Parents Opening Doors, Inc. History and Background

History and Background of PAP:

Parents Opening Doors, Inc., also known as Padres Abriendo Puertas (PAP), is a nonprofit organization founded by a group of community activists and concerned parents in 1991. The mission of the organization has stayed fairly consistent with a focus on "fostering the human, civil, educational, educational rights and total community inclusion of Latino children with developmental disabilities and mental health issues."

During the 1990s, PAP was able to develop wide outreach efforts in the area of educational advocacy. PAP’s model of community advocacy relies primarily on parental empowerment, education, training, and community outreach. The success of the organization has relied on its capacity to educate Latino parents to help them develop a voice of their own. We strive to educate Latino families about the statutory rights afforded to them under state and federal laws. We know that it is entirely possible to transform a Latino parent, stigmatized about language barriers and low educational levels, into a fully proficient and knowledgeable expert on Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004(I.D.E.A.) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.). PAP has trained Latino parents about those outstanding Federal consent decrees in place in Connecticut. It teaches parents to demand due process and equal protection under the law. Participating parents have effectively used this knowledge to advocate for changes in child welfare laws. Last Spring, our parents set a precedent when legislators allowed them to testify in Spanish before a legislative committee exploring changes to child welfare laws. The philosophy of PAP postulates that individuals can be mobilized and their collective power can influence and affect established systems of care.

In the past six years we have also been working in the process of lifting barriers to mental health care. We have worked diligently to bring down barriers that hinder the access to mental health and health care faced by Latino families who have children with disabilities. In fact, PAP has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of the new and culturally competent model of “System of Care” in Hartford and the Capital Region. Although PAP has only been working in the area of health advocacy for the last six years, we already have become a model organization in this program area. Our efforts are so well regarded that we are constantly consulted by both governmental agencies and policy-making bodies alike.