Center For Disability Rights

What Center For Disability Rights does

Center for Disability Rights (CDR) is a private not-for-profit, community-based advocacy and service organization founded in 1990 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, with additional offices in Albany, Corning, and Geneva. The organization is disability-led, with the CEO and a majority of staff identifying as people with disabilities, and operates using a peer model in which people with disabilities mentor and support others in achieving independent community living. CDR serves individuals with all types of disabilities across New York State, with a primary focus on preventing institutionalization and enabling community-based living.

CDR's service portfolio spans ten core programs: Sign Language Interpreting Services, Service Coordination, Community Support Services, Deaf and Deaf/Blind Services, Independent Living Services, a Community Supplemental Needs Pooled Trust, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS) as a Fiscal Intermediary across 52 New York counties, Disability Employment Connection, Recreation and Social Adult Day Services, and Personal Care Aid / Home & Community Support. The Sign Language Connection (SLC) brand, acquired in November 2021, operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary extending in-person ASL interpreting services. CDR is part of the New York Independent Living Center (ILC) network and collaborates with the Regional Center for Independent Living (RCIL) on joint programming, advocacy, and community events.

The revenue model is funded primarily through government sources, including state Aid to Localities budgets for Independent Living Centers, Medicaid-funded CDPAS fiscal intermediary fees, and county and managed care referrals. Secondary revenue derives from Pooled Trust administration fees, fee-for-service sign language interpreting, individual donations, memberships, and grants. CDR does not publicly disclose revenue or pricing for individual services, and operates with a multi-channel community-led go-to-market motion combining grassroots outreach, county referrals, and direct consumer services across its four offices.

Name

Center For Disability Rights

Legal name

Center for Disability Rights, Inc.

Website

https://cdrnys.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Center for Disability Rights is a disability-led non-profit founded in 1990 in Rochester, NY, providing independent living services, CDPAS fiscal intermediary services across 52 NY counties, deaf services, and pooled trust administration to people with disabilities throughout New York State.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Medicaid Funding: CDR receives funding through government grants, Medicaid waiver programs, and state-funded initiatives to provide services to people with disabilities. The organization serves as a fiscal intermediary for Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS) and operates pooled trust programs.
2. Donations and Memberships: CDR generates revenue through individual donations, membership fees, and fundraising activities. The organization maintains a donation portal on its website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Center for Disability Rights is a non-profit, disability-led organization that uses a peer model to help people with all types of disabilities live independently in the community. It provides direct services including Independent Living support, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS) as a fiscal intermediary across 52 NY counties, a Community Supplemental Needs Pooled Trust, Sign Language Interpreting/Deaf Services, Service Coordination, Community Support, Disability Employment Connection, Personal Care Aide/Home & Community Support, and Recreation/Structured Day programs, alongside systemic disability rights advocacy.

