The Disability Policy Consortium of Texas (DPC) is an independent group of health and disability advocacy organizations committed to promoting the rights, inclusion and independence of Texans with disabilities.
The Guiding Principles of the DPC are:
- People with disabilities possess the dignity and worth innate to every human being.
- Individuals with disabilities, like all other people, have unique abilities, preferences, needs, desires, goals and dreams.
- People with disabilities have the right to full access and inclusion in all aspects of community life.
- Children with disabilities have the right to grow up in a family.
- Individuals with disabilities have the right to act on their own behalf, to direct their own future, to represent their own interests, and to make decisions and take risks based on their own goals and values.
- People with disabilities have the right to accurate and timely information, presented in a manner they can use, in order to have options and make informed choices.
- Individuals with disabilities and their families have the right to full participation in the making of policies that will affect their lives.
- People with disabilities and their families have the right to accessible services and supports customized to their needs, flexible to changing circumstances, and provided in their home communities.
- People with disabilities are entitled to the same civil rights protections as any American citizen.
- People with disabilities have the right to freedom from abuse and neglect.