About Us

We each deserve to shape our own lives — free from discrimination, abuse, or neglect. As the Americans with Disabilities Act puts it, “physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society.”

That’s what Disability Justice is all about.

Our Story

Our story begins in 1974, when a group of parents first made themselves heard. Their demand: better educational opportunities for their children, who were housed at the Wheat Ridge State Home and Training School.

Seven years later, the parents won. In a landmark decision, a federal court ruled that children with severe disabilities living in state institutions have the right to a free, appropriate education in public schools.  

Representing the parents: a team of attorneys from the Center for Legal Advocacy. The center, founded in 1976, had been designated as Colorado’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) organization.

Disability Justice has taken on several names since then, including Disability Law Colorado and The Legal Center for People with Disabilities. But our mission remains the same: “to secure, protect, and advance the human, civil, and legal rights” of Coloradans with disabilities.

 

Our Work

How do we fulfill that mission?

  • We educate Coloradans about their legal rights and responsibilities.
  • We offer information, referrals, and self-advocacy training.
  • We monitor schools, jails, prison, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, group homes — anywhere that someone with a disability might be mistreated.
  • We open investigations, identify potential violations, and push for remedies.
  • We issue public reports when internal efforts fall short. 
  • We draft legislation and advise policymakers on the consequences of their proposals.
  • We partner with other firms and organizations to pursue class-action work.
  • In rare circumstances, we provide individual legal representation.

Federal Programs

Congress created the first P&A program — Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Development Disabilities (PADD) — in 1975. The law authorizes us to investigate abuse and neglect by accessing facilities, interviewing individuals, and reviewing records. 

Eight more federal programs followed:

  • Client Assistance Program (CAP), which helps people with disabilities get vocational rehabilitation and independent living services 
  • Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI)
  • Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR), which serves people with disabilities who are ineligible for PADD or PAIMI
  • Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT)
  • Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABBS), which helps people with disabilities overcome barriers to work
  • Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI)
  • Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA)
  • Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries with Representative Payees (PABRP), which protects Social Security beneficiaries from the misuse of their funds 
Organized activities to raise funds for a cause, involving donors, sponsors, and participants to support charitable goals.

Justice for All

For 50 years, Disability Justice has led the fight for dignity and inclusion. But those rights are under attack — and we can’t count on the federal government to protect them.

That’s where you come in.

With your support, we’ll keep fighting to deliver justice for all. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.

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