About
Disability Rights California (DRC) is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. Headquartered in Sacramento, DRC works in litigation, legal representation, advocacy services, investigations, public policy, and information, advice, referral, and community outreach. For more than 40 years it has worked to advance the rights of Californians with disabilities in education, employment, independence, health, and safety, and has grown into the largest disability rights organization in the nation.
Mission
DRC defends, advances, and strengthens the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, through programs for information and referral, investigation of abuse and neglect, legal representation and rights protection, education and outreach, and public policy advocacy.
What they do
- Legal Advocacy Unit and litigation: legal services and representation for Californians whose disability rights have been violated.
- Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy (OCRA): free legal information, advice, and representation for regional center clients.
- Client Assistance Program (CAP): information, advice, and advocacy to help people with disabilities understand their rights and obtain employment services.
- California Office of Patients' Rights (COPR): a DRC unit contracted by the Department of State Hospitals.
- Investigations Unit: investigation of abuse and neglect of people with disabilities.
- Peer Self-Advocacy (PSA): outreach and self-advocacy training for people with mental health disabilities in residential care facilities, state hospitals, and the community; PSA also oversees the California Memorial Project.
- Additional programs include Advocacy and Community Engagement (ACE), Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA), the Office of Payee Review and Beneficiary Assistance, and the Equal Access and Housing Practice Group.
History
Congress created the Protection and Advocacy (P&A) systems in 1975, following the 1972 Willowbrook expose, so that each state and territory would have an organization advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. In 1978, Governor Jerry Brown designated Disability Rights California — then known as Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PAI) — as California's P&A organization, headquartered in Sacramento. In one of its earliest major cases, Lopez v. Heckler (1983), the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated SSI benefits and required the Social Security Administration to show substantial evidence that a person was no longer disabled before terminating benefits.
Financials
Per its IRS Form 990 for the fiscal year ending September 2025 (via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer), DRC reported total revenue of $47,275,323 — 92.2% from contributions and grants — total expenses of $46,787,232, and net assets of $26,906,112. DRC is a 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 94-2505916); its tax exemption was issued in 1978.
Governance
DRC is governed by a Board of Directors, supported by a PAIMI Advisory Council, and led by an executive leadership team; its most recent Form 990 lists Andrew Imparato as Chief Executive Officer. The organization publishes annual reports and a list of its funding grants and contracts on its website.