Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA) envisions an Arkansas in which people with disabilities are fully accepted as equal members in their communities. Free from stigma, they dictate the course of their own lives through self-determination. Arkansans with disabilities are entitled to be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion regardless of their disability.
As such, we support and endorse the following:
- Arkansans with disabilities should be afforded the right to make their own decisions with supports, reducing the need for guardianships. Individuals have the right to make mistakes like everyone else.
- Individuals with traumatic brain injuries should be afforded the same access to health care coverage as others in the state. We oppose any discrimination in services for these individuals.
- Youth with disabilities committed to the juvenile justice system should receive services in their community, in the least restrictive setting possible.
- No individual with disabilities should be subjected to restraint (physical, mechanical, or chemical) or seclusion to manage behaviors, whether the individual is in an institution or school setting.
- Arkansans with disabilities should be able to access services and supports in the community of their choice.
- Families should never be forced to choose between paying fees and fines or having their child sent to a juvenile facility.
Approved by the DRA Board of Directors, December 2020