Table of Contents
The Protection and Advocacy Agency for People with Disabilities in Texas
Many people with disabilities find their biggest challenges have little to do with the actual mental or physical disabilities they live with every day. Too often, they face the obstacles of discrimination, ignorance and negative stereotypes about what people with disabilities can — or cannot — do.
Disability Rights Texas exists to help people break through these barriers to achieve their personal goals and dreams.
Advancing Your Legal Rights
In the 1970s, in response to reports of widespread abuse and neglect at state institutions, Congress passed numerous laws to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. Congress also created a national network of protection and advocacy organizations to secure and advance the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Disability Rights Texas is the federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities in Texas. Our mission is to help people with disabilities understand and exercise their rights under the law, ensuring their full and equal participation in society.
Disability Rights Texas attorneys and advocates fulfill our mission in the following ways:
- Provide direct legal assistance to people with disabilities whose rights are threatened or violated
- Protect the rights of individuals and groups of people with disabilities through the courts and justice system
- Advocate for laws and public policies that protect and advance the rights of people with disabilities
- Inform people with disabilities and family members about their rights; make referrals to appropriate programs and services
Advocating on Your Behalf
Disability Rights Texas protects and advances the legal, human and service rights of Texans with a broad range of disabilities including:
- Adult onset disabilities and chronic health conditions
- Autism
- Developmental disabilities
- Emotional impairments
- Intellectual disabilities
- Learning disabilities
- Mental illnesses
- Physical disabilities
- Sensory disabilities, such as blindness or deafness
- Traumatic brain injuries
Service Priorities
Due to limited staff and financial resources, the scope of our work is focused on the following priority areas:
- Accessibility
- Community Living
- Education
- Employment
- Health Care
- Housing
- Protection and Civil Rights
- Transportation
- Voting Rights
Our service priorities are re-established every four years and reviewed annually by the Board of Directors. Because we cannot respond to all protection and advocacy needs within the state, the priority setting process helps us determine which issues and groups have the greatest need — so that our limited resources can be put to the best use.
For more information on the scope of our services, visit the Disability Rights Texas website at: www.DRTX.org.
Getting Help
Disability Rights Texas is the federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities in Texas.
Because our agency is funded by the U.S. government and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, our attorneys and advocates often can help protect and advance the rights of individuals with disabilities at no charge to our clients.
When you call our statewide intake line during our regular business hours, you can talk directly with a member of our staff, who will ask you several questions about yourself and the problem you are facing.
Once we understand the issue at hand, we will either provide the information you need or refer you to another agency, or we will assign your case to a Disability Rights Texas staff member for more thorough review and assistance.
How to Contact Us
- Statewide Intake Line for New Clients: 1-800-252-9108
- Online Intake Available 24/7 at: intake.DRTx.org
- Toll-Free Line for Current Clients: 1-800-315-3876
- Statewide Videophone: 1-866-362-2851
Locations
- Headquarters: (512) 454-4816
- Central Texas Regional Office: (512) 454-4816
- East Texas Regional Office: (713) 974-7691
- El Paso Regional Office: (915) 542-0585
- North Texas Regional Office: (214) 630-0916
- South Texas Regional Office: (210) 737-0499
- West Texas Regional Office: (806) 765-7794