West Virginia Independent Living ActThe April 2009 revision of the West Virginia Independent Living Act may be viewed in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format: State Plan for Independent Living (2008-2010)The latest revision of the State Plan for Independent Living may be viewed in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format: Process and RequirementsThe information below details the process and requirements for West Virginia's State Plan for Independent Living. This also is available for download in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format: The purpose of the State Plan for Independent Living is to govern the state independent living services program and any center for independent living (CIL) programs funded under Title VII, Chapter I, Part B of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (The Act) and the West Virginia Independent Living Act. The SPIL also governs the activities of the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC). The purpose of Title VII, Chapter I of the Act is to promote a philosophy of independent living (IL), which includes consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and system advocacy, to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities, and the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society. To implement this purpose, Chapter 1 authorizes financial assistance to States to:
SPIL Development Process For a State to participate in the programs under Chapter 1, the designated state unit (Division of Rehabilitation Services, or DRS) and the SILC must jointly develop and sign an approvable State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). The SPIL must be submitted to the RSA by July 1, 2007, and be approved by RSA Central Office. No Federal funds or other benefits can be made available under this Chapter unless the SPIL conforms with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The SPIL reflects the State's commitment to carry out the programs in compliance with the provisions in the plan, the application for funds under the part B, Chapter 1 program, and also the State's planning and implementation activities related to various administrative and operational considerations associated with the plan. As such, the approved SPIL will serve as one of the key elements in RSA's monitoring of the State's performance in carrying out the assurances to which the State commits itself in submitting the State plan. The SILC and DRS have established a SPIL Team to handle the development of the SPIL. The process we will use includes the following steps:
History and Evolution of IL in West Virginia Independent living services in West Virginia began in 1981 when the first center for independent living (CIL) was funded and began operations in Huntington , WV October 1, 1981 serving Cabell and Wayne counties. Additional CILs came along in 1982 as more federal funding became available with a CIL established in Charleston (Appalachian CIL) serving Boone, Clay, Kanawha, and Putnam counties and one in Morgantown (North Central WV CIL) serving Barbour, Braxton, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker, and Upshur counties. The Huntington CIL received an additional grant to open a CIL in Beckley in 1988, to serve Raleigh County , operated by the same non-profit corporation and board. When the Rehabilitation Act was reauthorized in 1992, the organizations operating the CILs in Charleston and Morgantown were no longer eligible to receive funds so those 2 CILs spun off and became free standing, non-profits and the Morgantown CIL became the Northern WV CIL. Around that time, the CILs in Huntington and Beckley took on a new name Mountain State CILs. Since that time, Northern WV CIL established a satellite office in Elkins , WV to provide more local service to Lewis, Randolph, Tucker, and Upshur counties. In 1996, the SPIL began providing funding for grants for expansion of CIL services into unserved areas of the state. Current projects include:
In 1985, during the development of the CILs, the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) began receiving a small pot of additional federal IL funding. That funding was initially used to provide direct services through the IL field program such as home modifications, durable medical equipment, adaptive equipment, and rehabilitation technology and to provide small grants to non-profit organizations to provide independent living services. The IL field program was available statewide but the funding was so limited that a long waiting list was maintained. Most people had to wait 18 months to 2 years to receive services from the IL Field Program. In 2003 DRS proposed a change in the SPIL to grant the IL field program funding to the CILs. The rationale was that DRS should focus on vocational services and let the CILs handle IL services. Additionally, granting the funds to the CILs would reduce the administrative costs. The biggest drawback to the change was that the program was no longer statewide and now only serves the counties covered by the CILs and the expansion grants (27 counties total). A waiting list still exists but is not as long as before and we were able to get independent living funding in the state budget to supplement the program. The SILC continues to struggle with how to get IL services, particularly the four core services required by the Rehab Act, to all West Virginians with disabilities. To that end, we have established a 3 pronged effort to increase IL funding:
Current Uses of IL Funds West Virginia currently receives funding for independent living (IL) from both the state and federal government as follows:
The funding is currently being used as follows:
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State Plan for Independent Living
