Who We Are

COFAR is a statewide nonprofit organization established in 1983 to advocate on behalf of the mentally retarded in Massachusetts and their families and guardians. The families that formed COFAR were among the original plaintiffs in Ricci v. Okin, the landmark 1972 lawsuit, which led to significant improvements in care for the mentally retarded in Massachusetts.

COFAR has negotiated with the Department of Mental Retardation to maintain adequate staffing levels at both state and community-based facilities and has advocated for an independent investigations unit outside of the DMR to investigate cases of abuse and neglect in both the state and community systems. COFAR volunteers provide help and advice to families of clients of the DMR system, and have testified on Beacon Hill for the past two decades on issues of concern to the mentally retarded and their families.

COFAR currently has five local affiliated organizations: The Advocacy Network; The Fernald League for the Retarded, Inc.; The Wrentham Association for the Retarded, Inc.; Concerned Citizens for the Mentally Retarded, Inc.; and the Glavin Association for the Retarded. COFAR is also a member of the National Voice of the Retarded.