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

REAADI and DRMA Reintroduction This Week!

August 3, 2021 By

A Message from the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies

It’s Time to Get REAADI!

Word on the Hill is, the Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion (REAADI) for Disasters Act and the Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA) will be reintroduced this week! 

It’s time to push our Representatives and Senators to Co-Sponsor these important bills. 

Let Congress know you and / or your organization support these two vital pieces of legislation that reinforce the rights and needs of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs before, during, and after disasters and emergencies. 

Learn more about REAADI and DRMA at reaadi.com.

Let’s show Congress how important these bills are to the disability community today!

1. Show your Organizational and / or Individual Support

2. Ask your Congressperson to Cosponsor REAADI & DRMA

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Civil Rights & the ADA

NASILC and the IL-NET T&TA Center for Independent Living Present… A National Webinar – SILCs and the Importance of Autonomy: Power Struggles and Relationships with the DSE and the IL Network

July 28, 2021 By

September 1, 2021; 3:00 – 4:30 PM Eastern

Register online

The IL-NET T&TA Center for Independent Living is collaborating with the National Association of Statewide Independent Living Councils (NASILC) to bring you this new webinar on SILC autonomy and problems that exist between SILCs and the DSE. Our panelists will explore the critical importance of SILC autonomy and real world solutions for working through issues between the SILC and DSE (designated state entity). Join us for this highly interactive panel discussion to get the support you need with your SILCs issues around autonomy and working with your DSE.

Registration Fee: This event is free-of-charge.

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Independent Living & The Rehabilitation Act

NASILC and the IL-NET T&TA Center for Independent Living Present… A National Webinar: SILC Roles and Responsibilities Within the IL Network

July 27, 2021 By

August 25, 2021; 3:00 – 4:30 PM Eastern

Register online

The IL-NET T&TA Center for Independent Living is collaborating with the National Association of Statewide Independent Living Councils (NASILC) to bring you this new webinar on SILC roles and responsibilities within the IL Network. Our panel will discuss SILC duties and authorities and the real world impact those can have on an IL Network. The interactive style of this presentation will provide perspective from three different SILCs and how they have become effective partners in their networks. This webinar will be great for new staff and Council members and seasoned veterans who are looking to reinvigorate the focus of their SILC. Plenty of time will be provided for open Q&A with our panelists. Sign up today!

Registration Fee: This event is free-of-charge.

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Independent Living & The Rehabilitation Act

Annual Conference on Independent Living: Opening Plenary Now Available!

July 22, 2021 By

NCIL is pleased to release the archive of the Opening Plenary of our 2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living.

The Opening Plenary included a keynote address from NCIL’s new Executive Director Reyma McCoy McDeid. If you could not join us live, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to get to know Reyma and learn about her vision for NCIL and Independent Living.

Reyma’s introduction and speech begins at the mark 9:35 in the video.

Please enjoy this glimpse into NCIL’s 2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living. Registration is still available at ncil.swoogo.com/2021/begin.

Contact [email protected] for alternate formats.

2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living Logo - LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM, EQUITY. Presented by NCIL. Graphic features a line art drawing of three pulmeria flowers.
Filed Under: Independent Living & The Rehabilitation Act

NCIL Policy Briefing Archive Now Available!

July 16, 2021 By

On Wednesday, July 14, 2021; NCIL held its 16th Annual Policy Briefing.

At this briefing, the Chairs of key NCIL Legislative & Advocacy (L&A) Subcommittees discussed NCIL’s legislative priorities and Advocacy Priorities Guide. They also provided talking points to prepare conference attendees for their virtual Hill meetings on Thursday, July 22.

Archive

Materials

Briefing Presentation

Advocacy Priorities Guide (Summer 2021)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

2021 NCIL Advocacy Priorities Guide Now Available!

July 10, 2021 By

NCIL’s 2021 Advocacy Priorities Guide is now available.

This document contains specific information on the national legislative and policy priorities identified biannually by the NCIL membership, including funding for the Independent Living Program, healthcare and long-term care, housing, transportation, education, and more.

Please share this document with your Center or SILC staff, board, and the Senators and Representatives who serve your districts.

Contact NCIL for further information on the issues discussed in this document.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Information Alert: NCIL Support for the Better Care Better Jobs Act

July 7, 2021 By

Last month, the Better Care Better Jobs Act (PDF), H.R. 4131 / S. 2210, was introduced in Congress. The effort was led by Senator Casey (D-PA), Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY), Senator Wyden (D-OR), Senator Murray (D-WA), Senator Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Hassan (D-NH), and Senator Brown (D-OH) in the Senate, and Congresswoman Dingell (D-MI), Congressman Pallone (D-NJ), Congresswoman Schakowsky (D-IL), and Congresswoman Matsui (D-CA) in the House. NCIL supports this bill’s efforts to transform the long term services and supports (LTSS) landscape.

