Mental Health Rights Project

How We Help:

Providing restorative treatment when unable to aid and assist in defense

Litigation

Photo of the west facade of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. The Hospital is a wide red brick building capped with a white spire. Photo by Josh Partee.

Photo of the west facade of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. The Hospital is a wide red brick building capped with a white spire. Photo by Josh Partee.

In 2002, Disability Rights Oregon brought a landmark civil rights case against the state because people with mental illness were languishing in jail. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the state psychiatric hospital must accept within seven days people found to not have the mental capacity to stand trial because they are unable to help their attorney defend them in court—what is called "aid and assist."

In 2019, wait times in jail began climbing again and we returned to court to enforce the Court decision.

Advocacy Campaigns

 Legislation

Banning the Use of Canines in Jail to Control Inmates

During the 2019 state legislative session, we successfully advocated for a statewide ban on the use of police canines in jail (SB 495).

Photo of an American flag blowing in the wind outside of a courthouse with columns. Photo by Bonnie Kittle.

Reform the Aid and Assist Process

Disability Rights Oregon continues to pursue legislation that increases the use of community-based options and decreases the use of institutionalization for defendants who need mental health services to restore their competency to aid and assist in their defense. 

Media Coverage

Featured
A Key State Agency Admits It Ignored a Federal Mandate to Help People With Severe Mental Illness
Oregon State Hospital has violated federal order on admissions for last 6 months; judge presses for change
Oregon group wants to make it easier to commit those in mental health crisis
Health authority is flouting new Biden anti-discrimination rules, hospitals claim
The final tab to taxpayers to defend Oregon’s troubled child welfare system? Possibly upwards of $30 million
Oregon spent $23M on legal fees to defend state foster care system before reaching settlement
A mentally ill inmate in Oregon lost nearly 100 pounds before his sudden death, records suggest
Vale student pushes for ADA access at high school entry
Former Oregon foster youth share harrowing stories in settlement hearing
Foster care youth testify over issues in Oregon's foster care system following class action settlement
Federal judge approves historic Oregon child welfare settlement after emotional testimony
Next chapter in child welfare civil lawsuit begins; now real work starts to improve children’s lives in Oregon

Success Stories

Decriminalize
Mental Illness

Disability Rights Oregon’s Mental Health Rights Project works to end the criminalization of mental illness, promote independence and community living for people with mental health conditions, and improve conditions in Oregon jails and prisons for people in mental health crisis.

Learn more about how our communities criminalize mental illness.

Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program — Public Forum

On June 25, 2024, representatives from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) will visit Disability Rights Oregon in Portland.

SAMHSA/CMHS invites you to send comments about the PAIMI Program services and activities conducted by Disability Rights Oregon.

Please send your comments to SAMHSA/CMHS by email to PAIMI@samhsa.hhs.gov or mail to the PAIMI Program Coordinator, SAMHSA/CMHS, 5600 Fishers Lane, Suite 14E25D, Rockville, Maryland 20857.