Disability Rights California history

As recently as 1983, fifteen states still had laws that required the sterilization of people with disabilities.

Cleburne Living Center, Inc. was a 1985 US Supreme Court case about discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.

In 1986, Governor Deukmejian signed AB 3900 establishing safeguards in authorizing conservators to give substitute consent for sterilization with due process protections. drc provided assistance in drafting the bill.

Protection and advocacy for persons with mental illness (PAIMI) was included as a funded program for the organizations that had been assigned the PADD agencies in each state.1987 - The US. Supreme Court, in School Board of Nassau County, Fla. v.

California passed a mental health parity law in 1988 that applies to private insurers.

The task force begins building grassroots; support for passage of the ADA. Justin Dart would later be sitting next to President George Bush when he signs the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

“Mad Pride”, started in 1992, is a mass movement of the users of mental health services, former users, and their allies.

The ruling is a major victory in the ongoing effort to ensure enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.1995 - Justice for All is founded in Washington, D.C.The U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Helen L. v.

In 1996, a group of national, grassroots disability rights activists founded “Not Dead Yet.” It opposes legalization of assisted suicide as deadly forms of discrimination against people with disabilities.

In 1997, the World Wide Web Consortium developed the Web Accessibility Initiative to make the internet more accessible.

In 1998, drc and co-counsel filed a federal class action lawsuit to make California cover the services that Elizabeth and other children like her needed to live safely in the community.

Following state legislation requiring independent advocacy, the Department of Developmental Services awarded drc a contract in 1999 to help consumers of California’s 21 regional centers receive the services they need.

Thos case severely restricts state employees due process rights under the ADA and other civil rights laws.Help America Vote Act: A response the problems encountered in Florida during the 2000 General Election, HAVA again ensures people with disabilities equal access to the election process.

In 2002, disability rights advocates, including Disability Rights California's Peer Self-Advocacy Program began an effort to restore the graves and collect the names of those who died.

The lawsuit led to the creation of an entirely new mental health service for children and youth called Therapeutic Behavior Services, or TBS. Elizabeth was released from the state hospital in 2003 and lives in the community with support.

ADAPT met with the US Department of Health and Human Services at their Washington D.C. offices in March 2004.

In 2005, Daniel Sharp, 30, with a developmental disability, was sexually assaulted in the locker room at his health club.

2006 – Congress adopts the “Money Follows the Person” legislation, which takes the funding sections of MiCASSA and provides incentives for states to provide home and community options to expensive institutions.

The federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 prevents health insurance providers from offering less favorable benefits for mental health issues as for medical issues.

In 2010, Chesbro’s resolution proclaimed the third Monday in September as California Memorial Project Remembrance Day with ceremonies throughout the state.

ADAPT has organized actions across the US on a variety of issues, including Medicaid cuts in 2011, access to public transportation and deinstitutionalization.

By 2012, 36 states established programs to train and certify peer specialists with lived experience to work in the mental health services field.

2013 – SB 555 - Former Senator Lou Correa’s bill required regional centers offer individual program plans (IPP) in a consumer’s native language.

In 2014, the Affordable Care Act expanded the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to apply to almost all forms of health insurance.

2015 – SB 11 and SB 29 - Senator Jim Beall’s bills requiring the California Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) to review their basic academy level training course on interacting with individuals with disabilities.

The first is the “community first choice option,” which ends the money follows the person initiative to 2016 and provides additional options to encourage states to stop the institutional bias against home and community based services.