Community Support Advocates provides support services to almost 1100 individuals. Our employees partner with persons served for growth and resiliency. The individuals we support experience a wide range of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities, brain injury, mental illness, and substance use.

Although our office is located in Des Moines, Community Support Advocates provides Integrated Health Program services in Polk, Jasper, Story and Warren counties. We also provide services in areas such as community living, employment and education and recreational supports to individuals in Central Iowa. These services are driven by choice, with a focus on individualized community services and supports, and maximum community integration.

Community Support Advocates was created in 1997 by a consortium of large disability agencies. In 2013, Community Support Advocates dissolved the consortium limited liability company and became a stand-alone, not for profit entity.

When we started, CSA provided only one service with a handful of staff and we supported 100 individuals with disabilities. Over the last 20+ years, we have steadily grown to 60 employees, supporting almost 1000 individuals within multiple programs. We continue to grow and evolve, and look for new and unique ways to provide the best supports possible to individuals. We are committed to learning about best practices nationally and applying those practices within CSA.

At Community Support Advocates, we work hard to build and maintain a unique organizational culture. We support and care about each other and about the people we serve. We are team oriented and family centered. We like to have fun, and we want people to love what they do and to take ownership of what we have built together.

Our Leadership team practice Servant Leadership, where their number one role is to put the best people possible into each position and then give them the support and resources to do their job well. Our team members partner with individuals who are struggling with the daily effects of issues like mental illness, substance use and poverty. It is our role to provide a welcoming environment that is strengths based and inspires hope for recovery and change.

Our Agency focus is on promoting growth and resiliency for everyone, which includes the people who we support and the people who work for us. We encourage our team members to find ways to grow and be challenged. We value education and support, and we believe our role is to provide each team member with what they need to grow and develop.