Programs Administered by OLRS
The following programs are administered by the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS).
Since October 1, 1998, OLRS has been designated as the Client Assistance
Program (CAP), which is also mandated by federal law. CAP advocates
for people who are applying for or receiving services from the Bureau of
Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR) or the Bureau of Services for the Visually
Impaired (BSVI), and/or the Independent Living Centers throughout Ohio. CAP
also provides information on Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
See also the OLRS Client Assistance Program (CAP) Brochure.
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OLRS operates state funded Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Ombuds
programs which are non-legal components charged with receiving complaints
and resolving them through informal techniques of mediation, conciliation,
or persuasion. The Ombuds section acts on complaints regarding health and
safety, abuse and neglect, and rights violations. It monitors unusual incident
reports from public and private facilities and community providers, and
recommends changes to policies and rules that affect people with disabilities.
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Congress expanded the Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with
Disabilities Act in 1994 to include funding for a Protection and Advocacy
systems to assist individuals with disabilities and their family members
in accessing assistive technology devices and services through legal
representation and self-advocacy.
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OLRS is designated under the Social Security Act to provide information and advocacy services to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries to help them secure or regain gainful employment. This program also provides information and advocacy to SSI and SSDI beneficiaries on issues affecting employment networks, and other service providers under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act and the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program.
Through the PABSS program, OLRS may investigate and review any complaint of improper
or inadequate services provided to a person with a disability by a service provider, employer or other
entity involved in the beneficiary's return to work effort; provide information and
referral to Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities about work incentives and
employment; provide information and technical assistance on work incentives to individuals;
advocate to identify and correct deficiencies in entities providing vocational
rehabilitation services, employment services and other support services to beneficiaries
with disabilities.
You may be eligible for PABSS services if you have a disability and receive SSI or SSDI and you want information about the Ticket to Work program, need assistance with rehabilitation services, employment networks, accommodations at work, or other return to work issues.
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The PAIR (Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights) program serves
individuals with any significant disability other than the two groups OLRS
has historically served and those eligible for the Client Assistance Program,
known as CAP. PAIR-eligible people include, for example, those with chronic
or serious medical conditions, people with physical disabilities, and people
with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who received the disabling injury after
the age of 22. The PAIR program advocates for people who have been discriminated
against or those whose rights have been violated.
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Congress, in 1975, enacted the DD Assistance and Bill of Rights Act to protect
the human and civil rights of this vulnerable population. Congress recognized
that a federally-directed system of legal advocacy is necessary to ensure
the humane care, treatment, habilitation and protection of persons with
developmental disabilities. PADD serves people in Ohio communities and in
developmental centers, and students with developmental disabilities receiving
special education in private or public schools or other settings.
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Congress, in 1986, found that individuals with mental illness were and continue
to be vulnerable to abuse, neglect, serious injury and lack of treatment,
discharge planning and health care. State systems for monitoring compliance
with respect to the rights of individuals labeled mentally ill varied widely
and are frequently inadequate. Through the federal Protection and Advocacy
for Individuals with Mental Illness Act (PAIMI), the OLRS serves adults,
children and youth in public or private psychiatric hospitals or units.
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Created by the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-166) as amended, the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI) program is designed to improve access to health and other services for all individuals with brain injury and their families through grants to State Agencies and Protection and Advocacy Systems. PATBI serves to protect the rights of adults with TBI and ensures access to services for students with TBI.
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OLRS is mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (PL 107-252) to advocate the rights Ohio voters with disabilities and to assist the Secretary of State to fulfill his obligations to those voters under the federal law. Through the PAVA program, OLRS:
- educates individuals, communities, poll workers and boards of election about the voting rights of people with disabilities;
- monitors and investigates complaints about polling place accessibility and privacy;
- collaborates with other voting rights advocates for systemic change for people with disabilities;
- participates in the implementation of provisions of the Help America Vote Act affecting people with disabilities; and
- assists and represents individual voters in State-based administrative grievance processes.
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The federal Social Security Administration designated OLRS as a Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program serving beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in 31 of Ohio's 88 counties. The program is designed to secure gainful employment, achieve financial stability, and secure affordable health care for people with disabilities. Learn more about the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program.
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