Disability Rights Mississippi

Disability Rights Advocacydrms.ms

Disability Rights Mississippi is a federally mandated, non-profit Protection & Advocacy agency providing free legal and advocacy services to Mississippians with disabilities across civil rights, education, voting, employment, mental health, and facility monitoring domains.

Company typePrivate
Founded1982
HeadquartersJackson, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Disability Rights Mississippi does

Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1982 as Mississippi's federally mandated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) agency and a member of the National Disability Rights Network. The organization provides free legal and advocacy services to Mississippians with disabilities across the full range of federally funded P&A programs, including PAAT (assistive technology), PADD (developmental disabilities), PAVA (voting accessibility), PAIR (individual rights), PAIMI (mental illness), PABSS (Social Security beneficiaries), and PATBI (traumatic brain injury). DRMS operates from a headquarters in Jackson and a regional office in Gulfport, employing 23 staff including in-house attorneys, civil rights attorneys, advocates, investigators, and a fiscal team.

The agency's service delivery is structured around an intake process (phone or email) that screens cases against agency criteria before assigning attorneys or advocates. Services span civil rights litigation, special education advocacy (IEP/FAPE enforcement), facility monitoring (nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, correctional institutions), voting access enforcement, employment and benefits advocacy, community integration support, and systemic investigations. DRMS conducts published investigative reports — notably the 2021 Mississippi Department of Corrections prison conditions report and the January 2025 unlicensed personal care homes report — and pursues impact litigation, including class actions against MDOC and Henley-Young juvenile justice facility.

DRMS generates revenue primarily through federal grants from the Administration on Community Living (ACL) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) under HHS, supplemented by public donations. All client services are provided free of charge. The agency is governed by a board of directors (many with disabilities or family disability connections) and led by Executive Director Polly Tribble (appointed 2017). The May 2025 federal funding delay forced an unprecedented agency-wide case stoppage, highlighting acute funder concentration risk, which the September 2025 IOLTA grant partially mitigated by diversifying funding sources and expanding legal clinic delivery across Mississippi.

Disability Rights Mississippi firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Disability Rights Mississippi
Legal name: Disability Rights Mississippi
Website: https://drms.ms
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1982
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Disability Rights Mississippi is a federally mandated, non-profit Protection & Advocacy agency providing free legal and advocacy services to Mississippians with disabilities across civil rights, education, voting, employment, mental health, and facility monitoring domains.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Disability Rights Mississippi industry classification

Industry

Product category: Disability Rights Advocacy
NAICS: Human Rights Organizations (813311), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)
SIC: Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111)
akta.pro primary industry: Disability Rights & Accessibility Advocacy (BPAGAFAF)
akta.pro secondary industry: Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

Keywords

Disability rights advocacy
Legal advocacy services
Protection and advocacy
Civil rights enforcement
Disability legal services

Where Disability Rights Mississippi is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Jackson
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Disability Rights Mississippi business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Federal Government Grants: DRMS receives federal funding through the National Disability Rights Network and various federal agencies including the Administration on Community Living (ACL) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), both under the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency was authorized and funded by Congress as a Protection & Advocacy agency.
Donations: DRMS accepts donations from the public to support programs and services for Mississippians with disabilities.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Other	Other	Free Services - DRMS provides all services at no charge to clients

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Disability Rights Mississippi product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Disability Rights Mississippi is the federally mandated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) agency for Mississippi, providing free legal and advocacy services to Mississippians with disabilities. Its work includes investigating abuse and neglect, monitoring facilities (nursing homes, prisons, juvenile justice centers, mental health facilities), pursuing legal remedies for rights violations, and operating multiple federally funded programs covering voting access, assistive technology, employment, mental health rights, and developmental disabilities.

Product overview

Disability Rights Mississippi is a private, non-profit corporation and the federally mandated Protection & Advocacy agency for Mississippi. The organization offers a unified portfolio of free legal and advocacy services for people with disabilities, centered around multiple federally-funded Protection and Advocacy programs (PAAT, PADD, PAVA, PAIR, PAIMI, PABSS, PATBI), direct legal representation, facility monitoring and investigations, and educational resources. The core offering combines legal advocacy services with specialized programs addressing voting access, employment, mental health rights, and community integration, supplemented by published investigative reports on systemic issues affecting people with disabilities in Mississippi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT) Assists individuals with disabilities and their families in accessing technology devices and assistive technology services through case management, legal representation, and self-advocacy training.
Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) Pursues legal, administrative, and other appropriate remedies to protect and advocate for the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities in Mississippi.
Protection and Advocacy for Voting Accessibility (PAVA) Ensures that the rights of voters with disabilities are protected by monitoring polling sites for accessibility and assisting individuals who encounter barriers at the ballot.
Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR) Protects and advocates for the rights of individuals with disabilities through enforcement of the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, and other applicable laws.
Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Provides services to individuals who are residents of mental health facilities, in the process of being admitted, or recipients of community mental health services.
Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Provides information and advice about obtaining vocational rehabilitation and employment services, and advocacy to help Social Security beneficiaries secure or regain gainful employment.
Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI) Serves persons with traumatic brain injury who need assistance regarding abuse/neglect, accessibility, assistive technology, housing, habilitation, and financial entitlements.
Monitoring and Investigations Monitors facilities and institutions including nursing homes, long-term care facilities, psychiatric facilities, and correctional facilities for abuse, neglect, and accessibility issues.
Children's Rights Services Addresses abuse and neglect of children with disabilities and pursues accessibility and accommodations issues within the education system, including IEP and FAPE matters.
Employment and Benefits Advocacy Assists people with disabilities with employment inclusion, reasonable accommodation denials, and Medicaid waiver applications.
Prison Investigation Report Public investigative report on Mississippi prison conditions impacting inmates with disabilities, released January 2021.
Unlicensed Personal Care Home Report Public investigative report on unlicensed personal care homes documenting widespread violations, misconduct, and discriminatory practices, accompanied by related lawsuits filed against operators.

