Disability Rights Nebraska offers a comprehensive program that includes legal advocacy, relationship-based advocacy, systems advocacy, public policy analysis, education, and other support services for people with disabilities. This program is designed to protect their rights, enhance their dignity, and promote their full participation as citizens, respecting their unique cultures. Among the P&A programs in the nation, Disability Rights Nebraska is one of the few that has such a broad range of advocacy activities, as many others focus primarily on litigation.
Areas of Focus:
Citizen Advocacy provides local communities with a powerful way to protect individuals with disabilities who may be at risk of abuse or neglect. Independent, community-based Citizen Advocacy offices facilitate one-to-one matches between ordinary citizens and vulnerable individuals with disabilities, fostering relationships that offer support, protection, and advocacy.
Disability Rights Nebraska equips individuals with disabilities, their families, and allies with the tools they need to advocate for themselves. Through information, education, and referral resources, we empower people to take charge of their own advocacy. We are committed to fostering strong, stable organizations that are led by individuals with disabilities, encouraging them to shape their own futures and inspire others to do the same.
Inclusive Education Lay Advocacy Program
The Inclusive Education Lay Advocacy Program was launched to engage interested people in lay advocacy for students with disabilities and their families. Through education and training provided by the Inclusive Education Lay Advocacy Program, advocates have become equipped with the tools necessary to thoroughly understand educational information and legal rights.
We believe a vote is one of the most powerful self-advocacy tools for individuals with disabilities. We also know that people with disabilities are often deterred -- or even prevented -- from voting for several different reasons.
Seclusion & Restraint in Nebraska
The use of seclusion and restraint in schools across the U.S. has been a pressing issue for years. In response, Disability Rights Nebraska published At Risk with Only Guidance for Protection in 2014, a report that examines the use of seclusion and restraint on students in Nebraska and advocates for stronger protections.
We work to push public policy breakthroughs by:
- Developing testimony for high-priority bills
- Collaborating with other advocacy organizations
- Serving as a resource for fellow advocates
- Offering informational presentations and training sessions
Disability Rights Nebraska offers:
- Individual advocacy, including investigation of abuse and neglect allegations or direct legal representation, within selected priority areas to ensure that the rights of citizens with disabilities are not being violated;
- Advice on legal rights and remedies;
- Information about disability rights and services and referral to other agencies serving people with disabilities.
Olmstead v. L.C., a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case based on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), established that states must provide services to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. This ruling emphasized the right to community-based care over institutionalization whenever possible.
Sheltered Workshops and Subminimum Wage
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 introduced the minimum wage to protect workers. However, Section 14(c) of the Act created an exemption allowing certain individuals, particularly those with disabilities, to be paid less than the minimum wage. This has raised ongoing concerns about fair wages for people with disabilities.
