Padres Abriendo Puertas INC./Parents Opening Doors INC.
Publications Index
Listed below are publications produced by the Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy specifically for individuals with disabilities, family members and others interested in disability issues. They provide information about disability rights and to offer strategies for solving individual problems.
Finally, our extremely popular Disability Resource Directory is updated on a continual basis, most recently 8/2015. The Directory contains useful phone numbers, program descriptions and websites of federal, state, and local agencies and organizations.
Abuse Investigation Division - Protecting the Rights of Citizens with Intellectual Disabilities. The Abuse Investigation Division is operated by the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. The Division was established to implement C.G.S. 46a-11a, which became effective February 1, 1985. The purpose of the law is to protect adults (ages 18-59) who have intellectual disabilities, as defined by C.G.S. §1-1g, from abuse and neglect wherever it may occur.
Accessible Travel
With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability rights laws, it just may be possible to "get there from here". This publication examines the rights of travelers and commuters with disabilities which enable them to travel to work, visit friends and families, go shopping, and become active participants in the life of their communities and beyond.
Advocacy Tips for Working with the Bureau of Rehabiliation Services (BRS)
Be prepared for your meeting with BRS. This flyer examines some ways to make the most of your appointment with a BRS Counselor.
Checklist for Holding Accessible Meetings
Be prepared for your next meeting with helpful information on how to make it more inviting and accessible to people with disabilities.
Client Assistance Program (CAP) - The Client Assistance Program (CAP) is an independent advocacy program funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration located at the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. It is established as an oversight program to facilitate the delivery of vocational rehabilitation services.
Connecticut Fair Housing Law
This publication explains the Discriminatory Housing Protections Act - a Connecticut law which provides protections to individuals with disabilities in the sale or rental of housing. Obtain information about who is covered by the state law, what housing is covered, and how rights are protected and enforced.
Disability Resources in Connecticut
This publication contains names, addresses and internet sites as well as descriptions of federal, state and local agencies, entitlement programs and services for people with disabilities including non-profit grass roots disability organizations.
Emergency Shelter Accessibility Checklist - available as a (387kb.pdf).
Guide to Including People with Disabilities in Disaster Preparedness Planning (.pdf 1.32Mgs)
This guide is primarily intended to assist people involved in preparedness planning at the municipal and regional levels. It also contains information that will be useful to individuals with disabilities and families in the appendices.
This booklet focuses on the ADA obligations of private health care providers to individuals with deafness or hearing impairments. There are other healthcare-related obligations under the ADA that pertain to people with other disabilities, but those are not addressed in this booklet. Booklet (kb77).pdf
How can P&A help me? - Brief description of what happens when you contact P&A for assistance.
How to File a CHRO Complaint
This publication is meant to provide basic information about the process of filing a discrimination complaint with the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).
Lead is toxic metal that can permanently damage a child’s brain. Experts agree that there is no safe level of lead exposure. Children are at particularly high risk for lead poisoning because their bodies and brains are still developing. This publication provides information on testing and lead levels.
Making Medication Choices
As of October 1, 1993, inpatients in psychiatric units or hospitals who are 18 years of age or older have a right to refuse medication - Public Act 93-369, and C.G.S. §17a-540. The statute was amended on June 4, 1996 to allow persons, 16 years of age and older, the right to refuse medication. The 1996 Amendments also clarify the role of a conservator in making medication decisions. This publication explains your rights under these laws.
OPA Program Information Tri-fold Brochure - (Spanish version) OPA Program Descriptions - the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (P&A) seeks to protect the rights of and to advocate for people with disabilities. We do this by providing information and referral services, case advocacy services, abuse investigation and protective interventions, and community development activities. Brief descriptions of program services are provided in this brochure.
Organizing Parents: Building Family Advocacy Organizations
This "how to" guide will familiarize you with the parent advocacy group model, explain the benefits of belonging to a group, and describe the process for starting a group in your community. In addition, this guide presents information for starting and managing a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
PABSS - PABSS is a Federal program awarded to the State Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities by the Social Security Administration. The program is designed to provide the following services to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. Ticket to Work Program
PAIMI Program - PAIMI Can Help! PAIMI works to protect the rights of individuals with mental illness who are in community residential programs, homeless shelters, state or private institutions including hospitals, residential care homes, nursing homes and correctional facilities. PAIMI Tri-fold.pdf (45kb)
PATBI Informational Booklet - (Spanish) A guide to services in Connecticut and details about the causes and effects of traumatic brain injury and aquired brain injury.
PATBI Tri-fold - Domestic Violence and Brain Injury - Domestic violence is a common cause of brain injury, especially in women. Survivors often experience assault, a physical altercation that can cause significant injuries, including brain injuries.
PATBI Information Tri-fold Brochure - PATBI - Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury. PATBI advocates provide individualized, person-centered advocacy to individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brief description of how to receive different services to individuals with TBI, their families, and the community. Traumatic Brain Injury Fact Sheet.
Restraint and Seclusion of Persons with Disabilities - This booklet will provide you with answers to basic questions concerning the use of physical restraints, seclusion, and psycho-pharmacologic agents (medications) under state law.
Self Advocacy Tips
The adage that the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" is a true comment on complaining and human nature, but squeaks can be annoying, and, if too loud, can be counterproductive. Nevertheless, assertive, articulate advocacy is a necessity when service providers and other bureaucracies are unwilling to correct either individual or systematic problems.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
This publication explains SSI or Supplemental Security Income - a federal program that provides monthly financial assistance payments to certain individuals including persons with disabilities who have limited income and assets.
Using your Ticket to Work: The Ticket to Work is a new program of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The program provides some people with disabilities new choices about which agencies can help them get ready to go to work and find a job. Before the Ticket To Work Program, the only option for people with disabilities who needed help preparing to work was the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) or, if legally blind, the Board of Education Services for the Blind (BESB). Now, with the Ticket to Work Program, many people with disabilities on SSI or SSDI can also obtain services from a variety of Employment Networks (ENs).
Your Rights as a Voter with a Disability As a member of a democratic society and as a person with a disability, you have both the right and the responsibility to vote. This booklet answers some of the common voting questions and answers about your rights as a voter with a disability.
Your Rights in a Psychiatric Facility
The purpose of this publication is to impart practical and useful information to people who find themselves in a psychiatric facility and are attempting to get out. Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program of P&A designed this publication to help you to advocate for your basic civil rights and identify those situations when you may need an advocate or a lawyer.
Your Rights to Vocational Rehabilitation
This publication is about your rights and responsibilities when you become a client of the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) or of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB). The information is designed to help you take an active role with your counselor in developing your rehabilitation plan and participating in other BRS or BESB services.