Not all advisory boards are designed to be sustained indefinitely. Sometimes a YAB will have a set time frame dictated by grant or project funding. Other times a YAB is created to meet a specific goal (e.g., brainstorming a new agency service) and once that goal is met, the board can be disbanded. 

 Your organization should create an off-boarding policy for YAB members, whether it be for individual members leaving or disbanding the entire board. You should work with your organization’s IT and finance teams to determine what off-boarding activities need to be completed by members so that your facilitators can support them with these activities (e.g., removing access to company drive, deleting any sensitive files, returning agency equipment, signing documents).

 In addition to having an off-boarding policy, some best practices for disbanding an advisory board are:

• Be transparent with members when advertising the role and onboarding if there is a known timeframe for participation (e.g., 6 months, 1 year).
• Communicate with members about the process for determining if the YAB will be continued and who will be involved.
• Give as much advance notice as possible if an advisory board is going to be disbanded so that members can process their feelings.
• Dedicate a meeting for expressing appreciation to members, reflecting on accomplishments, and discussing lessons learned.

 Informational PowerPoint Resources:

• Participatory Action Research: Making it Work for Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions
• Successes & Challenges Of Engaging a National Youth Voice in Shaping Future Mental Health Services & Support
• Embracing Young Adult Voice: Strategies, Tools & Resources to Enhance Participation in Mental Health Research
• The Transition to Adulthood Center for Research for Y & YAs with SMHC: Promises & Pitfalls
• Tips and Tricks to Developing and Sustaining a Family Advisory Board