Programs

Legislative Newsletter

January 11, 2021DRW will provide a weekly update each Saturday morning during the 2021 Legislative Session. If you are interested in receiving this weekly newsletter, please subscribe to the newsletter. Click here to view the first newsletter sent out in 2021.

Letter RE 1/6/21 Attack at U.S. Capitol

January 7, 2021We strongly condemn the attack on democracy and the rule of law yesterday at the U.S. Capitol. As the designated Protection and Advocacy System for WA, we have a federal mandate to enforce and advance the rights of people with disabilities across WA, this includes the voting rights of people with disabilities.

Pitch Your Story to the Rooted in Rights Blog!

October 29, 2020 If you identify as a person with a disability, we want to give you a platform to tell your story. Help us fill gaps in dialogue around disability and challenge readers to think about disability in new ways. The Rooted in Rights Blog is home to compelling stories that shine a bright spotlight on disability rights issues in all areas of life

Lawsuit Filed RE: DSHS Accountability For Deadly Neglect at Rainier School

October 22, 2020Today, the family of JoHanna Pratt, Disability Rights Washington, and Carney Gillespie PLLP filed a suit in Pierce County Superior Court against the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) for neglect, claiming that DSHS wrongfully caused the death of JoHanna Pratt and violated state law against abuse of vulnerable adults.

Tell Governor Inslee to Stop Sending Kids to Out of State Facilities Owned by Sequel

October 13, 2020On October 9, 2020, DRW and 17 other advocacy organizations sent the below statement to Governor Inslee, regarding Washington’s continued relationship with Sequel Youth and Families, which owns Clarinda Academy. Seventeen advocacy organizations signed on with us to ask Governor Inslee to end all contracts with Sequel.

Pierce County Annex Begins Building Last Piece of Missing Sidewalk

October 8, 2020The Disability Mobility Initiative is celebrating as the City of Tacoma and Pierce County have begun construction on the last piece of missing sidewalk to the Pierce County Annex - Pierce County’s accessible voting center.

Addendum to From Hospitals to Handcuffs Report: Spokane

September 17, 2020In addition to DRW’s investigation into criminalization of patients in crisis in Seattle described in From Hospital to Handcuffs, DRW also looked into similar incidents in Spokane. The result of the Spokane investigation is an addendum report that should be read together with From Hospital to Handcuffs.

COVID-19 Advocacy and Resources

July 9, 2020This page will be updated regularly with DRW COVID related advocacy and external resources useful to people with disabilities. DRW is here to advocate for our community. DRW recognizes that COVID has impacted the disability community in various ways.

New Report: From Hospitals to Handcuffs

May 26, 2020In From Hospitals to Handcuffs, DRW found that hospital calls to police resulted in at least two patients per week being arrested, removed from treatment, and booked into jail. In most of these cases, there was no visible injury to a victim. These arrests lead to sick people stuck in jail for weeks or months, decompensating, with decreased access to needed health care.

DRW and Advocates’ Send Governor Letter RE Protecting Marginalized Students

May 21, 2020In a letter sent to Governor Inslee on May 18th, DRW and advocates’ raised concerns about the disparate impact and potential non-compensable harm to marginalized students during the COVID-19 school facility closures.

Disability Rights Washington’s Breaking Barriers Awards

May 13, 2020Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations! Disability Rights Washington currently is soliciting nominations for the Breaking Barriers Awards. These prestigious awards honor a business, an elected official or public servant, and an advocate with a disability for breaking barriers to advance the rights of and improve the lives of people with disabilities in Washington State.

AVID Program Calls for Action to Stop the Spread of COVID19 in WA Prisons/Jails

April 22, 2020DRW urges the Governor to continue releasing people who are at risk of COVID-19, focusing on those most vulnerable to infection due to age and disability. These release decisions should be holistic, and not solely based on an individual’s prior offenses.

DRW Asks DCYF to Change How it Treats Parents with Disabilities

April 6, 2020In the letter, DRW talks about complaints DRW has made to the U.S. Department of Justice and includes three more examples of how DCYF’s discriminatory practices are separating families, possibly forever.

Urge Gov. Inslee to Use His Executive Powers to Save Lives in WA Prisons

April 6, 2020This weekend, the first incarcerated individual in a Washington prison tested positive for COVID-19. As this pandemic continues to spread across Washington and the nation, Tell the Governor to protect individuals in our prisons and jails and keep all Washingtonians safe.