Los Angeles County is illegally holding hundreds of people on mental health conservatorships in jail and costly psychiatric facilities because it has failed to create sufficient community placements, instead concentrating on building more locked facilities, at great expense.

The Veterans Affairs Police Department (VAPD) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of the ten largest federal administrative law enforcement agencies in the country.

Disability Rights California (DRC) recently learned through media reports that Sacramento County is housing foster youth at the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center (“WET Center”), an unlicensed juvenile facility formerly operated by Sacramento County Probation. In response, DRC’s Investigations Unit opened an investigation into the facility and conducted an unannounced site inspection on April 17, 2023.

In September 2018, Governor Brown signed AB 2657, a DRC-sponsored bill that created new protections for California students against dangerous forms of restraint and seclusion. AB 2657 also restored restraint and seclusion data collection and reporting requirements beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.

Disability Rights California (DRC) recently learned through media reports that Sacramento County is housing foster youth at the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center (“WET Center”), an unlicensed juvenile facility formerly operated by Sacramento County Probation. In response, DRC’s Investigations Unit opened an investigation into the facility and conducted an unannounced site inspection on April 17, 2023.

This policy brief makes the case for community-led solutions to address longstanding racial and ethnic disparities in California’s regional center system and offers four key strategies to make the system more equitable for disabled people of color.

The brief includes an overview of immigrant detention in California, a survey from detained individuals across multiple facilities, and policy recommendations for California officials.

Disability Rights California (DRC) releases a new report, “Evaluation of Limitations of Subminimum Wage Employment Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.”

This report shines a much-needed light on the inadequate conditions of Otay Mesa Detention Center (“Otay Mesa”), located in San Diego, California after, a year-long investigation.

DRC’s report shines a much-needed light on the current practice of inadequate supervision and standards that lead to increased risk of death or injury from restraint chair use.

The number of unaccompanied immigrant children in United States custody is at an all-time high, surpassing 14,000 as of November 2018. These children are placed into the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services.

California has a responsibility to its children, to ensure they are protected from abuse, treated with dignity, and attend safe schools. We must do more to protect them and bring California in line with federal recommendations and best practices as outlined in this report.

DRC has investigated conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. DRC looked at the treatment of immigration detainees with mental health needs and other disabilities. We toured the facility, talked to detainees and staff, and reviewed records. We found problems and wrote a report about what we learned. Below you will find more information about our work.