Product overview

Center for Disability Rights is a non-profit, community-based organization that uses a peer model to help people with disabilities live independently and advocate for themselves. The organization offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including Sign Language Interpreting Services, Service Coordination, Community Support Services, Deaf and Deaf/Blind Services, Independent Living Services, a Community Supplemental Needs Pooled Trust, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS), Disability Employment Connection, Recreation and Social Adult Day Services, and Personal Care Aid. The organization acquired Sign Language Connection to expand its Deaf Services. CDR serves as a fiscal intermediary for CDPAP, supporting disabled consumers to be employers across multiple counties in New York State.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Independent Living Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Transitioned 110 people from nursing facilities to community living during COVID-19 pandemic
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe CountyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2023CDR secured an agreement with MHA to provide ASL interpreter access for a Deaf woman to participate in MHA services and programs. MHA agreed to provide in-person sign language interpreters for support groups and workshops.
• Sign Language ConnectioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2021CDR expanded its Deaf Services with the purchase of Sign Language Connection (SLC) in November 2021. This acquisition strengthened CDR's sign language interpreting services and communication access capabilities for the Deaf community.
• Monroe CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2020CDR partnered with Monroe County during COVID-19 to implement a program transitioning nursing facility residents to community settings. CDR also worked with Monroe County on vaccine clinics and nursing facility COVID response.
• Regional Center for Independent Living (RCIL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDR and RCIL co-host annual membership meetings, accessible Halloween events, and collaborate on advocacy efforts. They share joint programs for COVID-19 response and nursing facility transition initiatives.
• Acute KidsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDR partnered with Acute Kids and Monroe County to host pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics specifically for the disability community.
• Lights On After SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDR partnered with Lights On After School and Greater Rochester Afterschool and Summer Alliance (GRASA) to host accessible Trunk or Treat Halloween events for children with and without disabilities.
• Money Follows the Person ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDR connects nursing facility residents to Money Follows the Person (MFP) program services for free community reintegration support.
• All About You Home CareminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLicensed home care agency that would train and facilitate hiring of personal care attendants during the COVID-19 nursing facility transition program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY): New York City-based Independent Living Center providing independent living services, advocacy, and benefits access for people with disabilities. Highly comparable to CDR as a fellow NYS ILC delivering the same core mix of services and advocacy under the federal/state ILC funding framework.
• IndependenceFirst: Milwaukee-based Independent Living Center offering independent living skills, advocacy, transition, and youth services for people with disabilities. Operates under the same federal ILC funding framework as CDR with an overlapping mission and service mix.
• Disability Rights Advocates: A leading national disability-rights legal center headquartered in New York City. Comparable to CDR's advocacy pillar (CDR's Teresa Carroll fair-hearing win and MHA ADA agreement demonstrate similar enforcement activity), though DRA focuses on class-action impact litigation rather than direct service delivery.
• Regional Center for Independent Living (RCIL): Explicitly named in CDR's data as a co-host of annual membership meetings, accessible Halloween events, and COVID-19 nursing facility transition initiatives. RCIL is a New York-based Independent Living Center with overlapping service lines (independent living, advocacy, transition services) and even shares a Senior Director of Independent Living Services with CDR.
• Disability Rights New York (DRNY): New York's designated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) system and federally mandated Client Assistance Program. Operates in the same NY disability-rights ecosystem as CDR with overlapping mission of advancing civil rights and access for disabled New Yorkers, though its mandate and funding stream (federal P&A grants) differ from CDR's ILC base.
• Access Living: Chicago-based Independent Living Center founded in 1980 that pioneered the disability-led peer model CDR uses. Operates the same mix of independent living services, advocacy, and personal-assistance programs as CDR, making it one of the closest nationally recognized peer ILCs.
• Center for Independent Living (Berkeley): One of the original Independent Living Centers in the U.S., based in Berkeley, CA. Delivers the same ILC portfolio — independent living skills, advocacy, peer support, transition services — to a similar population of disabled consumers, providing a useful comparison point outside New York.

Broad incumbents

• National Disability Rights Network (NDRN): The national membership association for the federally mandated P&A and Client Assistance Programs. CDR's Director of National Policy, Dara Baldwin, previously worked at NDRN as Senior Public Policy Analyst, signaling strong affiliation. Operates at a broader national level than CDR but shares advocacy and policy engagement on disability rights.
• National Council on Independent Living (NCIL): The national membership organization for Independent Living Centers, of which CDR is a member. Comparable as the umbrella network governing ILC policy and training, but it operates nationally rather than as a single local service provider.

Regional players

• Disability Rights Wisconsin: Wisconsin's designated Protection & Advocacy agency, comparable in mission and population served to CDR's advocacy work but operating in a different state. Useful as a regional peer benchmarking disability-rights advocacy capacity outside New York.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CDRNYS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3Y0F0GreHceGzwlZ3iDCqg/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/rochestercdr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-center-for-disability-rights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center For Disability Rights