M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC Speaks With Housing Expert About Community Living Options For Adults With Disabilities
Washington, DC (PRWEB) July 26, 2013 -- M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC recently had the opportunity to interview Jane Doyle, co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for Independent Futures. The interview touched on a number of topics, including the history of the organization and the services it provides, but focused on the community based living housing model that CIF is most famous for - the Community Living Option (CLO) Residences.
The Center for Independent Futures(CIF) is a non-profit organization located in Evanston, Illinois, that “helps individuals with disabilities realize full lives, according to their hopes and dreams.” In addition to their CLO housing program, the CIF (which operates independently of state and federal funding) provides services such as public benefits consultations, full life future planning, independent living skills tutoring and supports, network and family coaching, and weekly activities.
As M&L Special Needs Planning discovered, the only thing more impressive than the organization’s roster of services is it’s history; the idea for the CIF was born from discussions that took place “over the kitchen table” between Jane Doyle and Kay Branz. These two women, who bonded and became friends as a result of shared experiences raising children with developmental disabilities, were united in a vision of finding or creating a way for their children to live and participate in the community in a meaningful way after leaving the school system. As Jane says, “it was clear to me that whatever the challenges facing [her daughter] were in the school system, there was a place for her to go, and connect, and be a part of the community. The after school part was the challenge.”
They gathered together families in similar situations in an attempt to identify issues facing individuals with disabilities. The goal was to put forth and discuss solutions to help families deal with those issues, and in turn, support family members with disabilities in realizing their dreams. Jane, who has been trained as an Educator, and also holds a degree in Special Education and a doctorate in Transitioning Planning, thought the challenge would revolve around work and vocational opportunities. In actuality, many families were concerned with finding and accessing housing opportunities outside of what the state of Illinois offered. The organization turned its attention to housing, put together a set of core values and arrived at a shared mission. Shortly thereafter, a housing unit was acquired, and the Community Living Option (CLO) Residences program was created.
In light of M&L Special Needs Planning’s own Independent Living Program and Housing Project, the company was very interested in the daily operation of the CLO residences. According to Jane, CIF maintains a separation between the property and the services. The individual enters into a rental agreement with the landlord, and that individual is responsible for paying monthly bills and expenses through private & public resources, earned income, scholarships, and/or various combinations of all of the above. The CIF develops a memorandum of understanding with the landlord and then enters into a service agreement with the individual.
As per the memorandum, the CIF controls who lives in the unit and handles building management. The service agreement with the individual ensures that a Community Builder lives in each residence and is responsible for providing overnight support, daily check-ins, and weekly “house” meetings. Each resident undergoes the Independent Living Readiness Inventory prior to moving in (an assessment of a young adult’s living skills and experience), and receives one-on-one tutor hours based on this assessment. A Community Life Coordinator acts as a liaison between the staff, the resident, and the resident’s family, creating communication channels and forming of a network of support for the individual.
CLO residences are all located in residential areas, close to public transit services and shopping areas. All housing supports and services the CIF provide are based on their philosophy of support, and “each residence is grounded in community building while fostering individual choice and exploration.”
Those interested in the CIF housing model may be happy to learn that the organization has recently been awarded an 18 month planning grant from the Coleman Foundation to support their New Futures initiative, “a process that provides family groups and agencies with financial, legal and support models for creating new community based housing options for individuals with disabilities in their own neighborhoods”. According to the Coleman Foundation website, “the CIF will establish and document a process for using community based partnership to develop housing alternatives for individuals with developmental disabilities, resulting in four community partnerships in Illinois…resulting in sustainable community-based alternative housing models. For more information on this grant, and the services that CIF provides, please visit their website.
M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC, works with families to acquire information, tools, and resources needed to plan for the future of family members with special needs. Through analysis of important topics such as housing, these certified financial planners strive to educate families and help them better plan for their financial future. Those wishing to read more about this topic can visit the M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC website and are encouraged to contact them for more information.
Maedi Tanham Carney, M&L Special Needs, http://specialneedsplanning.net, (855) 344-9771, [email protected]
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