Protection & advocacy for individuals with mntl illness

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded $338,632 to Virgin Islands Advocacy Inc. (doing business as The Disability Rights) on October 1, 2025, under the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness program (CFDA 93.138).

Virgin Islands Advocacy Inc. is a minority-owned, tax-exempt nonprofit organization registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands that provides legal, educational, and support services to individuals with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities. The award funds the organization's protection and advocacy activities for adults with significant mental illness and children with significant emotional impairment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with priority given to individuals at risk of abuse, neglect, or civil rights violations in care or treatment facilities. The organization pursues administrative, legal, and other remedies to address complaints and enforce constitutional, federal, and state protections for eligible individuals.

The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027. Place of performance is the U.S. Virgin Islands. The assistance type is a formula grant, distributed as a statutory allotment to the system established in the territory to protect and advocate for rights under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.