The Funeral Consumers Alliance of California is composed of 14 affiliated memorial societies or FCAs, most of them associated with the national organization, Funeral Consumers Alliance Inc. FCA Inc. is composed of a nine-member elected board of directors which meets two or three times a year in different states. The national office staff includes Executive Director Joshua Slocum, and two assistants.
The Alliance provides legal testimony, media interviews, talk-show participation, and speaking engagements on behalf of consumers of funeral services and products. It also responds to requests for specific information on death topics and develops brochures and other literature about after-death choices. The national office refers callers to one of the 100 local affiliates for membership information and provides services if the call is from an area not served by a local organization.
It cooperates with AARP and other nonprofit organizations interested in serious health problems, hospice, end-of-life choices, and senior citizens. It monitors funeral regulations and legislation and alerts local organizations by email of pertinent information.
FCA representatives have testified before the Federal Trade Commission and US Senate hearings. FCA has been instrumental in introducing regulations to require disclosure of all funeral services and their prices, elimination of restrictions for the scattering of ashes, and acceptance by mortuaries of caskets not purchased in the mortuary. Joshua Slocum, the current Executive Director, and his predecessor, Lisa Carlson, have received national recognition for their activities dealing with funeral industry regulations.
Currently FCA is seeking regulations to benefit and protect the public who deal with cemeteries, crematories, mausoleums, and manufacturers of monuments, caskets, and urns.
Contact information:
FCA, Inc.
33 Patchen Rd., South Burlington, VT 0403
Phone 1-802-865-8300; fax 802-865-2626
