Background on ILC funding for FY’07
The network of ILCs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is composed of 11 unique organizations known as Centers for Independent Living (ILCs). The Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann is one of the eleven centers. Each ILC meets the federal standards and assurances of a center for independent living in that all ILCs are non-profit, consumer-controlled, community-based organizations run by and for individuals with disabilities. ILCs provide a range of services that assist individuals with disabilities to live in the community. ILCs are all about assisting individuals with disabilities in making choices, taking control of their lives, as well as ensuring the right services are available to help the individual live in the community of his or her choice.
ILCs are critical service provider and advocates in the movement to enable individuals with disabilities and elders to have and maintain the option of living in the community. Without the knowledge, background and disability perspective of the ILC, many individuals with disabilities would not have the support necessary to make the move from institution to community. As our society moves toward a community-based view on long-term care supports, ILCs will play a pivotal role. These organizations send staff into nursing homes and institutions to assist the individual directly with making plans, developing skills, and coordinating the necessary services in the community such as housing, transportation, health care services and support services. Since ILCs have been assisting individuals with disabilities and elders to move out of nursing homes and other institutions for over 15 years, ILCs must be part of the options included in the long-term care policy for the Commonwealth.
During FY06, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts funded the operation of ILCs in the amount of $3.34 million. This amount has not increased since 1999. During FY05, 14,625 individuals received information and referral, peer counseling, independent living skills, and advocacy services. In addition, 85 individuals moved out of a nursing home or institution into the community, and over 300 individuals received assistance that prevented the necessity of their entering a nursing home or institution.
The funding of ILCs by the Commonwealth needs to be increased by at least 1.6 million dollars. This increase will be used to fund a major investment in staffing at each ILC. For many years, ILCs have been under-funded, surviving at minimal funding levels, with very little to pay staff and to cover the costs of operating a non-profit organization in this state. This new funding will be earmarked to increase each ILC’s staffing from 3 to 4 FTEs, for the purpose of providing additional staff necessary to assist individuals with disabilities and elders wanting to get out of nursing homes or institutions to live in the community and or to stay in the community.
By increasing staff at each ILC, this new funding will enable all ILCs to increase the amount of services provided, in many cases, double the number of individuals assisted out of nursing homes and institutions. In addition, with larger staffs, ILCs will have the means to participate in statewide initiatives that promote additional housing development, development of additional community support systems, and the collaborations necessary to develop more comprehensive community services.
Although each ILC is unique, based on service area and size of the organization; this new funding is based on some common factors:
One FTE costs $35,000 to $40,000 dollars, depending on the area of the state. Currently at ILCNSCA we are only able to fund direct services staff at $20, 200 to $24,000 annually. Each ILC would receive an equal share of the 1.6 million that translates into 150,000 dollars per organization. Each ILC will use these funds for the provision of direct and community services.
Possible staff to be funded by this increase could include the following: staff to work directly with individuals in nursing homes requesting to live in the community; staff to increase each ILCs capacity to support individuals with disabilities in community that need assistance to stay in the community; a staff position to work on housing issues, including finding housing, and working with other community groups on developing new community-based housing options; and a staff position to provide information and referral services, which will be needed with an overall increase in the individuals with disabilities served by the ILC.
This funding proposal will have a number of results and outcomes. First and fore most, the investment in increasing the level of staffing at each ILC will increase the capacity of ILCs to play a valuable role in the future of long-term care in the Commonwealth. Second, this investment over time would save resources the state would otherwise have to invest in long-term care costs. Third, this investment will increase the employment options for individuals with disabilities, due to the fact that ILCs are run by and for individuals with disabilities. And finally, this investment will ensure that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s funds one of its most precious jewels, the network of Centers for Independent Living.
For further information contact:
Mary Margaret Moore or Shawn McDuff
Independent Living Center of the North Shore and Cape Ann
978-741-0077 V