About Advocacy, Inc.
ADVOCACY, INC. VALUES
Advocacy, Inc. adheres to these guiding principles in all activities to protect and advance the rights of Texans with disabilities:
- All people have worth and dignity.
- People with disabilities are people whose basic human needs are no different from those of all people, and as such share with all people basic human, legal and civil rights.
- People with disabilities have the right to freedom from abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination and isolation.
- Children with disabilities have a right to full inclusion in all aspects of their communities, including the right to grow up in a family and the right to integrated day care and education.
- People with disabilities have the right to full access to and inclusion in all aspects of community life where they can exercise their full rights and responsibilities.
- People with disabilities have a right to legal representation and due process of law before any legal rights are restricted.
- People with disabilities should speak and act for themselves, be self-determining, represent their own interests, and make decisions and take risks based on their own goals and values. Anyone who would interfere with these rights to self-autonomy and personal choice must do so only after being granted legal authority, subject to judicial review, to act on behalf of that person, and only after the person termed disabled has had meaningful notice and opportunity to challenge the appointment of a substitute decision-maker.
- People with disabilities are entitled to protection from employment discrimination and equal access to employment in community integrated settings.
- People with disabilities have a right to health and human services that will meet basic needs and will provide them with the tools and supports necessary to achieve equality of opportunity, employment, independent living, economic and social self-sufficiency. These services and supports should be accessible, culturally relevant, customized to their needs, flexible to changing circumstances, and provided in their community.
- Individuals with disabilities have the right to information in an accessible format, language and manner that is culturally relevant, and which allows them to have options and make informed choices.
- Advocacy efforts must be sensitive and responsive to the unique needs of individuals from diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, and must be accessible and reasonably available.
- When a decision or meaningful choice cannot be expressed by a person with a disability or when consent is not available from or provided by the person with the disability or legally authorized substitute, the advocate will act to safeguard and advance the human, legal, and civil rights of the person with the disability in a way that does not limit the person's options for choice.
ADVOCACY, INC. TIMELINE
1975: Congress enacted the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975 (the DD Act) "to ensure the humane care, treatment, habilitation and protection of mentally retarded [sic] and other persons with developmental disabilities." The law created the Protection and Advocacy System for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) to ensure these protections became a reality.
1977: Advocacy, Inc. opened its doors as a nonprofit organization-independent of any service provider-dedicated to protecting and advocating for the legal rights of Texans with disabilities by order of Governor Dolph Briscoe.
1984: Congress created the Client Assistance Program (CAP) to assist people with disabilities in obtaining information and accessing services from state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Texas Governor Mark White designated Advocacy, Inc. to operate the CAP.
1986: Congress passed the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act (PAIMI). PAIMI provides protections to people with mental illness similar to those guaranteed people with mental retardation under the DD Act. Governor White charged Advocacy, Inc. with operation of Texas' PAIMI program.
1991: The Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation joined forces with AI in a relationship that has grown over the years. Today, funds are generated through three programs including Interest Earned on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA), Basic Civil Legal Services (BCLS) and Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS). With IOLTA and BCLS dollars, AI serves people whose income is at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, who are eligible for services from the PADD, PAIMI, PAIR or CAP programs. CVCLS funds support legal services to children under the conservatorship of the state protective and regulatory agency.
1993: For the first time, Congress provided full funding for the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) program, which was established in 1978 under the Rehabilitation Act. Through the PAIR program, Advocacy, Inc. is able to serve people with disabilities who are not eligible under the PADD, PAIMI, or the CAP programs.
1994: Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT). PAAT funding allows AI to focus on assistive technology issues including augmentative communication devices, wheelchairs, environmental control systems, computer software and hardware. Providing AT allows many people with disabilities to be successful in school, work community.
1999: In passing the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act (TWWIIA), Congress created the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS). Congress authorized the Social Security Administration to pay state Protection and Advocacy systems to provide information, advocacy and other support to Social Security disability beneficiaries who want to enter or return to the work force.
2003: Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and allocated funds to each state's protection and advocacy organization to educate the public, election officials and others about people with disabilities' right to vote and advocate for voters who encounter obstacles at the polls.
2004: The federal government authorized funds for the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI) program to address the advocacy needs of the growing population of persons with traumatic brain injuries.
