Centers for Independent Living (CILs) empower persons with disabilities to take charge of their lives and guide their own destinies. In addition, CIL staff, boards, and consumers work together to remove barriers and prejudices in society so that all individuals can live and work and enjoy all that their communities have to offer. Fifty-one percent of the staff and boards of CILs are persons with disabilities, which means that they play significant roles in the decision-making responsibilities of the Centers.

Nineteen percent of all Florida residents have a disability. That number may seem high, but remember that not all disabilities are visible. The Florida network of 17 Centers for Independent Living (CILs) serve persons with all types of disabilities. CILs serve all ages from children to seniors. Every Florida county is served by this network, both urban and rural areas. Over the last fiscal year, CILs served more than 16,000 persons with disabilities, offering unique and wide diversity of services designed to maximize the ability for persons with disabilities to live and work in their communities.

The CILs are federally mandated under Section 725 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1998. They are funded with Federal and State dollars, and through local community grants and private donations. CILs fall under the authority of the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and serve as the pre-employment readiness component to that program. CILs are represented through the Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) as an advocacy and support organization.

Four Core Services

Information & Referral
The CIL is a clearinghouse of information for consumers.

Independent Living Skills
The CILs assist consumers with skill develoment in areas such as money management, goal setting accessing transportation, and finding and using assistive technology, employment readiness, and social skills.

Peer Mentoring & Networking
The CILs offer peer support and mentoring in group settings and for individuals that share like disabilities to support each other.

Advocacy
The CILS assist consumers in areas of individual and system advocacy skills. The Centers also educate consumers and the community regarding roles and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act.

More Services Offered by CILs

Each CIL also offers unique services tailored to the needs of its community, including but not limited to: home modifications, equipment loans and repair, computer skills training, recreational activities and community events.

Employment
CIL independent living skills training and peer counseling services prepare persons with disabilities to enter vocational rehabilitation programs and be successful in them. This component is critical to the process of persons with disabilities gaining and sustaining employment and moving from public assistance rolls to being tax paying citizens.

Independent Living Sales Tax Dollars
Independent living services also have tax saving impact on the State and within local communities. For example: One CIL in Florida spent $3,500 to modify a bathroom in the home of a severely disabled 7 year old girl allowing her to bath independently for the first time in her life. She resides with elderly grandparents who can no longer bathe her. The alternative for this child was to have home health care three days per week for the next 15 years at an exorbitant public cost, or institutional placement which costs the state about $64,000 per year. Many public dollars were saved. Successes such as this one occur routinely throughout the CIL Network.

CIL Collaboration with other Agencies Maximizes Effectiveness
Each Center in the CIL network has a unique, critical impact on its respective catchment area serving as a coordinator of multi-agency efforts collaborating with local comunity programs asisting those in need. CILs also serve their communities by providing education on accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for business and industry.

The Statewide network plays a critical role with community agencies such as the United Way, United Cerebral Palsy, the Florida Independent Living Council, The Developmental Disabilities Council, Crime Victims Advocacy Programs, Homeless Coalitions, and many more.

CILs and State Agencies
CILs have an additional impact in supporting the goals and missions of statewide agencies such as the Florida Department of Health, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program regarding nursing home transition, the Florida Department of Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation regarding employment, The Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology regarding housing, The Commission for Transporation Disadvantaged, The Florida Telecommunications Relay, The Florida Agencies for Disabilities regarding developmental disabilities, etc.

Legislative Initiatives
The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is deeply involved in legislative initiatives affecting CILs and the person with disabilities they serve, including Medicaid Reform, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Independent Living Program, the Personal Care Attendant Program, and the Biker's Care Specialty license plate initiative. FACIL and CILs are called upon to consult upon legislative issues.

Other CIL initiatives include:

• Youth Transition from School to Work to Independence
• Accessibility Services Such as Home Modifications
• Community Education on Accessibility
• Nursing Home Transition/Diversion
• Pre-employment Services
• Employment Services
• Crime Victims Advocacy
• Exercise and Recreational Activities
• Support Groups
• Loan Closets of Durable Medical Equipment
• Interpreting Services