Summary
CA Independent Living Center Funding History and 
Plan to Modify the Welfare & Institutions Code
ILC Background
California’s 28 Independent Living Centers (ILCs) are peer-based, independent, nonprofit entities located throughout the state, from Humboldt to San Diego. They are primarily federally-funded and overseen by the CA Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), the designated state entity (DSE). ILCs are intersectional in their work, and work with people with all types of disabilities and ages to help them live, learn, and work independently in their communities. 
Consumers receive: (1) Independent Living Skills Training; (2) Information and Referral Services; (3) Direct and Systems Change Advocacy; (4) Peer Counseling and Support; (5) Personal Assistant Services; (6) