Utah Disability Law Center

The Utah Disability Law Center (DLC) is a private non-profit organization based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The DLC was founded in 1978 and provides self-advocacy assistance, legal services, and disability rights education.

The DLC also advocates for public policy and due to the DLC’s status as a protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, the law center has statutory powers to defend and protect these individuals.[1] The Disability Law Center tries to seek order in a society where all individuals have the opportunity to be treated as equals with dignity and respect.

Purpose

According to the mission statement of the Utah Disability Law Center, the aim of the organization is to safeguard choices and legal rights of people with disabilities by pushing for legislation that provides open and equal opportunities for these individuals.

The DLC particularly focuses on four long-range goals:[1]

  1. People with disabilities will be free from abuse and neglect.
  2. People with disabilities will receive appropriate services.
  3. People with disabilities will be free from discrimination.
  4. People with disabilities will have equal employment opportunities.

Projects

Abuse and neglect

The DLC works to prevent abuse and neglect in private health care facilities by investigating reports, making independent reports, and engaging in prosecution when necessary.

Access and right

The DLC strives to increase the access people with disabilities have to services, programs and facilities open to the public. Additionally, the DLC works to reduce discriminatory barriers related to voting, employment, transportation and housing. These areas of focus are especially problematic in rural Utah.

Community services

The DLC works to ensure that all people with disabilities have access to appropriate medical services within the community. These services include, but are not limited to: assistive technologies, mental health treatment for juveniles and assistance for persons with mental retardation and mental illnesses in the Utah State Hospital.

Education

The DLC works to ensure that all Utah children with disabilities have access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) designed to meet their unique needs. To achieve this goal the DLC focuses on the areas of eligibility, services and transition based on the individual’s needs. Additionally, periphery issues such as juvenile justice, self-advocacy training, technical assistance and systematic policy are addressed.

Employment

The DLC provides assistance to people with disabilities in order to maximize their independence and remove barriers to employment. Information on self-advocacy and access to appropriate services, vocational rehabilitation and independent living centers is distributed. Additionally, the issue of underemployment in rural areas is addressed.

Institutions

The DLC works to reduce and eliminate abuse and neglect in Utah's state institutions and ensure that appropriate accommodations, access to programming and mental health services are provided to people in these institutions.

Landmark cases

The efforts of the DLC have proved fruitful in advocating for people with disabilities. In doing so, the DLC has gained recognition state and nation-wide. Among their most prominent cases are Hubble v. Medicaid and Decker v. Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). These cases affected people with disabilities state-wide. In Hubble v. Medicaid, the DLC appealed and overturned a series of laws which denied assistive devices for people with hearing impairments. In Decker v. UDOT, the DLC filed a class action lawsuit that required local city governments in Utah to abide by ADA standards for public accessways. Additionally, the DLC worked with Disability Rights of Washington (a sister organization) in the release of the Investigative Report of the Ashley Treatment.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Utah Disability Law Center". Retrieved 2009-04-21.