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704 Guiding Principles

May 1, 2001 By

Approved by the NCIL Membership May 2001

WHEREAS, accurate date regarding the individuals served and programmatic activities of over 400 centers for independent living (CILs) across the United States is critical to justifying and supporting further expansion of independent living programs and services; and

WHEREAS, to compare the demographics of individuals served by CILs to the demographics of their surrounding communities requires date to be comparable to the collected by the U.S. Bureau of Census; and 

WHEREAS, many or most CILs collect, collate and report the date used in the report required by the Section 704 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended (the “704 Report”) using specially designed data collection software which requires re-programming every time there is a change to the 704 Report; therefore, be it

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: that the National Council on Independent Living urges the Rehabilitation Services Administration to undertake further adjustments to the 704 Report, using the following principles.

  1. Contemplate future changes to the 704 Report be circulated in a draft form to CILs, SILCs and Designated State Units prior to the submission to the Office of Management for approval.
  2. Future changes to the 704 Report be published in final form no less than six months prior to the fiscal year to which they pertain.
  3. Terminology used in the report, which is not already defined in law, or regulation be clearly defined in the 704 Report instructions.
  4. For comparability to the data from the U.S. Census and from other federal agencies, questions pertaining to ethnicity and race correspond exactly to the standards set forth in Office of Management and Budget notice entitled “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” dated October 30, 1997.
  5. To avoid unnecessary re-programming of reporting software, the order and categorical definitions be changed only when required to adhere to the principles described above, or to accommodate changes to governing statues and regulations.

Submitted by: Benjamin F. Harville, California Department of Rehabilitation