The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law The Judge David L.

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the lives of people with mental disabilities through changes in policy and law.

We were honored to join AAPD’s webinar on the current threats to Olmstead and community integration for disabled people ...
08/27/2026

We were honored to join AAPD’s webinar on the current threats to Olmstead and community integration for disabled people and to share resources and strategies for fighting back.

Hundreds of people tuned in, and more than 2,000 registered for the webinar - a powerful reflection of how seriously the disability community is taking these threats and our shared commitment to fighting for our rights.

This is a critical time for disabled people and our allies to do everything we can to protect and advance disability civil rights. We will not go back.

“Understanding and Protecting Your Disability Rights Under Olmstead, the ADA, and Section 504" is available on AAPD's YouTube channel.

Important NPR story on the threats to Olmstead and community integration. Full article through the link in bio. ...
08/26/2026

Important NPR story on the threats to Olmstead and community integration. Full article through the link in bio.

📣Olmstead is the solution to homelessness - not the cause of it. The expansion of community based services and housing p...
08/19/2026

📣Olmstead is the solution to homelessness - not the cause of it.

The expansion of community based services and housing programs that followed Olmstead has enabled hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities to live in their own homes as part of their community, supported by the services that they need.

Cutting Medicaid and restricting access to vital housing programs, as this administration has done, is what causes instability in health and housing.

They are pulling the rug out from under people who rely on these services, and they are now attempting to remove their legal protections.

Now is the time when our advocacy is needed more than it has ever been. Make no misake: the threats and challenges to ou...
08/18/2026

Now is the time when our advocacy is needed more than it has ever been. Make no misake: the threats and challenges to our rights are real, but our advocacy is having an impact. Our community is one of fighters. And we are in this for the long haul.

Here are the 3 critical steps cities and counties should take to reduce the over-incarceration of people with mental hea...
08/15/2026

Here are the 3 critical steps cities and counties should take to reduce the over-incarceration of people with mental health disabilities:

1. Send the right response.
2. Invest in community services and housing.
3.Strengthen diversion and reentry.

Donald Whitehead from the National Coalition to End Homelessness debunked a common myth during our Senate Briefing on Ol...
08/12/2026

Donald Whitehead from the National Coalition to End Homelessness debunked a common myth during our Senate Briefing on Olmstead last month:

"One of the false narratives about the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing is that it’s housing-only. It’s not. It’s housing plus services.

People get those services in a housing unit versus outside."

Recent Justice Department actions have threatened to undermine disabled people’s rights under foundational disability ci...
08/12/2026

Recent Justice Department actions have threatened to undermine disabled people’s rights under foundational disability civil rights laws. AAPD and our partners are hosting a webinar on Wednesday, August 19, to help you navigate these threats and protect your rights.

Speakers will address the importance of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision and the rights that disabled people have under the ADA and Section 504 to live in their own homes and communities, discuss how recent threats may affect these rights, and teach you what you can do to protect them.

The integration mandate of the ADA and Section 504 is one of the most fundamental rights that disabled people have, and it is critical that we take collective action to preserve it. Please join us on Wednesday, August 19th, from 4 PM - 5:15 PM ET to learn how.

You’ll receive updates and resources from policy leaders fighting for our rights – Maria Town, President and CEO of , Jennifer Mathis, Deputy Director of , Cathy Costanzo, Executive Director of the for Public Representation, and Alison Barkoff, Hirsh Health Law & Policy Associate Professor and Hirsh Program Director at

ASL and CART will be provided. Please contact [email protected] to request any other accommodations, and be sure to register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xHzUA2CBQAOLx8vh7H7c6Q

The disability community built the protections we have today, and we are not going to let them all slip away. We're not ...
08/12/2026

The disability community built the protections we have today, and we are not going to let them all slip away. We're not going back.

The reality: Community-based mental health services reach more people with the support they need to live full lives in t...
08/07/2026

The reality: Community-based mental health services reach more people with the support they need to live full lives in their own homes and communities.

📣A major report commissioned by New York State recommended that the state focus on expanding pathways to voluntary servi...
08/05/2026

📣A major report commissioned by New York State recommended that the state focus on expanding pathways to voluntary services instead of AOT.

Assisted Outpatient Treatment, or AOT, allows a court to order a person with a significant mental health disability to follow a treatment plan while living in the community.

The report found ongoing concerns about fairness, voice, agency, dignity, and autonomy throughout the AOT process. It also found that voluntary intensive services were not always clearly explained to people considered eligible for AOT, suggesting that court-mandated treatment is being used more often than necessary.

“Our findings suggest that enhancing voluntary service pathways could produce similar outcomes without the attendant harms," the study reads.

The report’s first recommendation is to strengthen and prioritize voluntary services, ensure access is not tied to AOT status, and support continuity of care.

💡The clearest and most consistent finding is that positive outcomes come from access to needed services - all of which can be provided voluntarily with comparable results.

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1101 15th Street NW, Suite 205
Washington D.C., DC
20005

Telephone

+12024675730

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