Citizen Advocacy is a relationship-based form of protection and advocacy. The first Citizen Advocacy program began in Lincoln in 1970 by Dr. Wolf Wolfensberger, whose concern was for de-institutionalized adults with developmental disabilities, and later broadened to include all persons with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness. Grand Island Citizen Advocacy, Inc., was incorporated in January 1975. Nebraska also has offices in Omaha, Kearney, and North Platte. Citizen Advocacy programs exist worldwide in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.