Who is Carolina Legal Assistance?
Carolina Legal Assistance is an established non-profit organization that is well positioned to assume the responsibility of serving as the state's Protection and Advocacy system. CLA has an experienced Board and staff and the organization enjoys the respect of the disability community, the legal community and government policy makers. CLA has advocated continuously for people with mental disabilities in North Carolina since its inception in 1978. Starting out as a "special client program" within Legal Services of North Carolina, CLA expanded from providing civil legal assistance to patients at Dorothea Dix Hospital to serving people with mental illness and developmental disabilities statewide. With the designation as P&A, CLA has expanded its services to all people with disabilities consistent with the federal mandates.
What services does CLA provide?
What kind of legal services does CLA handle?
Carolina Legal Assistance provides very specialized legal assistance. Our current priorities are cases with potential for systemic change and include: special education; community integration including public accommodations, housing, access to services and limited employment issues; and juvenile justice. CLA also investigates allegations of abuse, neglect and other issues related to rights violations in multi-bed facilities.
P&A is an acronym for 'protection and advocacy system'. It is a federally mandated system that exists in every state and territory and one Native American consortium. P&As provide legally based services through the protection of rights and advocacy for appropriate services for individuals with disabilities. P&As have seven different federally funded programs each with a specific focus.
There are seven federal programs in the P&A.
The Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) Program was created by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights (DD) Act of 1975. P&As are required by the Act to pursue legal, administrative and other appropriate remedies to protect and advocates for the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities under all applicable federal and state laws.
Under the DD Act, the governor in each state designated an agency to be the P&A system, and provided assurance that the system was and would remain independent of any service provider. The Administration for Children Youth and Families, Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) administers the PADD program.
The Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program was established in 1986. Each state has a PAIMI program, which receives funding from the National Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). P&As are mandated to (1) protect and advocate for the rights of people with mental illness and (2) investigate reports of abuse and neglect in facilities that care for or treat individuals with mental illness. P&As are required to give priority to representing persons with mental illness who live in treatment facilities. The system designated to serve as the PADD program in each state and territory is also responsible for operating the PAIMI program.
Within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) administers the PAIMI program.
The Protection and Advocacy for Voter Accessibility (PAVA) was established in 2002 as part of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Each P&A is charged with removing barriers to voting for people with disabilities. The Administration for Children Youth and Families, Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) administers the PAVA program.
The Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR) Program was established by Congress in 1993 as a national program under the Rehabilitation Act. PAIR programs were established to protect and advocate for the legal and human rights of persons who have disabilities as defined under the ADA. The system designated to serve as the PADD program in each state and territory is also responsible for operating the PAIR program. The Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) administers PAIR.
The Protection & Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT) Program was created in 1994 when Congress expanded the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (Tech Act) to include funding for P&As to assist individuals with disabilities in accessing technology devices and assistive technology services through case management, legal representation and self advocacy training. The Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) administers PAAT.
The Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Program was created in 2000 when Congress passed the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act (TWWIIA). The purpose of this program is to provide advocacy services to individuals with disabilities who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to secure or return to gainful employment. The Division of Employment Policy of the Social Security Administration, the Office of Employment Support Programs (OESP), administers PABSS.
The Protection and Advocacy for Traumatic Brain Injury Program was created in 2002 when Congress authorized a state grant program to improve access to health care and other services for individuals with TBI. The grants support P & A agencies, which provide information and referral services to people with disabilities and help them find solutions to problems involving discrimination and employment, education, health care and transportation, personal decision-making and overall quality of life. The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration administers the PATBI through its Division of Child, Adolescent and Family Health.
What kinds of things can a P&A do?
The P&A provides advocacy services to citizens of North Carolina who have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits at least one major life activity and who falls within the agency's priorities and case selection criteria as set by the board each year. The P&A can serve individuals with a wide range of disabilities - including, but not limited to, those with cognitive, mental, sensory, and physical disabilities - by guarding against abuse; advocating for basic rights; and ensuring accountability in health care, education, employment, housing, transportation, and within the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The P&A must maintain a presence in facilities that care for people with disabilities, where they monitor, investigate and attempt to remedy adverse conditions.
In addition, after receiving public comment P&As develop priorities and establish what activities of the agency will be for the coming year. Priorities must insure that the most vulnerable populations or those with complex advocacy needs are served before less vulnerable populations. P&As must reach out to unserved or underserved populations. The need to prioritize is necessary as the demand for representation will exceed the resources of the P&A system. However, the P&A must offer information and referral to any callers with questions about disability related issues.
Do we have to have a P&A in NC?
Protection and advocacy systems (P&A) are federally mandated. For a state to receive federal dollars to fund the Developmental Disabilities Council, it must have a P&A.
On March 15, 2007 Governor Michael F. Easley gave notice of his intent to redesignate the responsibility for provision of federally mandated protection and advocacy services (P&A) from the North Carolina's Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities (GACPD) to Carolina Legal Assistance (CLA). On July 2, 2007, that redesignation was effective. GACPD programs and activities were assumed by Carolina Legal Assistance and the central staff from both CLA and GACPD moved to a new location in Raleigh NC.
I was a client of GACPD. What will happen to me?
All existing GACPD clients with active, open cases have been transferred to CLA. All phone numbers have been transferred and are being answered at CLA as well. There will be no disruption of service.
Will CLA still have the same mission and objectives as GACPD did?
The mission statement of GACPD was to work with and for people with disabilities to protect and advance their rights, their dignity, and their opportunity to make choices. Carolina Legal Assistance's mission covers this and goes further. It provides protection and advocacy but also provides legal assistance to people with disabilities.
Redesignation is moving federally mandated protection and advocacy services from one organization to another. P&A services are still being provided in North Carolina but by a different agency than before.
Why did the Governor make this change?
Governor Easley's decision to redesignate was based on the recommendations of the governing board of GACPD that P&A services could be provided more efficiently and effectively in an agency independent from the executive branch of state government.
The intent of the Governor's redesignation is to address the expressed desire of the disability community that North Carolina has a protection and advocacy system which is able to provide the full range of mandated advocacy services and the independence necessary to properly carry out these responsibilities.
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