Protection & advocacy for individuals with mntl illness

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Disability Rights New Mexico $632,033 on October 1, 2025, under the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program (CFDA 93.138).

Disability Rights New Mexico, the designated Protection and Advocacy system for New Mexico, delivers administrative, legal, and other remedies to address complaints of abuse, neglect, and rights violations affecting adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. The organization investigates abuse and neglect, provides legal representation, and pursues enforcement of constitutional, federal, and state statutes protecting the rights of eligible individuals.

The award runs through September 30, 2027, with place of performance in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Service priority extends to individuals at risk for abuse, neglect, or civil rights violations while residing in care or treatment facilities, and includes individuals in the process of facility admission, in transit to facilities, or involuntarily confined in detention facilities, jails, or prisons. Individuals with serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance living in community settings, including their own homes, may be served as determined by the organization's state-level PAIMI program priorities and available resources.