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Why Priorities?

Why does Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center have Priorities?

As the federally-mandated protection and advocacy (P&A) system in Nevada, Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center (NDALC) is charged with protecting the rights of all people with disabilities residing in Nevada.  The U.S. government estimates that one in five people live with some type of disability. Based on Nevada’s current population, there are nearly 600,000 children and adults living with a disability in our state.

NDALC’s Mission is to provide legal advocacy on disability issues that promote the fundamental right of all people with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the social and economic life in Nevada.

In order to achieve our mission of providing legal advocacy that promotes full equality for people with disabilities living in Nevada, NDALC would need significantly more resources than we currently have. NDALC does not have the staff and resources necessary to tackle all of the barriers that prevent full equality at one time. Therefore, we have to address our core functions and then take cases that fit within our priorities and that we have the resources to complete.

Through public input and information received from people who call our office for help, NDALC looks for issues that are widespread and that pose the largest threat to the independence of people with disabilities. Once we identify these issues, we develop a legal strategy that represents the potential resolution or elimination of the problem. That strategy becomes a priority and helps us determine the types of cases that we can accept.

Why Does Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center Need Priorities?

NDALC receives most of the funding for its work from the federal government. With these resources, NDALC is expected to ensure that people with disabilities live in safe and humane conditions and are free from any type of abuse or neglect. We must also work to inform individuals about their legal rights and how to enforce them; ensure that people with disabilities are not unnecessarily institutionalized and that they have the opportunity to live, learn, work and play in the community.

Priorities give us the structure within which we can spend our limited resources to achieve goals that further our Mission. In addition, the priorities give our funders a measurable objective with which to gauge our success in achieving the outcome of our work. As with all grant funds, NDALC must account for how it spends its resources.