May 14, 2012, Raleigh, NC
Disability Rights NC is extremely disappointed that Governor Perdue's 2012-2013 budget fails to address the violations of federal disability law identified by the US Department of Justice (US DOJ) in response to a July 2010 complaint by Disability Rights. Without improvements to North Carolina's system to care for people with mental illness in the community, the State is likely to face litigation. Vicki Smith, Executive Director of Disability Rights NC, says, "The Governor failed to lead North Carolina through this crisis. We call on the General Assembly to fund measures to enable people with mental illness to live in their communities and protect the State from the unnecessary expense and turmoil of litigation."

May 11, 2012, Raleigh, NC
Today, Disability Rights NC filed a Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) asking federal officials to investigate the failure of the State of North Carolina to ensure that children placed in private Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) are provided with adequate educational services, including any special education services that children with disabilities are entitled to receive.

Disability Rights NC is a private non-profit organization

Designated by the Governor in 2007 to ensure the rights of all state citizens with disabilities through individual advocacy and system change, Disability Rights NC is part of a national system of federally mandated independent disability agencies. Find out more about Disability Rights North Carolina in the Who We Are Section.

Disability Rights North Carolina helps people across North Carolina gain access to services and opportunity through its legally based advocacy. Find out more about Disability Rights NC in the What We Do Section.

This site also maintains a wealth of links and documents related to disability rights issues in its Resource Center.

Our committed board, advisory council and staff members are among the strongest advocates in the state. We value the dignity of ALL people and their freedom to control their own lives. We work for justice upholding the fundamental rights of people with disabilities to live free from harm in the communities of their choice, with the opportunity to participate fully and equally in society.

Disability Rights North Carolina receives financial support from individuals and private foundations and from training fees and government grants.

It is the goal of Disability Rights North Carolina to ensure that all of its web resources are accessible to all who use this website. The pages reflect this process. If you have a problem accessing content or are having difficulty viewing any file on our website due to accessibility issues, please contact us 888-268-5535 TTY, 877-235-4210, 919-856-2195 for assistance. As this is an ongoing project, we will continue to evaluate and address any issues pertaining to website accessibility which are brought to our attention by users.

Check out our Events Page for information about upcoming DATE trainings and CLE trainings

Map of our Location.

Volunteer for the Board of Directors

Members of the Disability Rights NC Board must collectively reflect the diversity of the state in terms of disability, racial/ethnicity, age and point of view (primary and secondary consumers of service). We have no representation from the Hispanic/Latino community so this will be a priority in the upcoming review process.

The PAIMI Advisory Council is looking for new members - click the link for more information.