Disability Rights Organizations

The National Disability Rights Network, the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection & Advocacy Systems and Client Assistance Programs, provides links to state-based resources.

National Disability Rights Organizations

• Active Minds is a student-run mental health awareness, education, and advocacy organization designed for the college campus
• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
• American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights (CDR)
• The Arc, a national organization advocating for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• The Center for Public Representation seeks to improve the quality of lives of people with mental illness and other disabilities through the systemic enforcement of their legal rights while promoting improvements in services for citizens with disabilities
• The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities— national organizations working for public policy that ensures the independence, empowerment and integration of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society
• The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) promotes improved educational opportunities for children with disabilities
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
• Disability Rights International (DRI) is an international non-governmental advocacy organization dedicated to the recognition and enforcement of the rights of people with mental disabilities.
• NARPA (National Association for Rights Protection & Advocacy), working to protect the rights and enhance the dignity of people with mental health disabilities and people in recovery
• National Center for Youth Law includes full text of articles on a range of legal issues, with links to the center’s cases
• National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency working with the President and the Congress to increase the inclusion, independence and empowerment of all Americans with disabilities
• National Health Law Program (NHeLP) has information on Medicaid and other health programs that serve people with disabilities

Other Mental Health and Disability Organizations

• The Carter Center Mental Health Program
• The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation
• The Connecticut Legal Rights Project 
• Disability.gov 
• Faces and Voices of Recovery
• Families USA
• Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
• Job Accommodation Network
• MacArthur Research Network on Mental Health and the Law at UVA
• Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
• National Council for Behavioral Health
• The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
• SAMHSA—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration home page and its National Mental Health Information page
• The Thomas S. Szasz Cybercenter for Liberty and Responsibility
• UCLA’s Center for Mental Health in Schools