Advocacy, Law & Voting
To locate advocacy and legal services in your community, click here to search the Pathfinder database. On the database search page, select your county and a service category, then click on "Search."
You may be interested in these Pathfinder service categories related to Advocacy, Law & Voting: ADA Information and Assistance, Advocacy Services, IDEA Information and/or Training, Legal Counseling. Click here to look up service definitions.
General Advocacy, Law & Voting Information (Tennessee)
Contacting Your Tennessee Legislators
Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee
This agency provides legally based advocacy services. It serves persons with disabilities or with mental illness and clients of rehabilitation services who are eligible under federal statutes. TP&A operates under five federal programs. Services include investigation, negotiation or mediation of solutions to problems, information and technical assistance, legal counsel and litigation services for eligible persons and/or groups, and education and training. DLAC also addresses the voting rights of people with disabilities. The Board of Directors determines annual priorities and objectives. There are no fees for services.
Fulfill the Promise for Tennesseeans with Developmental Disabilities
Throughout Tennessee communities, people with developmental disabilities other than mental retardation have almost no programs to assist them. With your help, these Tennesseans can finally obtain the services promised in 2000 when state laws were changed to make people with developmental disabilities eligible. Now is the time for Tennessee to Fulfill the Promise!
Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services
The Alliance is dedicated to bringing access to justice to all persons in Tennessee regardless of income or status. Its mission is to empower persons with low incomes and persons who are elderly to seek and receive justice, and to change the circumstances that keep people in poverty. They can provide information about and access to an organization in your area that can help with your legal questions .
Tennessee Association for Disability Rights
This association based in Columbia, Tennessee, is a non-profit grass roots organization. Its objective is to help educate persons with disabilities, the business community, and all interested parties, and to empower them with the knowledge and resources to effect positive social change.
Tennessee Chapter of the American Association of MR
Professional organization providing support and advocacy for persons who work with people with MR.
Tennessee Disability Coalition
The TDC is a statewide alliance of more than 50 advocacy, support, provider, and professional organizations working together to influence society to value, include, and support people with disabilities. Priority issues include access to health care and long-term care services and supports; building the capacity of communities to safely and appropriately support individuals, especially as they transition from state developmental centers to community living; and preserving the rights of individuals mandated by state and federal laws.
Tennessee Justice Center
TJC is a nonprofit public interest law firm that serves the poor. They focus on access to health care and the impact of welfare reform.
VOTE! Campaign
An initiative of the Tennessee Disability Coalition.
General Advocacy, Law & Voting Information (Tennessee and National)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Americans with Disabilities Act is the federal law that gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities. It guarantees equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.
ADA and Employment Questions & Answers, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
ADA Basic Building Blocks, an introductory web course on the ADA, explores the legal requirements and spirit of the ADA.
The ADA Document Portal makes available more than 7,400 documents related to the ADA and offers document collections on other disability rights laws and issues.
ADA Game simulates how advocacy can promote positive changes . As advocates for disability rights, players work together in one of ten virtual communities to improve awareness and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA.gov website, provided by the United States Department of Justice, provides information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act.
American Association of People with Disabilities, AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
CSAPD information on ADA
Child Care Settings and ADA, Fact Sheet of the Arc of the United States
"Filing Disability Rights Complaints: Why Should You, How Do You, and What Not To Do" (PDF)
Related handout: Guide To Disability Rights Laws (PDF)
Related handout: Enforcing Accessibility Requirements (PDF)
Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center is the regional resource center on ADA
Steve Gold's Nuggets of Wisdom offers tools on how to enforece the ADA.
Tennessee Disability Coalition is the Tennessee resource center on ADA
The United States Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. The Board develops and maintains design criteria for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information technology. It also provides technical assistance and training on these requirements and on accessible design and continues to enforce accessibility standards that cover federally funded facilities.
Disability Awareness & Etiquette
Education Advocacy and Laws (includes IDEA)
Estate Planning, Guardianship and Trusts
Arc of the United States has a list of Future Planning Resources.
MetDESK, MetLife's Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids, provides information and resources on its web site.
NAMI offers a Special Needs Estate Planning Guidance System. The site contains information to assist families in understanding the estate planning process and working with qualified attorneys, as well as state specific information, resources, and protocols.
National Guardianship Association
This nonprofit organization provides education, training, and networking for guardians. It promotes the highest levels of values, standards, and ethics. It ensures a nationally recognized standard of excellence.
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities publishes Estate Planning.
Special Needs Legal Planning provides free downloadable PDF files, including the "Letter of Intent" guide and the "Preparation for Attorney Meeting" guide, and an eNewsletter.
The Special Needs Trust, an article by Richard W. Fee, M.A., M.Ed., the National Institute on Life Planning for Persons with Disabilities.
The Special Needs Trust Administration Manual: A Guide for Trustees is a valuable reference guide for anyone who is managing a special needs trust for a person with disabilities. The manual is for laypersons and professionals. Though the Manual explains federal laws and regulations specific to Massachusetts, it can be useful throughout the United States.
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee offers a packet on Estate Planning.
Social Security Disability (SSI & SSDI)
Additional Resources
Many advocacy organizations focus on a specific disability and inform their members of public policy and legislative issues through the Internet and newsletters. See The Family Village Library and search alphabetically by disability for organization names and Internet links. Family Village's Advocacy and Public Policy page lists additional disability-related advocacy resources.
ADA Checklist for Polling Places
American Health Lawyers Association
An educational organization devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field. Its Publication Information Series of publications includes guides to Medicaid, legal issues in lime-limiting conditions, emergency preparation and response and more.
Contacting Your U.S. Representative or Senator
Issues Alerts from Congress.org
Law and Developmental Disabilities, from the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities
Legislation Regarding Developmental Disabilities, from the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities
Military/Selective Service for Persons with Disabilities
The Selective Service System, an independent federal agency that administers selective service, or the "military draft," states the following about Selective Service and people with disabilities.
Disabled men who live at home must register with Selective Service if they can reasonably leave their homes and move about independently. A friend or relative may help a disabled man fill out the registration form if he can't do it himself.
Men with disabilities that would disqualify them from military service still must register with Selective Service. Selective Service does not presently have authority to classify men, so even men with obvious handicaps must register now, and if needed, classifications would be determined later.
For more information, contact the Selective Service System or the Department of Justice ADA Hotline.