The Better Care Better Jobs Act (BCBJA) would enact President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. The Jobs Plan proposes to spend $400 billion to expand access to home and community based supports and services. The Jobs Plan would invest in the direct support workforce. The BCBJA provides a way to put that plan into motion. The BCBJA would provide states with opportunities to receive enhanced funding to improve their Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) systems.

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Healthcare & Community Living

2021 NCIL Youth Scholarship Applications Now Open!

June 23, 2021 By
2021 Annual Conference on Independent Living Logo - LIBERTY, INDEPENDENCE, FREEDOM, EQUITY. Presented by NCIL. Graphic features a line art drawing of three pulmeria flowers.

NCIL is proud to announce the 2021 Youth Scholarship Fund. For the seventh year in a row, we will be offering scholarships to our Annual Conference for youth with disabilities ages 18 – 26 who may otherwise be unable to afford the cost of attendance. 

Please note that any conference attendee who identifies as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or Person of Color) can get their registration fee waived by registering with the discount code BIPOC.  BIPOC youth do not need to apply for a youth scholarship to have their registration fee waived.  They may simply use BIPOC discount code on NCIL’s online registration form.

Since NCIL’s 2021 conference will be virtual, all 2021 youth scholarships will provide a waiver for the $90 youth registration rate.   

For the third year in a row, we are also offering the Emet Tauber Youth Scholarship. Emet Tauber was a former Youth Scholarship recipient and NCIL board member who sadly passed away in 2019. Emet’s life was changed by the Youth Scholarship Fund and he was passionate about enabling others to have the same opportunities. Therefore, the Emet Tauber Youth Scholarship will be awarded each year to at least one youth with a disability who is also trans and/or Jewish in recognition of Emet’s activism within both of those communities. If you would like to be considered for the Emet Tauber Youth Scholarship, follow the prompts on the application form under the “Emet Tauber Youth Scholarship” section.

If you’d like to apply for a youth scholarship, please fill out the online application by July 9, 2021. This is a highly competitive process and no applications will be considered after the deadline. Applicants will be notified if they received a scholarship within one week of the application deadline.

NCIL’s Youth Scholarship Fund is 100% funded by NCIL supporters like you. Please consider making a donation to the Youth Scholarship Fund so that we can keep providing this amazing experience for youth with disabilities.

Filed Under: Youth Issues & Education

Support the ASAP Act in Congress!

June 22, 2021 By

Access to public transportation has consistently been identified as a priority by NCIL members. While progress has been made, major barriers to achieving accessible public transportation remain. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) stated that, as of 2019, 20% of all public transit stations in the US failed to meet accessibility criteria.

In an effort to remedy some of the barriers people with disabilities face, Senator Duckworth has introduced the All Station Accessibility Program (ASAP) Act of 2021 (S. 1680). The ASAP Act would establish a grant program to improve the accessibility of rail systems by increasing the number of existing stations or facilities for passenger use that meet or exceed the Americans with Disabilities Act’s construction standards. The program would appropriate $10 billion over 10 years for these grants.

Access Living, a Center for Independent Living in Chicago, IL, is leading efforts to get the ASAP Act passed into law.  They are looking for organizations to join the ASAP Act’s list of supporters and for individuals to email their members of Congress.

If you sign up, you will also receive occasional action alerts and updates on the bill’s progress. You can contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

For more information, including additional background on the ASAP Act and a full list of organizational supporters, visit Access Living’s ASAP Act web page.

Filed Under: Housing & Transportation

IL-NET T&TA Center Presents… A National Webinar: How CILs Can (and Should!) Support Consumers Experiencing Homelessness

June 18, 2021 By

June 30, 2021; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern

Register online

People with disabilities experience homelessness at alarming rates. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reports that among adults using shelters, 49% report having a disability. Of course, not all unhoused people use shelters and many disabilities go undisclosed, so the actual rates are likely significantly higher. The rate of disability is also much higher within certain groups, like unhoused veterans. Centers for Independent Living (CILs) must support people experiencing homelessness if they want to reach all of the people with disabilities in their community. Virtually every CIL has served someone experiencing or at risk of homelessness, but join us on June 30th to hear from two CILs who have made concerted efforts to meet unhoused consumers where they are and provide housing and other IL supports.

This is a critical conversation and our panelists have excellent real-world resources and solutions to share. Don’t miss it!

[Read more…]
Filed Under: Housing & Transportation
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