Founding Executive Director, Louise Ravenel and others formed an advocacy program in Charleston in 1973. This organization was a first for the state of South Carolina. It was named Advocacy for the Legal and Human Rights of Mentally Retarded Citizens and served only Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. One of the earlier roles this organization played was to improve communication, services and living standards for residents of the Coastal Center, a Department of Mental Retardation facility located in Ladson, S.C

The program gained momentum and in 1976, the organization's name became Advocacy for Handicapped Citizens. Members of this organization anticipated a time when federal and state funds would be available to provide advocacy services to individuals with other disabilities.

Under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (Public Law 94-103), each state was required to have a statewide protection and advocacy system to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities in place by October 1, 1977. This system had to be independent of any agency providing services to developmentally disabled people. The system was to have means to seek remedies, including legal remedies, when people with disabilities had been denied disability rights.

In September 1977, Governor James Edwards designated Advocacy for Handicapped Citizens (AHC) as the agency to implement statewide protection and advocacy services in South Carolina. In 1979, the state legislature passed a bill that recognized AHC as the designated organization. At that time the name of the organization became South Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for the Handicapped, Inc. (SCP&A) to reflect its new, statewide services.

Since PAIDD in 1977, Congress has created a series of laws specifically designed to protect and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. SCP&A became the appointed agency for all of the following statutes:

1.  In 1986, Congress authorized Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI). The purpose of this mandate is to protect individuals with mental illness from abuse and neglect.

2.  In 1991, Congress authorized Protection & Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR). The purpose of this mandate is to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities who are not covered under PAIDD or PAIMI.

3.  In 1994, P&A became the appointed agency to provide services under the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities of 1987 (Tech Act). The purpose of this act is to provide advocacy services to people with disabilities who are denied funding for assistive technology devices and services.

These laws, in addition to state legislation, made SCP&A responsible for serving all persons with substantial disabilities, not just those with developmental disabilities. In 1996, SCP&A changed its name to Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A). This makes it clear that P&A serves people with disabilities and that it is not a state agency. P&A is a member of the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS).

Today, P&A is a private, non-profit South Carolina corporation governed by a volunteer board of directors. In 1997, Gloria M. Prevost, MSW, became the Executive Director of P&A. P&A currently processes calls through our Information and Referral Team.