Disability Rights Delaware

Housed within Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., Disability Rights Delaware (formerly known as the Disabilities Law Program) is Delaware’s federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agency and Client Assistance Program (CAP), charged with advocating for and protecting the legal rights of people with disabilities.

We are part of a national network of P&A and CAP agencies located in each state and U.S. territory, which have the legal authority to conduct monitoring and investigative activities in a variety of settings where people with disabilities live and receive services and to file lawsuits on their behalf. Learn more about the P&A network here:

Disability Rights Delaware works to empower and advocate for children and adults with physical or mental disabilities through:

Individual legal representation and advice
Impact litigation to address systemic issues
Community outreach and education
Self-advocacy training
Technical assistance to service providers, state agencies, and policymakers
Investigating suspected abuse and neglect
Monitoring facilities and institutions
Monitoring representative payees who handle Social Security benefits for people with disabilities

Our Services

Disability Rights Delaware’s services are free. We provide help with a range of disability-related legal issues, including:

Special education and accommodations in education and school discipline/expulsion
Work-related services and training
Work-related Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cessations and overpayments (please note we can no longer assist with SSDI and SSI cessations due to medical improvement as we no longer have resources to take those cases)
Medicaid, Medicare, and Medicaid waiver services
Reasonable accommodations (changes to policies and practices) in housing or at work
Overcoming barriers to employment
Deinstitutionalization and overcoming barriers to community integration
Accessibility/discrimination in government services or by businesses
Abuse and neglect cases
Access to assistive technology devices and services
Voting access

We prioritize which of the above types of cases we can take based on needs identified by Delawareans with disabilities, community groups, our Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness advisory council, and the CLASI Board of Directors, along with federal agency guidance and our available resources.

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Our Impact

Last year, our attorneys and advocates:

2,000

Provided direct assistance to over 2,000 Delawareans and their household members, including almost 600 children

100,000

Helped protect the rights of over 100,000 Delawareans with disabilities to vote in an accessible election through our Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access program;

16,000

Advocated on behalf of over 16,000 Delawareans with developmental disabilities through systemic and group advocacy.

Statistics

In Fiscal Year 2024, Disability Rights Delaware:
- Provided direct assistance to over 2,000 Delawareans and their household members, including almost 600 children
- Handled over 1,000 matters for Delawareans with disabilities to enforce their fundamental rights (such as the right to receive appropriate special education services, to have medically necessary care and supports, or to live and work in a place that reasonably accommodates an individual’s disability)
- Reviewed and/or investigated over 425 reports, critical incidents, and rights complaints at facilities that serve people with disabilities, like psychiatric hospitals, intermediate care facilities, and nursing homes, for potential instances of abuse, neglect, restraint, and seclusion.
- Investigated over 100 unexpected deaths, instances of potential abuse, or neglect
- Helped protect the rights of over 100,000 Delawareans with disabilities to vote in an accessible election through our Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access program;
- Advocated on behalf of over 16,000 Delawareans with developmental disabilities through systemic and group advocacy.
- Advocated on behalf of the approximately 150,000 individuals with mental illness through our group advocacy.

Significant Cases and Impact Litigation

CLASI v. APER – Obtained settlement agreement in 2025 with the Delaware Department of Education and its Adult and Prison Education Resources Workgroup in federal court lawsuit brought to address the state’s systemic failure to provide required special education services to students with disabilities while incarcerated.
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CLASI v. Coupe – Reached landmark settlement in 2016 with the Delaware Department of Correction (DDOC) in federal court lawsuit filed to improve the treatment of individuals with mental illness placed in restrictive housing environments, including solitary confinement.
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Policy Advocacy