Family Initiatives Advocacy

The Family Initiative program and staff support a number of advocacy efforts in an effort to bring focus to the needs of parents with mental health conditions and expand and improve appropriate and effective service for these parents and their children. Family Initiative advocacy activities include:

• The Coalition for Parent Peer Support established in 2008 by consumer advocacy groups to respond to a need identified by their affiliated parents for support from other parents recovering from mental illness.  The Coalition’s mission is to advocate for increased awareness and services to better meet the needs of parents who are in recovery from mental illness and their children.
  
  
• The Parent Support Subcommittee of the State Mental Health Planning Council, co- chaired by Family Initiative Staff, was established in June of 2009 to develop policy and practice recommendations to improve outcomes across service system for parents with mental health conditions and co-occurring conditions and their children.
  
  
• The Strengthening Families Coalition established under the leadership of Rosie’s Place to advocate for adequate and effective services and policy for families involved in Massachusetts child welfare system including:
  
  
• State and Local Workgroups and Task Forces Involvement
• Metrowest Mental Health and Substance Abuse Task Force
• Massachusetts Youth Development Council, Department of Mental Health
• Professional Advisory Committee,  Department of Mental Health - Children
• Culturally Relevant Best Practice Work Group, Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative
• Work Group on Parents/Caregivers with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Conditions, National Wraparound Initiative