Since 1978, Disability Rights California (DRC) has advocated for reducing and eliminating the use of physical restraints on people with disabilities. Through our legislative and public policy efforts, DRC has advanced strict restraint standards in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and other settings. At the same time, DRC has advocated for people with disabilities to be provided with up-to-date community-based treatment services in locations closest to their natural supports and service providers. Given the proper support and opportunity, nearly all people with disabilities can live in a community setting.

This report will focus on the issues facing tenants housed in independent living homes (ILH), and in particular, the relationship between tenants, the ILH industry, and service providers. It is a distillation of experiences and lessons learned over 13 years of Disability Rights California’s investigations and advocacy focused on the ILH industry and affected communities.

Federal and state laws support the right of people with disabilities to live in the most integrated setting. Although deinstitutionalization has been underway for decades, some populations have not fully realized its benefits. One such population in California is people with I/DD and high behavioral support needs.

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.

DRC inspected the Sacramento jail. This pub tells you in detail what we found. We found the jail abuses people with disabilities. We also found it neglects them. We give ideas for fixing the problems in the jail.

This pub tells you about policies county public guardians and conservators use. It tells you about ones used for people on temporary conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. This is for people with mental health disabilities. The pub looks at assessments. It looks at placing people where they can live as freely as possible. It has ideas to make sure people get help where they live.

DRC inspected the Santa Barbara jail. This pub tells you in detail what we found. We found the jail neglects people with disabilities. We give ideas for fixing the problems in the jail.