People with disabilities have a great need for legal assistance. Because DRNC does not have nearly enough funding to address every disability-related legal matter in North Carolina, we work with the disability community to identify the legal problems that are the most pressing, widespread, or that no one else is equipped to handle. We develop Advocacy Targets, or scope of work, to respond to the tremendous demand on our resources and inform the public where we are focusing our work.
DRNC’s core advocacy activities are listed at the end of this document.
DRNC seeks private grants to increase our advocacy for disabled people. This work is defined in our project proposals and is not subject to public comments.
DRNC’s *PROPOSED* Advocacy Targets for Fiscal Year 2026
- Advocate for students with disabilities to receive free appropriate public education (FAPE)
- Advocate for people with disabilities to have opportunities to obtain and maintain integrated jobs that pay at least minimum wage
- Advocate for people with disabilities to have opportunities to benefit from community places, programs, and services
- Reduce unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with disabilities and improve access to home and community-based services and supports (HCBS)
- Protect the housing rights of people with disabilities
- Advocate for a safe, equitable and just criminal legal system for people with disabilities
- Advocate for people with disabilities to control their own lives
DRNC’s Work Outside the Advocacy Targets
Monitoring and Investigations
DRNC has the authority and responsibility to monitor places where people with disabilities live or receive services to find and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. We conduct investigations to ensure disabled people are not harmed or neglected. This work is vital to our mission.
Sometimes we focus on specific issues, like making sure schools support students with disabilities properly and do not use inappropriate restraint and seclusion or looking into how children are cared for in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs). By shifting our focus based on community complaints, reports, and changing laws or policies, DRNC can address current problems, prevent new ones, and improve disability services.
With our available resources, DRNC will
- Visit different types of facilities, speak with residents/students and staff, and determine if these places are safe and following legal standards
- Investigate deaths and complaints of abuse, neglect, or rights violations in facilities
- Find individuals who can and want to live in the community with support and help them transition safely to the community with the right services
- Advocate for reforms to improve quality of care and protect the rights of disabled people in facilities
Outreach
DRNC’s outreach work involves connecting with disabled people, organizations, communities, and other interested groups. We aim to raise awareness about our services, educate people about disability rights, and help individuals access the resources and support they need to live independently in the communities they choose.
We focus on reaching all 100 counties in North Carolina, especially areas where people may not have easy access to services. DRNC’s outreach efforts gather input from disabled people across the state to guide our advocacy work and priorities.
DRNC also reaches out to and assists people with disabilities who have been affected by natural disasters or public health emergencies.
Voting Rights
People with disabilities still vote at lower rates than those without disabilities. This happens because of structural and procedural barriers, and because policymakers, election boards, political parties, funders, voter engagement advocates, and volunteers often overlook the needs of disabled voters.
DRNC works to improve voting rights by making sure groups working on voter engagement and mobilization consider the needs of voters with disabilities and make their efforts accessible. We work to remove obstacles to voting, identify and address barriers at polling sites, and offer non-partisan information about voting to people with disabilities.
Information, Referral and Self-Advocacy Support
Another important part of the work we do at DRNC is to support self-advocacy among people with disabilities. We continually offer information and referral services, conduct outreach and education, and provide self-advocacy materials to help people with disabilities and other advocates learn about and enforce disability rights.
Public Policy Advocacy
DRNC works to ensure that the perspectives of people with disabilities are considered in North Carolina’s laws, rules, policies, and procedures. We engage in public policy advocacy with funds from individual donors to support our work.
Representative Payee Reviews
DRNC conducts reviews to ensure that disabled people who have a representative payee managing their Social Security benefits are not abused, neglected, or exploited. Our representative payee reviews include
- An interview with the individual or organizational representative payee
- A review of the representative payee’s financial records for the requested beneficiary or sample of beneficiaries served
- A home visit and interview for each beneficiary included in the review
- An interview with legal guardians and third parties when applicable
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