Inc.

Since 2005, Community Advocates has grown from a staff of approximately 30 to a staff of more than 170.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations.

The federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 prevents health insurance providers from offering less favorable benefits for mental health issues as for medical issues.

In 2010, drc took action, including issuing an advisory to every law enforcement agency in the state. drc called for law enforcement agencies to follow Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training guidelines for sexual assault investigations.

The development of a volunteer program for youth struggling with behaviors interfering with positive personal and academic progress began in 2012.

By 2013 the first volunteers were trained as Court Youth Advocates providing one-on-one mentoring and advocacy intervention to impact teens involved in probation, alternative education programming or as a community-based support to those who are school, or court referred.

In 2014, the Affordable Care Act expanded the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to apply to almost all forms of health insurance.

In January of 2015, Harmony House/CASA Program of La Porte County, Inc. became known as Family Advocates.

2018 – AB 2657 - Assemblymember Doctor Shirley Weber’s landmark bill limits the use of seclusion and restraint in California schools for all students, including students with disabilities.

By 2020, 55,133 hours of supervised visitation has been provided to non-custodial parents and their children in La Porte County.