Protection and Advocacy, Inc., (PAI) is a nonprofit agency that advances the human and legal rights of persons with disabilities.

PAI began protecting the rights of Californians with disabilities in 1978.  We now provide services to people with disabilities under five federal programs--the Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights (PADD) ACT; the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Act; the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) Act; the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Act; the Assistive Technology (AT) Act of 1998; the Protection and Advocacy Tramatic Brain Injury (PATBI) act; and the Protection and Advocacy Voting Access (PAVA) act.

Under a contract with California's Department of Mental Health, PAI operates the Office of Patients' Rights (OPR)--to advocate for the rights of people who have a psychiatric disability or emotional impairment.

PAI operates the Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy (OCRA) under a contract with California's Department of Developmental Services.  OCRA provides clients' rights advocacy to individuals with developmental disabilities who are clients of California's 21 regional centers.