USA – globaldisabilityrightsnow

Focus Countries

Individuals with Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System

A number of organizations and institutions in the United States have recognized that people with “invisible disabilities,” such as developmental or mental health disabilities, often face particular barriers when they encounter the criminal justice system. For example, a position statement published by The Arc of the United States says, “People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities… Continue reading Individuals with Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System

Inclusive Communities for All

Changing Our Stories: How One Couple Left an Institution

Developing a Certification Process for Sign Language Interpreters

Interpreter legislation in the United States is determined mostly at the state level and can vary greatly among the country’s fifty states. Perhaps the one national regulation is that court interpreters must meet standards established by the United States courts. Here are a few actions you can take to ensure that people who are Deaf will have access to… Continue reading Developing a Certification Process for Sign Language Interpreters

Legal Aid in the United States

Legal Aid in the United States The purpose of legal aid is to provide free legal services to low income Americans. Civil legal aid helps ensure fairness in the justice system, regardless of how much money one has. Equal justice under law is a fundamental American value. In the United States, legal aid is primarily… Continue reading Legal Aid in the United States

Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973

What is Section 508? Section 508 is an amendment to the Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1998. Section 508 requires that U.S. federal departments and agencies to develop, procure, maintain, or use only electronic and information technology (“EIT”) that is accessible for people with disabilities, unless doing… Continue reading Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Using the Inter-American Human Rights System

Introduction Indigenous women and girls with disabilities face marginalization, discrimination, and exclusion on the basis of their indigenous identity, their gender, and their disability status. Protecting their human rights may require both domestic advocacy (within your country) and also regional or international advocacy. In North, Central, and South America, indigenous women with disabilities can use… Continue reading Using the Inter-American Human Rights System

Six Recommended Monitoring Tools

Items 1 – 3 below provide resources for monitoring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They can be used as an illustrative guide and adapted for use in other countries to monitor national disability laws and policies. Items 4 – 6 are specific to monitoring implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights… Continue reading Six Recommended Monitoring Tools

Parent Empowerment

Introduction Parent participation in the education of children with disabilities is a core concept of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the U.S. civil rights law that requires schools to meet the educational needs of children with disabilities. IDEA recognizes that family involvement has a profound influence on how children do in school and… Continue reading Parent Empowerment

Economic Support in the U.S.

Federal economic support and benefit laws based on disability vary from monetary social security disability income and Medicare healthcare benefits (both of which require individuals to initially qualify by paying into the system for many years through employment wage deductions), to supplemental security income and Medicaid healthcare benefits that are primarily applied for on the… Continue reading Economic Support in the U.S.