ADVOCACY, INC. LOCATIONS
Alphabetical listing of Texas Counties and corresponding Advocacy, Inc. Region:
Main Office:
Mary Faithfull, Executive Director
7800 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Suite 171-E
Austin, Texas 78757-1024
(512) 454-4816 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (512) 323-0902
(512) 454-0063 (TDD Answering Machine)
Intake: (800) 252-9108 (Voice/TDD)
Central Texas Regional Office:
Roberta Rosenberg-Roque, Manager
7800 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Suite 142-S
Austin, Texas 78757
(512) 454-4816 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (512) 302-4936
Intake: (800) 315-3876 (Voice/TDD)
East Texas Regional Office:
Connie Kristenson, Manager
1500 McGowen, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77004
(713) 974-7691 (Voice/TDD)
Intake:(800) 880-0821 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (713) 974-7695
Beaumont Satellite:
Kerri Miller-Carr, Community Services Specialist
3420 Fannin Street, Suite 201
Beaumont, Texas 77701
(409) 832-4872 (Voice/TDD)
Intake:(800) 880-0821 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (409) 832-4897
Nacogdoches Satellite:
Jurlene Sparks
c/o East Texas Legal Services
414 East Pillar
Nacogdoches, Texas 75963-1308
(936) 560-1455 ext. 1530 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (936) 560-5385
El Paso Regional Office:
Eddie Rodriguez, Manager
300 E. Main Suite 205
El Paso, Texas 79901
(915) 542-0585 (Voice/TDD)
Intake: (800) 948-1824 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (915) 542-2676
North Texas Regional Office:
Betty Black, Manager
1420 West Mockingbird Lane, Suite 450
Dallas, Texas 75247-4932
(214) 630-0916 (Voice/TDD)
Intake: (800) 880-2884 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (214) 630-3472
Wichita Falls Satellite Office:
Leo Smith, Community Services Specialist
901 Indiana, Suite 355
Wichita Falls, Texas 76301
(940) 761-1199 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (940) 761-1261
Longview Satellite Office:
211 W. Tyler St., Ste. A
Longview, TX 75601
(903) 758-8888
Fax: (903)758-7815
Intake: (866) 758-5888
Ft. Worth Satellite Office:
Isabell Montgomery, Community Services Specialist
1300 W. Lancaster, Suite 110
Ft. Worth, TX 76102
(817) 336-0075
Fax: (817) 336-0072
South Texas Regional Office:
Ernesto Sanchez, Manager
6800 Park Ten Blvd., Suite 208-N
San Antonio, Texas 78213
(210) 737-0499 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (210) 737-2403
Intake: (800) 880-8401
Corpus Christi Satellite Office:
Dennis Driggers, Regional Staff Attorney
c/o Coastal Bend Legal Services
Pueblo Law Center
3825 Agnes Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78405-3002
(361) 880-5484 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (361) 883-7615
Laredo Satellite:
Please contact McAllen or San Antonio office for services
McAllen Satellite Office:
200 South 10th Street, Suite 405
McAllen, Texas 78501
(956) 630-3013 (Voice/TDD)
Intake: (800) 880-8401 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (956) 630-3445
West Texas Regional Office:
Billie McKinnon, Manager
1001 Main Street, Suite 300
Lubbock, Texas 79401-3200
(806) 765-7794 (Voice/TDD)
Intake:(800) 880-4456 (Voice/TDD)
Fax: (806) 765-0496
ADVOCACY, INC. BOARD MEMBERS
A Board Member application can be found here: PDF Application
- Victor G. Guerra
- Ronald E. (Ron) Brown, Immediate Past Chair
- Darrell K. Simmons, Chair
- Stephen Anderson
- Billie M. Holloway, Treasurer
- Theresa Marquez Kuhn, Secretary
- Craig Roberts, Vice-Chair
- Dr. Elaine Parker Adams
- Andy McCulloch
- James Ross
- Amy Sharp
- Tom Goff
- Beth Parsons
- Amy Pierce
PAIMI Advisory Council Members
- Nancy Bailey – West TX Region
- Mary Bode - West TX Region
- Debra Garcia - V. Chair, El Paso TX Region
- Theresa Marquez - North TX Region
- Roger Morin - South TX Region
- Sandra Murgia - Central TX Region
- Amy Pierce – Chair, North TX Region
- Carli Scales – West TX Region
- Sylvia Lugo - South TX Region
- Danielle Barkin - North TX Region
- Brian Watson - South TX Region
- Alice Clark - North TX Region
- Pamela Howden - Central TX Region
- Yolanda Lozano - West TX Region
- Ronald Turner - East TX Region