Introduction paragraph about the history of DRI and our 40th Anniversary. Opening in 1984, Disability Rights Iowa, formerly known as Iowa Protection and Advocacy was redesignated into an independent nonprofit agency by then Governor Branstad. As you scroll through this page, accounts of our shared history will be found. These perspectives offer accounts of what was happening globally within the disability rights movement at the time, as well as what DRI advocates were working on, and what DRI was in the news for at the time. Thank you for your continued interest in DRI and we hope that you enjoy helping us celebrate Forty Years of Creating Change.
Fast Facts about the last 40 years
- Disability Rights Iowa has received awards for excellence in Public Justice and for Employer Support of the National Guard and Reserve.
- 368,548 Iowans identify as having a disability; representing 12.5% of the State population.
- Disability Rights Iowa has served over 30,000 individual Iowans over the past 40 years.
- In the past 3 years there has been a 58% increase in requests for DRI services.
- Of the four previous Executive Directors, three of them have been women!
- DRI staff has advocated under multiple non – Protection and Advocacy grants, examples include the Violence Against Women Act and Work Incentives Benefits and Planning.
- DRI staff has monitored over 800 facilities that serve or provide housing for Iowans with disabilities.
- Beginning with an original staff of 3, our current staff of 21 represents a 90% increase in staff over the last 40 years.
- Disability Rights Iowa started with just one Protection and Advocacy program – today, DRI works on nine!
