Protection & advocacy for individuals with mntl illness

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $651,507 to the Center for Legal Advocacy on October 1, 2025, under the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness program (CFDA 93.138). The award funds legal advocacy and rights protection services for adults with significant mental illness and children with significant emotional disturbance, with emphasis on investigating and addressing complaints of abuse, neglect, and civil rights violations in care and treatment facilities.

The Center for Legal Advocacy, doing business as The Legal Center For People With Disabilities And Older People, is Colorado's designated Protection and Advocacy system and serves as the recipient. Place of performance is Colorado. The award covers a 24-month period ending September 30, 2027.

The PAIMI program is intended to pursue administrative, legal, and other appropriate remedies to enforce constitutional protections and federal and state statutes for individuals with mental illness at risk in care facilities, during admission or transport to facilities, or in community settings. Service priority extends to individuals involuntarily confined in municipal detention facilities, jails, or prisons. Funds are obligated through electronic transfer and subject to 2 CFR 200 compliance requirements and program-specific regulations under 45 CFR 51.