The District of Columbia Mental Retardation Volunteer Advocates Association,Inc.

About Us-The District of Columbia Mental Retardation Volunteer Advocates Association,Inc.

The District of Columbia Mental Retardation Volunteer Advocates Association, Inc.

The District of Columbia Mental Retardation Volunteer Advocates Association, Inc. (DCMRVAA) was developed as a non-profit corporation in 1981 by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in response to Public Law 2-137, the Mentally Retarded Citizens Constitutional Rights and Dignity Act. Under the law, the Superior Court is responsible for accepting petitions (which request services) and any subsequent pleadings on behalf of petitioning citizens with mental and developmental disabilities and thereafter providing each of the respondents with a volunteer advocate.

The advocate's primary focus is to ensure that the constitutional rights of those individuals with mental and developmental disabilities, who have cases reviewed by the Court, are protected and that those clients receive the best service available from the District of Columbia or businesses contracted through the District government. The daily performance of the advocate should exemplify a level of professionalism befitting that of an agent of the Court.

Employees of the Mental Health & Mental Retardation Branch of the Family Court, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, work in collaboration with the association in all efforts to recruit, train and provide an adequate number of volunteers. The Court provides an Advocate Coordinator to act as a liaison to the association, the court and community. The Coordinator assists the volunteers in all aspects of their advocacy