By Garret DeReus
The nation’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) systems provide essential legal representation and advocacy for millions of Americans with disabilities. Recently, these vital organizations have faced unprecedented funding freezes and the potential for elimination of all federal funding, threatening decades of progress in disability rights and putting people with disabilities at risk of institutionalization, neglect, and discrimination.
What Are Protection and Advocacy Organizations?
Protection and Advocacy (P&A) organizations are federally mandated legal advocacy agencies established in 1975 through the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. There is a P&A in every state and territory in the United States, creating a nationwide network of disability rights defenders. P&As receive their primary funding through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), which was formed in 2012 as a bipartisan initiative to streamline and strengthen support for people with disabilities and older Americans.
P&As operate as independent agencies with unique federal authority to access facilities where people with disabilities live or receive services. This access allows them to monitor conditions, investigate allegations of abuse and neglect, and advocate for systemic changes. Their federal funding is supplemented by state appropriations, grants, and private donations, though federal funds constitute the backbone of their operational funding.
P&As’ Crucial Role in Protecting Disability Rights
P&A organizations serve as advocates for people with disabilities, handling countless cases annually across the nation. They investigate reports of abuse, neglect, and rights violations in institutions, group homes, schools, and other settings where people with disabilities live, learn, or receive services. When necessary, P&As pursue litigation to address systemic issues, though they often resolve problems informally through negotiation and advocacy before legal action becomes necessary.
P&As serve a significant portion of the population across America. For example, according to Disability Rights Louisiana, approximately one-third of people in Louisiana have disabilities. In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, DRLA provided individual legal and non-legal advocacy to people with disabilities in approximately 2,300 cases. Many others received assistance without requiring a full case to be established—through information sharing, referrals to appropriate resources, or brief consultations that resolved immediate concerns without requiring ongoing representation.
In Mississippi, the state’s P&A published a comprehensive report titled “Warehoused: The Unsafe, Unlicensed, and Unregulated Personal Care Homes of Mississippi” in February 2023. This investigation exposed dangerous conditions in unlicensed personal care homes and catalyzed regulatory reforms to address systematic shortcomings in oversight and quality of care.
P&A organizations can help save taxpayers money. In Louisiana, Disability Rights Louisiana successfully advocating for the creation of 750 additional Medicaid waiver slots in 2024, prioritized for individuals living in institutional facilities. This achievement will enable 750 people to remain in or return to their homes and communities with appropriate in-home care. Beyond improving health outcomes and independence for people with disabilities, this initiative will generate substantial cost savings. Medicaid spends an average of approximately $40,000 per year to provide home and community-based waiver services to a person—less than half the cost of caring for someone in a nursing home. By this measure, DRLA’s advocacy helped save Louisiana and federal taxpayers millions of dollars while simultaneously improving quality of life for hundreds of citizens.
P&As are often the only recourse for people with disabilities facing discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and healthcare. Their work ensures that landmark legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision—which requires states to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate—are meaningfully implemented in communities nationwide.
Some P&As Have Already Experienced Funding Freezes
Several Protection and Advocacy organizations across the country have already been forced to limit their services due to funding delays. In Mississippi, Disability Rights Mississippi announced it would limit services due to funding delays, leaving many individuals without critical support. Executive Director Polly Tribble stated they are “unable to take new clients” while they await federal funding that normally arrives in October but has been delayed for months.
Similarly, Disability Rights New Jersey has been forced to pause most of its operations amid funding cuts, with Executive Director Gwen Orlowski noting they are “fighting for our survival.” The organization has had to furlough staff and suspend intake of new cases, significantly limiting their ability to protect New Jersey residents with disabilities. Arkansas has faced similar challenges, with Disability Rights Arkansas announcing it is no longer accepting new clients due to federal funding holdups, creating a dangerous gap in protection for vulnerable populations.
Early April Reporting Suggested Complete Cuts to P&A Federal Funding
According to the National Disability Rights Network, a leaked 64-page draft budget proposal from the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget, dated April 10, 2025, indicated plans for complete elimination of large parts of the Administration for Community Living (ACL). This proposal represents more than just budget cuts—it threatens the entire infrastructure of disability rights protection in the United States.
The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, and the National Disability Rights Network have united in strong opposition to this proposal. If enacted, these cuts would eliminate vital services for people with disabilities and their families, remove training pipelines for the disability workforce, slash support for education and healthcare systems, and potentially increase unnecessary institutionalization while eroding hard-won civil rights.
Budget Uncertainty for the Administration for Community Living
On April 2, 2025, the Trump Administration released a 46-page budget proposal through the Office of Management and Budget, entitled “Major Discretionary Funding Changes.” The budget document outlines significant cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to Table 2 of this document, HHS faces a substantial reduction of $33.3 billion (26.2%) from its 2025 enacted budget of $127.0 billion down to $93.8 billion for 2026.
While the document details approximately $25.57 billion in specific program cuts across major HHS divisions including NIH, CDC, SAMHSA, and HRSA, roughly $7.73 billion in reductions remain unspecified in the portions reviewed (pages 9-14). Notably absent from this section is any explicit mention of the Administration for Community Living (ACL). The document provides no information about whether ACL faces budget reductions or the potential magnitude of any such cuts. Given that billions in HHS reductions remain unaccounted for in the detailed program listings, it’s impossible to determine ACL’s budget status from this document alone.
This lack of specificity raises important questions about the future funding for ACL programs that serve older adults and people with disabilities, leaving stakeholders and beneficiaries in uncertainty until more detailed budget information becomes available.
Take Action: Protect Disability Rights Advocacy
The potential elimination of P&A funding represents an unprecedented threat to disability rights in America. These organizations serve one in four Americans—anyone who has or will develop a disability during their lifetime. Without P&As, people with disabilities will lose their most effective advocates and protectors against abuse, discrimination, and unnecessary institutionalization.
Bizer & DeReus urges all concerned citizens to contact their senators and representatives immediately to voice support for Disability Rights Louisiana, or their the P&A in their own state. These programs represent cost-effective investments that promote independence, prevent costly institutionalization, and protect fundamental civil rights. Disability can affect anyone, regardless of political affiliation, and historically P&A organization have received bipartisan support given their essential role in American society.
You can find contact information for your representatives at congress.gov. Additionally, many P&A organizations have action alerts on their websites with specific talking points and direct contact tools to simplify advocacy efforts during this critical time.