Companies that use Disability Rights Mississippi

Customer profile

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Disability Rights Mississippi technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Disability Rights Mississippi partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRMS is a proud member of the National Disability Rights Network, which works in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) and Client Assistance Programs (CAPs), the nation's largest providers of legal advocacy services for people with disabilities. NDRN provides national coordination, policy advocacy, and support for state P&A agencies.
Mississippi Parent Training Institute (MSPTI)minorOthersDRMS collaborates with and refers clients to MSPTI, which provides training and resources for parents/guardians of students with disabilities.
The Arc of MississippiminorOthersDRMS collaborates with The Arc of Mississippi, which assists with support decision making, operates the SPOTT team, and provides additional resources for individuals with I/DD and their families.
Families As AlliesminorOthersDRMS collaborates with Families As Allies, which provides support and resources for parents of children with behavioral challenges.
Institute for Disability StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRMS partners with the Institute for Disability Studies and Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities as part of Mississippi's Developmental Disabilities Network. Together they publish the DD Network News and conduct Community Listening Forums.
Mississippi Council on Developmental DisabilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRMS partners with the Institute for Disability Studies and Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities as part of Mississippi's Developmental Disabilities Network. Together they publish the DD Network News and conduct Community Listening Forums.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Disability Rights Mississippi competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program: Alabama's federally mandated P&A agency, providing legal advocacy and rights protection for Alabamians with disabilities. Adjacent-state P&A with comparable structure and regional disability rights focus.
Disability Rights Texas: Texas's congressionally mandated Protection & Advocacy agency, providing free legal and advocacy services to Texans with disabilities. Directly comparable as a sister state P&A in the NDRN network with identical programmatic structure (PAIMI, PADD, PAIR, etc.).
Disability Rights California: California's designated P&A agency, providing legal advocacy and disability rights services. Sister state P&A with a comparable multi-program federal funding structure and in-house legal team model.
Disability Rights Florida: Florida's statewide Protection & Advocacy system for people with disabilities. Operates the same federal program portfolio (PAIR, PAIMI, PADD, etc.) and provides free legal advocacy, directly comparable to DRMS's mandate and delivery model.
Disability Rights Advocates: National nonprofit disability rights legal center pursuing high-impact litigation and policy advocacy. Comparable focus on systemic disability rights litigation, though operating at a national rather than single-state level.
Disability Rights New York: New York's Protection & Advocacy agency providing free legal and advocacy services. Sister state P&A with comparable multi-program federal funding structure and in-house legal capabilities.
Georgia Advocacy Office: Georgia's designated Protection & Advocacy system. Sister state P&A providing free legal advocacy, abuse/neglect investigation, and disability rights services comparable to DRMS's model.

Broad incumbents

National Disability Rights Network: National umbrella organization for the P&A and CAP network, of which DRMS is a member. Provides national policy coordination, training, and resource support; serves as the broader network to which all state P&As belong.
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: National nonprofit legal advocacy organization focused on mental disability rights. Comparable to DRMS's PAIMI program work and broader disability rights litigation, but operating nationally with a narrower mental health focus.

Regional players

Southern Poverty Law Center: Regional civil rights organization based in the South that has partnered with DRMS on litigation including Henley-Young and voting rights cases. Comparable regional civil rights litigation focus overlapping DRMS's work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Disability Rights Mississippi financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Disability Rights Mississippi leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Disability Rights Mississippi funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Disability Rights Mississippi M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Disability Rights Mississippi

What does Disability Rights Mississippi do?

Is Disability Rights Mississippi a public or private company?

Disability Rights Mississippi is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Disability Rights Mississippi founded?

Disability Rights Mississippi was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Disability Rights Mississippi based?

Disability Rights Mississippi is headquartered in Jackson, United States, in the North America region.

How does Disability Rights Mississippi make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Federal Government Grants are the primary driver. The others are donations.

Who are Disability Rights Mississippi's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, Disability Rights Texas, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Florida, Disability Rights Advocates, Disability Rights New York and Georgia Advocacy Office. Broad incumbents are National Disability Rights Network and Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Southern Poverty Law Center is listed as a regional player.

Does Disability Rights Mississippi have an API?

No public API is recorded for Disability Rights Mississippi.

What industry is Disability Rights Mississippi in?

Disability Rights Mississippi's product category is Disability Rights Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAF, Disability Rights & Accessibility Advocacy, with a secondary code of BPAGACAG, Disability Services & Independent Living Support. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8300.