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The
Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRC),
formerly Kansas Advocacy & Protective Services
(KAPS), is a public interest legal advocacy
agency empowered by federal law to advocate for
the civil and legal rights of Kansans with
disabilities. DRC is the Official Protection and
Advocacy System for Kansas and is a part of the
national network of federally mandated and
funded protection and advocacy systems. As such,
DRC advocates for the rights of Kansans with
disabilities under state or federal laws (ADA,
the Rehabilitation Act, Federal Medicaid Act,
Kansas Act Against Discrimination, etc.)
DRC is also empowered by
federal law to educate policymakers on needed
improvements to the law and public policy.
DRC is a private,
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, independent of
both state government and disability service
providers, allowing DRC to focus on the
disability rights needs of Kansans with
disabilities.
DRC operates eight
federally authorized and funded protection and
advocacy programs in Kansas. DRC is also granted
certain powers under federal law, including
access to places where persons with disabilities
are served, their records, the ability to
conduct abuse, neglect, and exploitation
investigations, etc.
Who is Eligible for DRC Disability Rights Advocacy?
Types of Cases DRC May Accept for Legal Representation or Advocacy.
What disability rights advocacy
does DRC provide?
How does DRC decide if they will
take my case?
Examples of Legal Representation and Advocacy that DRC Does Not
Provide
DRC’s Outreach and Education Priority
Who
is Eligible for DRC Disability Rights Advocacy?
Almost every Kansan with a disability rights issue is eligible
for some type of disability rights advocacy (Legal
Representation, Advocacy, Self-Advocacy, or Information and
Referral). Some laws and policies limit DRC’s services to
individuals that meet disability guidelines or specific needs.
If we can’t help you, we will try to find someone who can.
DRC provides disability rights advocacy for the civil and legal
rights of Kansans with disabilities, including:
Kansans with Developmental Disabilities.
Kansans with Mental Illness.
Kansans with Traumatic Brain Injury.
Kansans with disabilities who need access to Assistive
Technology.
Kansans who are recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
or beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
who experience disability rights barriers to employment.
Kansans with disabilities who need advocacy in order to exercise
their right to vote under the Help America Vote Act.
Kansans with other permanent disabilities, whose disability was
not caused by the aging process.
Kansans who are applicants or consumers of services funded by
the Rehabilitation Act (Vocational Rehabilitation (VR),
Independent Living Centers, etc.)
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Types
of Cases DRC May Accept for Legal Representation or Advocacy.
Priority 1: Serious Abuse, Neglect or
Exploitation: DRC will provide advocacy,
including investigations and monitoring, for the
disability rights of Kansans who are at risk of,
or have experienced serious abuse, neglect or
exploitation.
Priority 2: Community Services & Health Care:
DRC will provide advocacy for the disability
rights of Kansans to access health care and
community-based services and supports, including
Medicaid, Medicare, mental health services,
long-term care, and home and community-based
services.
Priority 3: Employment: DRC will provide
advocacy for the disability rights of Kansans
who are experiencing barriers to employment.
Priority 4: Community Integration: DRC will
provide advocacy for the disability rights of
Kansans residing in institutions, and other
restrictive settings, to assert their right to
access appropriate services and supports in the
most integrated setting.
Priority 5: Accessibility: DRC will provide
advocacy for the disability rights of Kansans to
remove physical and program barriers to an
accessible society by protecting their rights
under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act),
the Rehabilitation Act and other applicable
disability rights laws.
Priority 6: Special Education : DRC will provide
advocacy for Kansas students to enforce their
right to special education and related services
in the least restrictive environment and protect
against inappropriate discipline involving
behavior, which is a manifestation of the
student’s disability.
Priority 7: Fair Housing: DRC will provide
advocacy for the disability rights of Kansans
whose rights to housing have been violated under
the Fair Housing Amendments Act, Rehabilitation
Act or other applicable disability housing laws.
Priority 8: Guardians & Other Legal Decision
Makers: DRC will provide advocacy for the
disability rights of Kansans to pursue
alternatives to guardianship/conservatorship, to
end guardianship/conservatorship when it is no
longer necessary, to change
guardians/conservators in cases of abuse or
neglect, or to hold other legal decision makers
(representative payees, trustees, etc.)
accountable for violating the rights of the
person with a disability.
Priority 9: Rehabilitation Act: DRC will
provide advocacy for the disability rights of
Kansans to access services under the federal
Rehabilitation Act (Vocational Rehabilitation
Services, Independent Living, etc.)
Priority 10: Assistive Technology : DRC will
provide advocacy for the disability rights of
Kansans to acquire or maintain assistive
technology (AT) devices or services that empower
them to be successful in employment, education,
community life and independent living.
Priority 11: Voting Rights: DRC will provide
advocacy for the disability rights of Kansans to
register to vote or cast a ballot, including
limited administrative appeals under the Help
America Vote Act (HAVA).
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What
disability rights advocacy does DRC provide?
Intake and Assessment - DRC will provide an
intake and assessment to determine what type of
advocacy we can provide to you (legal
representation, advocacy, technical assistance,
or information and referral).
Legal Representation – A
DRC attorney may represent Kansans with
disabilities whose rights have been violated
under state or federal law (ADA, Section 504,
Medicaid Act, Fair Housing Act, etc.). and their
issue fits within DRC’s priorities, scope,
capacity, etc.
Advocacy Representation –
Non-legal representation where a DRC advocate
works with and on behalf of the consumer in
their disability rights needs.
Self Advocacy – Providing
assistance and support to help Kansans with
disabilities advocate for themselves in their
disability rights issues.
Information and Referral –
Connecting Kansans with disabilities with others
who might be better suited to address their
issues (when the needs of the consumer do not
fit within DRC’s priorities, scope, capacity,
etc.).
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How
does DRC decide if they will take my case?
DRC provides legal and
advocacy representation to Kansans with
disabilities. Because the disability rights
representation needs of Kansans with
disabilities are virtually unlimited, but DRC’s
funds are very limited, these are the main
factors we examine when deciding whether we can
provide representation:
1) You must be a qualifying person with a
disability and you must have a disability rights
issue (your rights as a person with a disability
under state or federal law have been violated –
the ADA, Section 504, etc.).
2) DRC must have funding and staff time
available to properly serve your advocacy needs.
3) Your advocacy or legal representation needs
must fall within our Advocacy Priorities. A
summary of our Priorities is in this document.
4) What are the facts? What is the law?
Because of DRC’s limited resources, we focus on
cases where both the facts of the case and the
law involved are favorable, in order to increase
DRC’s ability to have a positive impact with
your issue.
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Examples of Legal Representation and Advocacy that DRC Does NOT
Provide
Workers
Compensation cases
Estate planning
Social Security eligibility or appeals
Criminal representation
Divorce cases
Will drafting
Child custody or Child In Need Of Care cases
Civil representation that does not relate to the
legal or civil rights of an individual with a
disability
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DRC’s Outreach and Education Priority
Priority 12: Education & Outreach for the Public
and Policymakers: DRC will outreach to and
educate the public and policymakers on
disability issues in order to improve services
in the most integrated setting as well as
protect, advance and enhance the rights of
Kansans with disabilities. [NOTE: This is NOT a
priority for legal or advocacy cases].
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