Disability Rights Oregon

During the year ended september 30, 2023, Disability Rights Oregon incurred program service expenses in the following major categories: children's Rights project: changing education, foster care, and other systems to provide Oregon's children with the academics and support services they need to reach their potential. Efforts include class-action lawsuits on behalf of children and youth in Oregon's broken foster care system and children not receiving fair and appropriate education, legislative advocacy limiting use of seclusion and restraints in schools, and legal counsel for parents and caregivers about special education. When children with disabilities and their families have proper resources early in their lives, they can thrive alongside their peers in classrooms and communities for years to come. Project independence: expanding job opportunities and independent living for people with disabilities. We offer advice and tools to protect and assert constitutional Rights. Supported by our free-of-charge legal advocacy services, people with disabilities access programs authorized under the rehabilitation act, vocational rehabilitation, assistive technology, independent living, supported employment, and similar services in Oregon. We also work to promote equal access to vaccinations, investigate small institutions and group homes where people with intellectual or developmental disabilities live, promote accessible housing, and advocate for the Rights of people with disabilities when seeking healthcare, behavioral health, and related services. Crime survivor project: promoting empowerment and justice for crime survivors even if the crime has not been reported. People with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of crime compared to others. We support crime survivors with disabilities by explaining survivor Rights, providing free-of-charge legal advocacy services, and helping individuals navigate the criminal justice system. Our services include helping survivors write victim impact statements, accompanying clients to court, advocating for investigations, and filing legal documents. We also help secure protection orders, advocate for reasonable accommodations, and enforce survivor Rights in housing, employment, and school. Financial protection & empowerment program: people with disabilities should live free of financial exploitation and should experience economic empowerment. We provide independent oversight of social security's representative payee program to protect people with disabilities from financial abuse while also helping social security beneficiaries explore employment and achieve economic independence. In collaboration with the social security administration, we help representative payees understand their obligations to the person they serve, review financial records, and identify and report cases where funds are being improperly used or stolen. We offer guidance for people with disabilities who receive social security benefits and are working -- or wish to -- in Oregon and southwestern Washington state. Guardianship and alternatives: everyone should be able to live with as much autonomy and freedom as possible. We represent people with disabilities facing guardianship or conservatorship in Oregon to ensure their Rights are upheld. We also offer information statewide about alternatives to guardianship, including declaration for mental health treatment, advanced health care directive, power of attorney, supported decision-making, and family and community support. Mental health Rights project: people with mental illness deserve access to the support and services they need to thrive in our communities, and no person should be abused or neglected in a state institution. We combat the criminalization of mental illness and provide free-of-charge legal advocacy services to people with mental health disabilities. We are committed to understanding and addressing the unique challenges faced by different communities, and our work includes advocacy for community behavioral health resources, litigation seeking restoration treatment when people are unable to aid and assist in their defense, direct representation of people facing civil commitment in multnomah county, and investigations into systems negatively impacting people with mental illness such as jails, prisons, and emergency rooms. Voting accessibility: lifting barriers to voting for oregonians with disabilities. Like all americans, people with disabilities have the right to cast a private and independent ballot, yet they vote at a lower rate than others. We provide voter registration information and publish the fully accessible easy voting guide in print and online to promote voting access and participation in Oregon's electoral process.