Our Programs & Services
Our Programs
ADAP has nine program components.
Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD)
The PADD program was created by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights (DD) Act of 1975. PADD was established to protect the legal and civil rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI)
The PADD program was created by the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights (DD) Act of 1975. PADD was established to protect the legal and civil rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)
The PABSS Program is a federally funded program authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act of 1999. The Act authorizes the Social Security Administration (SSA) to fund ADAP to provide work incentive assistance to SSDI and SSI beneficiaries seeking vocational rehabilitation, employment and other support services or seeking to secure or regain employment.
Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR)
The PAIR program was established by Congress as a national program under the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1993. PAIR programs were established to protect and advocate for the legal and human rights of persons with disabilities who are not eligible to be served in the CAP, PAIMI, or PADD programs.
Traumatic Brain Injury Protection and Advocacy (PATBI)
PATBI is a federally funded program authorized by the Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 1996 and its reauthorization as part of the Children’s Health Act of 2000. The PATBI program ensures that individuals with TBI and their families have access to: information, referrals and advice; individual and family advocacy; legal representation; and specific assistance in self-advocacy.
Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT)
The PAAT program provides legal and non-legal advocacy services for individuals with disabilities who are denied access to assistive technology devices and/or assistive technology services.
Protection and Advocacy for Voter Accessibility (PAVA)
The PAVA program ensures that every qualified person with a disability has the opportunity to vote.
Protection and Advocacy for Client Assistance Program (CAP)
The CAP program was re-designated to the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program on October 1, 2022. This program was established to advise and inform applicants and individuals eligible for services and benefits under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including students with disabilities under section 113 and individuals with disabilities employed at subminimum wage under section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Representative Payee Program
The Rep Payee program was unanimously passed in Congress and The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 was signed into Law on April 2018. This authorizes the nation’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system to monitor and investigate how Social Security Representative Payees are administering Social Security funds. This program was established to conduct onsite reviews of representative payee’s performance which will increase oversight of representative payees. This information was provided at taxpayer expense. The law directs P&As like ADAP to conduct periodic, onsite individual or organizational Representative Payee reviews along with additional discretionary reviews. In addition, ADAP conducts educational visits and reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct.
Our Services
Training
ADAP provides training for consumers, family members, and professional groups on a broad range of disability rights issues. Training requests are considered based on ADAP’s annual priorities and our limited training resources. ADAP provides training for consumers, family members, and professional groups on a broad range of disability rights issues. Training requests are considered based on ADAP’s annual priorities and our limited training resources.
Information and Referral (I&R) and Technical Assistance (TA)
ADAP answers all calls for technical assistance and information and referrals concerning disability rights issues.
Individual Case Advocacy
ADAP provides case advocacy services subject to the following criteria, all of which must be true with regard to an individual’s situation:
- The individual with a disability must be eligible for services under one of ADAP’s programs – PADD, PAIMI, PAIR, PAAT, PABSS, PAVA, PATBI, and CAP.
- The individual’s situation must involve the abuse or neglect of a person with disability, a violation of a right granted to a person because that person has a disability, or discrimination based on disability.
- Accepting the individual’s case for advocacy services will further one of ADAP’s annual priorities.
- The individual’s situation meets other case selection criteria, which include such considerations as the availability of other competent resources to advocate on behalf of the individual (including the individual’s ability to pay for other legal services, or the individual’s ability to advocate on their own behalf); whether there is a realistic prospect of success if the case is selected; the extent to which the potential client will benefit from satisfactory resolution of their case; the likelihood of a favorable impact on the legal rights of other individuals with disabilities; and availability of agency resources.