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

An Update from the NCIL ADRC Task Force

Is your CIL or SILC participating as an equal partner in an Aging and Disability Resource Center? Are the administrative and attitudinal barriers for access to services and supports by those living with disabilities and seniors being mitigated or erased in your service area? What does this No Wrong Door (NWD) model mean for CILs and SILCs? Is the new Person Centered Planning / Counseling implementation in synchronization or conflict with the Independent Living model and paradigm? These are the core questions that the NCIL ADRC Task Force is addressing, particularly now that the Administration for Community Living will be the new home for the Independent Living Administration.

At the NCIL Conference in July 2014, there were two workshops related to ADRCs / NWD that presented critical information that impacts CILs, and SILCs, and our values. The Task Force also conducted a survey last year on the status of ADRCs meeting the NCIL ADRC Position. This was sent to all CILs and SILCs electronically and responses were reviewed, tabulated and analyzed by Co-Chair of the NCIL ADRC Task Force (and staff of Disability Rights and Resources in Charlotte, North Carolina) Julia Sain. These results will soon be posted to the NCIL ADRC Task Force page and show that there are some ADRCs that do implement our values per our position paper, yet there are many that still do not.

The PowerPoint slides from the workshop on the intersection of Person Centered Planning with IL Paradigm have been posted as well, and areas for advocacy and vigilance are identified. Ongoing dialogue on the status of Part A states under the ACL grant process is proceeding through the new Part A CIL group, with strong involvement from the NCIL ADRC Task Force.

We are also at national conferences to present our NCIL ADRC values, successes, and alternatives. So, get involved! We meet monthly on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Ensure that you are an individual member of NCIL, then send an email to NCIL staff Lindsay Baran at [email protected]  or Task Force Chair Mary Margaret Moore at [email protected] to join!