What is AMATS (Association of Mediation and Transport Services)?

Updated

AMATS is the Association of Mediation and Transport Services, a coalition of transport and mediation service providers that commits its members to ethical excellence and safe practice when moving people into treatment and recovery. It matters most if you are a parent, guardian, or family member trying to arrange safe travel for someone entering care, or a provider deciding whether to join a standards-based association.

What AMATS is

AMATS describes itself as an association whose members ascribe to a standard of ethical excellence and safe practice. Its stated purpose is to "provide a secure pathway for persons in our care as they begin their journey to healing and recovery."

Two words in the name carry the model:

  • Mediation — the coordination and facilitation side of arranging a person's move into treatment.
  • Transport Services — the physical transport of a person to a treatment setting.

AMATS operates as a coalition rather than a single transport company. That distinction shapes what it offers: shared standards and shared resources across member organizations, not one uniform service you book directly.

Who it serves

The mission statement names two groups:

  1. Persons in care — individuals who need to travel safely to treatment and recovery.
  2. Families, parents, and guardians — the people arranging or consenting to that travel, who need an ethical, trustworthy resource.

If you are searching for a way to get someone safely to treatment, AMATS positions itself as a resource for you through its member organizations. If you run a transport or mediation service, AMATS positions itself as a coalition you can join to signal adherence to shared safety and ethics standards.

The three core values

AMATS lists three core values, each with a specific commitment:

Core value What members commit to
Accountability The highest standards of safety, responsibility, and integrity "for the good of the families we serve"
Collaboration Sharing educational opportunities, training tools, legislative updates, and mental health community initiatives through the coalition
Integrity Honesty, transparency, and compassion as foundational qualities, so families, parents, and guardians have an ethical resource

The collaboration value is the most concrete. It describes what membership actually produces: shared training, shared legislative information, and a "cohesive, integrated approach" to helping people travel safely to treatment. That is the practical benefit of a coalition over isolated providers.

How to use this

  • If you are a family member looking for safe transport to treatment, treat AMATS as a starting point for finding member providers who have agreed to its safety and ethics standards — then verify the specific provider's credentials, licensing, and pricing directly, since AMATS's public description does not cover those details.
  • If you are a provider, the core values outline what you would be expected to uphold: accountability for safety, participation in shared training and legislative updates, and transparent, compassionate dealings with families.
  • If you are evaluating the organization, note that its stated focus is narrow and clear — ethical, safe transport into treatment and recovery — rather than general medical transport or logistics.