The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is a national non‑profit public interest law and policy organization that advances the civil rights and community‑based services of people with mental health conditions and intellectual and developmental disabilities through litigation, policy advocacy, technical assistance, and public education.
Civil and constitutional rights for people with psychiatric and developmental disabilities; expansion of community‑based mental health and supportive housing services; enforcement and expansion of Medicaid/Medicare coverage and parity; alternatives to incarceration and juvenile justice reforms; education and employment supports under disability law; protections against unnecessary institutionalization and involuntary treatment abuses.
Primarily funded by foundation grants and philanthropic donations, supplemented by program service revenue and occasional government or settlement funds related to litigation and technical assistance.
Named for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David L. Bazelon; frequently partners with national civil‑rights and disability organizations such as the ACLU, state protection and advocacy agencies, the National Disability Rights Network, and community mental health and housing advocates.
Non‑profit public interest law center (501(c)(3))
