What Are Advocates and How Can They Help Me?

by Geri Caruso, Director, Information and Referral

I’ve been told that I need an advocate at a meeting I have with my daughter’s school. I don’t really know what advocates do or how it would help to have an advocate at the meeting.  

The term “advocate” has many meanings and individual interpretations. Advocates can fill a spectrum of needs from providing appropriate self-advocacy information to zealously representing an individual client’s wishes in legal and quasi-legal processes.  The advocates at Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service get thousands of requests for this kind of direct assistance every year.   

Four Things You Should Know About Advocates

Advocates have different areas of expertise:  

From time to time people may find themselves in situations for which they are unprepared. It can be when a child is failing is school, when an elder needs care, or when faced with an employment problem. Advocates have information and understand the processes that are in place to help access specific services. Advocates often specialize in different areas. For example, some advocates are very familiar with the special education process or with Medicaid regulations but are not familiar with services for children who are mentally ill or with issues related to traumatic brain injury. While some advocates focus on the medical aspects of disabilities, others focus on the legal rights of individuals. It may take some time, but make sure you are in touch with the advocate or agency that can be of the most help.

Advocates work within established resolution systems:  

Advocates can help you understand the system you need to use to get help. They can help you through initial requests for services and can help appeal denials. Advocates have information on how to apply for a benefit to which you might be entitled, such as Supplemental Security Income, special education, or assistance with paying rent. While they cannot guarantee a favorable outcome, advocates can tell you how to appeal adverse actions on the part of the government or local agencies. Remember, though, that the advocate cannot skirt any process that you would have to use yourself. Advocates may have specialized knowledge about how best to use the law in a given situation, but they cannot circumvent the processes in the law. They can’t countermand a judge’s order, get an agency to give you services to which you are not entitled, or circumvent time or “paper work” requirements.       

Advocates often have contacts with people who can facilitate resolutions:

Advocates may work almost exclusively in a specific area and can develop relationships with service providers that can lead to additional or expedited help for their clients. When advocates know other people who can provide better or more complete information, they will refer you to those people.

Advocates are not always perfect:

Occasionally, your relationship with a service provider has deteriorated to the point where you might envision rescue with the aid of an advocate who is a scarier version of you. But anger, threats, and aggression on the part of an advocate will not help in the long run. Remember that in many instances you will have repeated contacts with the service provider. An advocate who is inappropriately adversarial will not help your future relationship with that provider. Advocates work for you and can be fired. Be clear with your advocate about what you want. Be clear about how far you wish to pursue your issue.  If the advocate seems too pushy—or too timid—think about talking to someone else. Make sure that your advocate has a long-term view and will not resolve a current issue by sacrificing relationships upon which you or your child depend.     

Effective advocates don’t say they “can’t do that” without checking all the facts. They don’t tell you every bad thing they ever heard about your child’s teacher or your school district. Effective advocates can be cooperative while they clearly represent the interests of their clients. Effective advocates tell the truth, don’t make promises they can’t keep, and teach you what to do when they are not there. They recognize their limitations and understand that not every situation requires a cannon; sometimes a firecracker is fine.