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Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

An Update from the NCIL ADRC Subcommittee

Greetings from the NCIL Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Subcommittee! We have been busy spreading the word about NCIL’s ADRC principles. Several Subcommittee members presented on IL values at the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems conference in Dallas in the spring.  Ericka Reil of Vermont CIL and Mary Margaret Moore of the Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann, Inc. in Massachusetts were received well and the IL principles were new to many in attendance at our workshop.  At the NCIL Conference, our ADRC workshop with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) was given to a packed room, with NCIL members from California, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts presenting with Joseph Lugo and Elizabeth Leef from ACL.  Of particular note were the next steps that ACL is taking with the No Wrong Door model and the upcoming national web-based training for all providing Options Counseling from the ADRCs. Our NCIL ADRC Subcommittee has given much input to ACL for the past two years on the content of this training.

Some of our Subcommittee members were able to attend the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) conference in late August/early September. A workshop was approved by the Subcommittee and presented by Lindsay Baran, Mary Margaret Moore, and Melanie Hogan on Disability and Aging Perspectives on the No Wrong Door Systems. This caused quite a stir in some of the audience members, but we continue to emphasize that IL values mean walking with, not prescribing a solution, and that for IL, person-centered means person-driven, with dignity of risk, and the opportunity to learn from our mistakes.

As noted above, the ACL web-based training is being rolled out in seven of the 8 Part A grant states, for Options Counselors first. The online training is slated to be started in January, with train-the-trainer access in those 7 states happening now. Despite all of our input, there is still not closure on the accessibility of the online training as developed by the contractor. Of concern, one state has communicated that the online trainings may not work with assistive technology, and accessing the closed captioning elements is a struggle. In addition, there is a mandatory in-person element to the training, so each state has to be trained to what is needed for accommodations for persons with disabilities. ACL has been informed of our concerns by one state, and is addressing this issue with the developer. We will keep the NCIL membership updated as the situation develops. As with all new trainings and initiatives, it is imperative that CILs be involved to not only advise for reasonable accommodations but also to fight for inclusiveness.

Please stay involved with your ADRCs and join our NCIL ADRC Subcommittee, which meets the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m. Eastern via teleconference. Let NCIL staff Lindsay Baran know if you want to join us by contacting her at [email protected].