USA - On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the White House issued an order to return to the bad old days of warehousing people with mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities, people with substance abuse disorders, and anyone who has fallen through the cracks of our increasingly crack-ridden society, in jails, psychiatric institutions, and potentially even Federal detainment. 

San Bernardino County, CA - They Treat Us Like Dogs in Cages,” the alarming new report from Disability Rights California’s (DRC) Investigations Unit and Mental Health Practice Group details that people with disabilities are being subjected to abuse and neglect at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in San Bernardino County, CA.

Recently, Disability Rights California (DRC) hosted a virtual town hall to bring the community together and learn about one of the bad bills currently making its way through the legislature, Senate Bill 258, and its terrible implications for Californians. DRC is in total opposition to SB 258 and the other bad bills on mental health and public safety that are currently in process. 

Sacramento, CA - Today, Disability Rights California (DRC) released a report which is the first to examine the Department of State Hospitals’ Early Access and Stabilization Services (EASS) program, a new program providing limited treatment services to individuals in jail who have been found incompetent to stand trial and are awaiting competency restoration services. Over the past three years, the Department of State Hospitals has invested over $500 million to implement the program in nearly every county jail in California and enrolled over 5,000 individuals.

In the face of the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, DRC affirms its continued advocacy for all people with disabilities

Dear Mr. Viviano,

We write to you today from a place of deep concern. Disability Rights California expresses its strong opposition to Children's Hospital Los Angeles’ (CHLA) decision to end gender-affirming care for transgender and non-binary youth in Los Angeles.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States released its decision in United States Of America, Petitioner v. Jonathan Thomas Skrmetti, et al., a case about healthcare and autonomy. Specifically, Skrmetti challenged a blanket ban on hormone therapy for gender-affirming care for youth in Tennessee. The Supreme Court issued a profoundly disappointing ruling by allowing the cruel ban to remain in effect.  

Last month (May 2025) saw the long-dreaded release of the House GOP’s proposed Medicaid cuts, raising alarms and critical questions from many in California and across the country. We broke down what’s going on, what Congress was considering, and why Medicaid cannot be undermined. Then, we hosted a live Q&A to get your questions answered.

California’s legislature is considering cuts to Medi-Cal that would harm disabled people. DRC is advocating to stop these cuts, and we need your help. 

Use this form to send a letter to legislative budget leaders urging them to protect our health care and home- and community-based services: 

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Yesterday, a bill protecting people and organizations that provide support services or life-saving assistance to a person who is experiencing homelessness passed the Senate Floor by a margin of 23-11.

DRC strongly opposes CARE Court because it is based on stigma and stereotypes of people living with mental health disabilities and experiencing homelessness and will disproportionately impact Black Californians, who make up 40% of the unhoused population, only furthering institutional racism. Implementing this new system will harmfully impact individuals with disabilities and particularly Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ communities.

DRC investigated College Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital in Cerritos, CA, after receiving reports of high rates of restraint and seclusion. We inspected all facility areas accessible to residents in College’s DDMI units, which are units where people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) along with a significant mental illness are housed. During our investigation, we interviewed patients and staff and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. We found problems and wrote a report about what we learned. Below you will find more information about our work.

Governor Newsom’s May Revision of the proposed 2025-26 state budget, unveiled late Wednesday morning, presents a dangerous vision for California spending, one that will cause tremendous harm, and one that is deeply unaligned with the real needs and desires of the vast majority of Californians.

To: California Congressional Delegation

Dear California Congressional Delegation,

We are writing to voice Disability Rights California’s opposition to the reconciliation bill that passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, and to ask you to stand up for Californians with disabilities by voting “no” when the bill comes to a vote on the House floor. Medicaid is a life-sustaining benefit for millions of Californians with disabilities, and the provisions in this bill would harm disabled Californians. 

Sacramento, CA — Congress will soon vote on the Budget Reconciliation Bill which will decide on massive cuts to Medicaid. These cuts would be the largest Medicaid cuts in history and, if enacted, the next 10 years would see $715 billion in cuts and 14 million people losing vital health care coverage. This is not just a budget cut, it’s severing a lifeline to millions of Americans. We call on Congress, especially the Congressional Representatives from California to vote No and stop the cuts to Medicaid.

We’d like your input as we review and revise the priorities of our work for 2026. You can tell us what is important by answering the questions below.  If you need help, please call us at (800) 776-5746 and say, “I need help with your survey.”