Mission and Vision

The mission of the organization has stayed fairly consistent with a focus on ensuring “the human, civil, educational, educational rights and total community inclusion of Latino children and families with disabilities.” The main effort of the organization has been to ensure that the educational system lifts barriers that hinder the ability of Latino children and their families to get a quality education. This is mainly accomplished through a wide array of programming venues that offer empowerment advocacy. However, during the last three years the Board of Directors has realized that a significant, if not a majority, of children who suffer from developmental challenges (as high as 66% of them), also suffer from mental health issues. Thus, PAP has broadened its mission to address the needs of Latino families who have children who need access to the mental health establishment and are also confronting problems accessing it. Our mission now is to "foster the human, civil, educational, educational rights and total community inclusion of Latino children with developmental disabilities and mental health issues." 

      In order to implement its vision and accomplish its programmatic goals, PAP has developed a highly successful grassroots advocacy model that relies on community mobilization, training, advocacy and parental and family empowerment.  As part or our outreach efforts, the organization works hard at identifying underserved Latino populations who are in need of services. PAP works with these groups and brings them into a culturally sensitive setting that is cognizant of their structural and social needs. It then provides them with extensive training and community involvement opportunities allowing them to undergo a process through which they can become knowledgeable of the issues and develop a voice of their own.  PAP teaches parents how to bring down barriers that hinder the effective integration of their children and families into both the educational system and the mental health care establishment. A fundamental tenet of the organization is that parents cannot be effective advocates if they are not well trained.

Ralph Rodríguez, recipient of services from PAP, testifies before a hearing at the State House in Connecticut.