(1) Each independent living center must meet the following requirements as a condition of the approval of its program:
The program must be under the control and direction of a board of directors or trustees of a nonprofit corporation. The members must be persons with a demonstrated interest in programs for persons with disabilities and fifty-one percent or more of the members of the board must be persons with disabilities.
The independent living center must be staffed with fifty-one percent or more of persons with disabilities.
The independent living center must comply with all of the provisions of this articleand the rules promulgated thereunder.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, each independent living center, as a condition of approval of its program by the state department, must agree to comply with the following evaluation standards:
(a) Philosophy. The independent living center shall promote and practice the independent living philosophy of:
Consumer control of the center regarding decision-making, service delivery, management, and establishment of the policy and direction of the center;
Self-help and self-advocacy;
Development of peer relationships and peer role models;
Equal access of individuals with significant disabilities to all of the center's services, programs, activities, resources, and facilities, whether publicly or privately funded, without regard to the type of significant disability of the individual; and
Promoting equal access of individuals with all types of significant disabilities to allservices, programs, activities, resources, and facilities in the community, whether public or private, and regardless of funding source, on the same basis that access is provided to other individuals with disabilities and to individuals without disabilities.
Provision of services. The independent living center shall provide independent living services to individuals with a range of significant disabilities. The independent living center shall provide independent living services on a cross-disability basis. The independent living center shall determine eligibility for independent living services and shall not exclude eligibility on the presence of any one specific significant disability.
Independent living goals. The independent living center shall facilitate the development and achievement of independent living goals selected by individuals with significant disabilities who seek assistance in the development and achievement of independent living goals from the center.
Community options. The independent living center shall conduct outreach and activities to increase the availability and improve the quality of community options for independent living to facilitate the development and achievement of independent living goals by individuals with significant disabilities.
Independent living core services. The independent living center shall provide independent living core services and, as appropriate, a combination of any of the other independent living services referred to in Title VII, section 725, standards and assurances, of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973", as amended.
Activities to increase community capacity. The independent living center shall conduct activities to increase the capacity of communities within the service area of the center to meet the needs of individuals with significant disabilities.
Resource development activities. The independent living center shall conduct resource development activities to obtain funding from sources other than federal and state sources.
(3) The independent living center shall submit annually to the office a performance report that provides evidence that the center has met the evaluation standards set forth in subsection (2) of this section.
Source: L. 2016: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 16-093), ch. 54, p. 129, § 1, effective March 23.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 26-8.1-107 as it existed prior to 2016.