Update – November 19, 2025:
Loss of NC IOLTA funding forced DRNC to reduce our staff, and our future funding remains uncertain. Even with these challenges, we have decided to move forward and take a limited number of new cases for legal representation. We must be selective about the cases we can accept, and our response times may be slower than usual.
DRNC is still here to help. If we are not able to take your case, we will continue to provide information, resources, referrals, and self-advocacy tools – the kind of support many people rely on from us every day. These services remain free and available statewide.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this difficult period, and remain committed to protecting the rights of people with disabilities across North Carolina.
Funding cuts and the federal shutdown are reducing DRNC’s ability to protect the rights of North Carolinians with disabilities. Learn how we’re adapting, what’s at risk, and how you can help us keep fighting for disability rights.
In This Together NC
At Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC), we work hard every day to improve the lives and protect the rights of people with disabilities – at no cost to the people we help. But right now, devastating funding cuts have forced painful reductions in our services at the very moment North Carolinians with disabilities need us most.
The loss of North Carolina’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) funding stripped critical resources from civil legal aid providers across the state, including DRNC.
What this means for DRNC – and the community we serve – is fewer staff and fewer hours to help those who need our services. The impact is severe: we’ve had to make the difficult decision to lay off six talented team members (more than 10 percent of our workforce) and reduce hours across the agency. These measures include cutting our intake services by 20 percent, meaning fewer hours of staff availability and fewer people we can help directly.
We have also made the necessary but temporary decision to stop accepting new requests for legal representation until further notice. We are frustrated and disappointed to make this decision, but it’s necessary to honor our commitment to our existing clients and keep working for systemic change.
Now, with the federal government shutdown halting appropriations, our federal funding for FY26 – which began October 1 – is uncertain. This adds to the instability created by the IOLTA loss and leaves our future funding in doubt.
The impact on our disability community is especially profound. DRNC’s specialized work – focused squarely on disability rights – is not duplicated by any other legal aid providers in NC. Without these resources, some of the most vulnerable children and families in our state are at risk of losing the protections they deserve.
Even in this challenging moment, our commitment remains unwavering. We will still provide individual support through information, tools and referrals. We offer a robust self-advocacy resource library, and will continue conducting advocacy work, investigations, and monitoring.
We are not stepping back – we are staying strategic.
We are In This Together NC because we refuse to give up. We will keep fighting for the rights of people with disabilities across our state. But we cannot do it alone. We need you to be in this together with us.
Will you please support DRNC with a donation today? Without your help, people with disabilities risk losing access to the legal advocacy that protects their safety, stability, and basic rights.