The life cycle of family advocacy organizations

Despite the rapid growth of family advocacy organizations-organizations governed by families of children with serious emotional disorders-little is known about how these organizations develop or how to address the issues that challenge their survival. Using an organizational life cycle framework, the authors demonstrate that family advocacy organizations go through predictable phases of growth and that it is possible to anticipate obstacles to the organization's stability at each stage and transition. Based on case studies of 17 family advocacy organizations, several key life cycle dimensions are explored, including changes in power base and evolution of the governing board over the life cycle.