The Problem:

The federally-funded Protection and Advocacy (“P&A”) system faces an existential threat. The President’s FY 2026 budget request seeks to defund the P&A program which protects the rights of people with a range of sensory, mobility and other disabilities, and to drastically cut the P&A program which protects persons with significant mental health disabilities.

These cuts would be devastating. As the nation’s largest provider of legally based services for people with disabilities, P&As cannot absorb the loss of federal funding. This comes amid an erosion of civil rights enforcement across key federal agencies, including the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the Offices for Civil Rights at HHS, Education, and HUD. Significantly cutting federal support for the only national, free civil legal services programs solely dedicated to people with disabilities would severely undermine the country’s civil rights infrastructure at a critical time.

The Solution:

NDRN and JCAF are partnering to raise $5 million for a rapid-response fund that will provide recoverable grants to P&As pursuing civil rights cases likely to yield attorneys’ fees. This fund will help stabilize the disability rights infrastructure at a critical moment.

JCAF will cover all administrative and overhead costs.

The Vital Role of P&As:

Established in 1975, the federally-funded Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system defends the rights of people with disabilities and protects them from abuse and neglect. Supported by eight federal funding streams, a P&A operates in every U.S. state, territory, D.C., and for a consortium of Native American tribes.

With support from their membership association, NDRN, P&As lead litigation and advocacy efforts to reform systems affecting adults and children with disabilities—including education, health care, housing, employment, voting, and more.

For P&A’s

If you are a P&A interested in support from this fund, please contact accessfund@justicecatalyst.org