California Foundation for Independent Living Centers

California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
Name	California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
Formation	1984
Type	Nonprofit
Purpose	Disability rights, independent living services, advocacy
Headquarters	Sacramento, California
Region served	California
Leader title	Executive Director

California Foundation for Independent Living Centers is a statewide nonprofit organization focused on supporting and coordinating a network of independent living centers across California, promoting disability rights, accessibility, and community-based services. Founded in the mid-1980s, the foundation has served as a hub for collaboration among nonprofit organizations, civil rights advocates, and public agencies to advance independent living for people with disabilities. It operates at the intersection of grassroots service delivery, statewide policy advocacy, and capacity building for community-based organizations.

History

The foundation emerged during the 1980s disability rights movement alongside organizations such as American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, National Council on Independent Living, United Cerebral Palsy, Easterseals, and The Arc of the United States, drawing on precedents set by the Independent Living Movement and the passage of landmark legislation like the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Early leaders engaged with state legislators in California State Legislature, civil rights lawyers from ACLU of Northern California and Disability Rights California, and consumer-controlled centers such as Center for Independent Living affiliates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento. The foundation coordinated responses to federal policies under administrations like Reagan administration and Clinton administration, and worked with entities including the Department of Health and Human Services and Social Security Administration when accessing funding streams and program waivers. Over time, it built partnerships with statewide organizations such as California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and universities including University of California, Berkeley and California State University, Sacramento for research, training, and evaluation.

Mission and Programs

The foundation’s mission aligns with principles articulated by advocates from National Council on Disability, disability scholars at Harvard Law School clinics, and community organizers from Black Disabled Lives Matter-aligned groups, emphasizing self-determination and deinstitutionalization. Programs focus on peer counseling, skills training, independent living skills, and systems change modeled after practices at Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and Center for Independent Living, Berkeley. It administers statewide training and technical assistance, quality assurance, and capacity building resembling programmatic work by Corporation for National and Community Service grantees and Community Action Partnership affiliates. Specific initiatives have included transition services for youth accessing supports influenced by guidelines from U.S. Department of Education, employment supports informed by Ticket to Work program, and disaster preparedness collaborations mirroring efforts by Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Department of Public Health.

Organizational Structure and Governance

Governance is typically by a board of directors drawn from consumer leaders, nonprofit executives, and allied professionals with ties to institutions such as California State Senate committees, disability law firms, and academic researchers from University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University. The executive office coordinates regional independent living centers that operate under consumer-controlled principles like those practiced at Center for Independent Living of Kern County and Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco. Administrative functions include program management, fiscal oversight, and compliance with state contracting authorities including California Department of Rehabilitation and subcontracting partners such as County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Advisory councils often include representatives from California Health and Human Services Agency-funded programs and stakeholder groups like California Disability Community Action Network.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding streams come from a mix of public contracts, private foundation grants, and philanthropic partnerships similar to those held by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ford Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente community benefit programs. The foundation has historically pursued federal funding through programs administered by Administration for Community Living and grants under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services waiver authorities, while also contracting with state agencies including the California Department of Social Services. Partnerships extend to legal advocacy groups such as Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and consumer networks like National Disability Rights Network, as well as municipal partners in cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco for service coordination.

Advocacy and Policy Impact

The foundation has participated in statewide advocacy campaigns regarding implementation of statutes like the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, enforcement practices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and accessibility standards promoted by California Building Standards Commission. It has submitted comments to federal rulemaking processes at agencies including U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on transit accessibility and housing discrimination, working alongside partners such as National Low Income Housing Coalition and Public Advocates, Inc.. Through coalition work with groups like California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and La Raza, the foundation has sought to address intersectional barriers to services for communities in regions such as the Central Valley (California), Inland Empire, and Bay Area.

Notable Projects and Services

Notable initiatives include statewide peer mentoring networks modeled on practices from Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, employment training pilots aligned with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act guidelines, accessible housing projects in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity International, and disaster preparedness toolkits developed with Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. The foundation has supported technology access projects inspired by Accessible Technology Initiative work at University of California campuses and assisted community centers to implement universal design approaches advocated by Center for Universal Design and International Code Council. It has also convened statewide conferences featuring speakers from organizations such as National Council on Independent Living, Disability Rights California, Kessler Foundation, and academic programs at Boston University.

Category:Disability organizations based in California