Thanks to the generous support of our donors, Disability Rights Advocates is pleased to make available on our website and in our offices the work of artists from the National Institute of Art & Disabilities (NIAD). NIAD provides an art program that promotes creativity, independence, dignity, and community integration for people with developmental and other disabilities.
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) engages in multi-pronged strategies to achieve systemic change for people with disabilities. Some of these strategies include direct negotiations, education and regulatory advocacy. DRA pursues these efforts as part of organized projects to achieve systemic improvements outside of traditional litigation.
DRA is working with GGNRA on a plan to address barriers to access and enjoyment of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) by people with mobility and sensory disabilities. Learn More about the GGNRA Project.
To address the numerous barriers to quality health care and insurance that people with disabilities face everyday, DRA created the Health Access Project. We work to remove access barriers through litigation, research and public education, leading the way in protecting the right to access health care for people with disabilities. Learn more about the Health Access Project
In 2004, DRA initiated a telecommunications project focused on representing the needs of people with disabilities before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Major changes in telecommunications are affecting people with disabilities; however until DRA initiated this project, there was no entity regularly representing their interests before one of California's most powerful regulatory agencies. Learn more about the Telecommunication Project
Education is key to overcoming many of the barriers that people with disabilities face. Unfortunately, education itself has been a major obstacle due to access barriers. DRA challenges the barriers at all levels from K-12 to college and graduate studies. DRA's work seeks to remove physical barriers in school facilities, modifications of discriminatory policies and entrance and exit exams and other high stakes exams accessible. Learn more about the Access to Education Project.
Disability Rights Advocates has been at the forefront of technology access. Our Target case has set a precedent in the law governing e-commerce. DRA is committed to challenging technological barriers that deny people with disabilities equal access. Learn more about the Access to Technology Project.
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), Neighborhood Legal Services, Western Center on Law & Poverty, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP represent a coalition of low-income individuals, healthcare clinics, and disability support centers who have filed a lawsuit to challenge the Governor’s cuts using his line-item veto authority. The Governor’s line-item vetoes drastically reduce social services and threaten a devastating impact on sick and disabled individuals and domestic violence survivors, among many others.
DRA is collecting stories from those who have experienced the effects of the Governor's budget cuts. These stories will be shared with the public and decision makers to help them understand what the Governor's cuts mean to the lives of people who depend on these vital services. Learn more about the Unite to Protect the Safety Net Project.
DRA has launched an Emergency Preparation Project with the goal of systemically improving emergency preparation plans for people with disabilities across California. The concept is to create a universal plan, leading to a smarter, more comprehensive, more responsive system overall. Learn more about the Emergency Preparation Project.
