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Advocacy for the Small CBO in 1 Step

Dan Thorne • Jun 29, 2023

Even a small CBO needs to assert itself for advocacy for their agency. 

Community-based organizations (CBO) starting must practice advocacy in their business. Advocacy for them means promoting their services and defending their operations. This practice could be conducted with governmental agencies for passing licensure, policy approval, corrective action plans, and contract negotiation.  Yet many small CBOs need more paperwork, delays, frustration, and impatience. These new organizations need one step to rise to the occasion when necessary.



The challenge for the small CBO is that they need more knowledge and time for advocacy. Larger CBOs benefit from belonging to associations that can lobby for them. Whether they be the National Council on Wellbeing,  California Alliance of Child and Family Services, California Council on Community Behavioral Health Agencies, or The Association of Children’s Residential & Community Services, these organizations offer their members entrance to decision makers. Their staff has connections with lawmakers and governmental entities. However, the small CBO may not have the budget to support membership. In the future, these organizations and others will help them navigate the system. But what do they do in the meantime?


As we discussed earlier, having the Three P’s is necessary to be successful in advocacy. But that alone is not enough. The one step that is crucial for a small CBO is networking. While there are many benefits to networking, one extra one is knowing decision-makers. Developing and cultivating these relationships takes a long time but is highly worthwhile. I have often worked with executives at new CBOs to guide them to the right people, and the networking pays off in the present and the future. Serving on committees, volunteering for projects, and other efforts can add to the networking approach. If an executive struggles with a supervisor or manager, advancing to the top of the agency’s food chain is worthwhile. Sometimes this means looking up who the state department chief is and approaching them. This process is not to create an adversarial relationship but to improve connections.  Networking with the right person can reduce delays, improve contracting, resolve conflicts, and even provide feedback to the governmental agency.  The old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” is vital in the behavioral health field. Even a small CBO needs to assert itself for advocacy for their agency. 


Praxes Behavioral Health offers consulting services to CBOs. Feel free to contact us for more information.  

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