PDBHAI / Advocate
Advocate partner program

Become a Non-PHI Advocate Partner

PDBHAI's advocate partner program connects families with trained navigators and advocates who operate strictly within public guidance and non-PHI boundaries.

What non-PHI advocacy means

Advocacy within clear boundaries

PDBHAI advocates operate within a defined non-PHI scope. Understanding what advocates can and cannot do is essential for both advocates and families.

Advocates can

  • Help families understand public educational resources about PPEC and day-based care
  • Explain how the general admission process works and what documents are typically needed
  • Guide families to official state sources, licensure lookups, and Medicaid guidance
  • Help families prepare questions to ask physicians, PPEC centers, and payers
  • Provide general navigation support within PDBHAI's published educational content
  • Connect families to state and community resources for care coordination

Advocates cannot

  • Collect, view, or discuss protected health information (PHI)
  • Make eligibility determinations for any program or service
  • Provide medical, clinical, legal, or billing advice
  • Guarantee placement, approval, enrollment, or coverage
  • Act as a case manager or perform clinical care coordination
  • Refer families to specific providers for compensation

Who we're looking for

PDBHAI's advocate partner program is designed for people who already have experience supporting families navigating complex healthcare and want to extend that support within a structured, non-PHI framework.

Family advocates

Parents, caregivers, or community members with lived experience navigating pediatric day-based care who want to help other families.

Navigators

Healthcare navigators, benefits counselors, and social service professionals who guide families through complex healthcare access questions.

Community health workers

CHWs and patient advocates embedded in communities with high concentrations of medically fragile children and families in need of guidance.

Educational specialists

Special education advocates, early intervention coordinators, and school-based support professionals who work with families of medically complex children.

Non-PHI boundary is a hard requirement PDBHAI advocate partners must operate strictly within non-PHI boundaries at all times. Advocates may not collect, view, store, transmit, or discuss protected health information in any PDBHAI-affiliated capacity. This includes diagnoses, medical histories, treatment details, insurance IDs, Social Security numbers, or any other HIPAA-protected information. Advocates who need to support families with PHI-involved case management should do so through a separate, appropriately licensed or covered entity — not through PDBHAI.

Express interest

The advocate partner program is currently being developed. Submit your interest below and we'll be in touch when the program launches. We review every submission personally.

This form is for advocate partner interest only. It is not a family help request, not a provider referral form, not a lead path to Harbor or any other service, and not a PHI intake channel. If you are a family seeking resources, visit Family Guidance or use the Provider Finder.

Do not include PHI, medical records, diagnoses, or sensitive health information about any individual.

The advocate partner program is under development. Non-PHI scope policy applies to all PDBHAI advocate relationships. PDBHAI does not provide clinical, legal, billing, or eligibility guidance through any advocate channel.