Since the early 1970s, Center on Human Policy staff have worked closely with a local advocacy board composed of people with disabilities, family members, advocates, and concerned citizens, to address issues of importance to people with disabilities in New York State. The Advocacy Board, in conjunction with Center staff, has addressed such community of statewide issues as school exclusion, institutional abuse, accessible public transportation, institutional closure, "dumping" in the community, educational inclusion, integrated work, and access to communication interventions. The Advocacy Board acts as an independent voice on behalf of people with disabilities and is independent on the Center's funded projects and university activities.

For more information, you can read about the role and responsibility of the Advocacy Board.

Positions statements adopted by the Center in consultation with the Advocacy Board include the following:

• Statement of Support for Inclusive Communities and an Affirmation of an Inclusive Society

• A Declaration of Basic Human Rights of Ex-Residents of State Institutions for the Mentally Retarded

• Inclusion in Education: A Choice for Your Child

• Platform on Vocational Issues

• Position Statement on Accessible Transportation

• The Community Imperative: A Refutation of All Arguments in Support of Institutionalizing Anybody Because of Mental Retardation