[1] The Center's precedent-setting litigation has established important civil rights for people with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities.

These include the right to treatment in Wyatt v. Stickney (decided in 1971 and successfully concluded in 1999),[6] and the Supreme Court's 1999 Olmstead v. L.C.

Zimring decision affirming the right of people with disabilities to receive public services in the most integrated setting consistent with their needs.

[7] The Center also engages in federal policy advocacy, working with Congress and the administrative agencies to ensure, for example, that people with mental disabilities are included under the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act and amendments to the federal Fair Housing Act, and to generate resources such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid that can enable them to live and thrive in the community.

[8] The Bazelon Center's publications include reports; issue papers; law, regulation, and policy analyses; advocacy manuals; and consumer-friendly guides to legal rights.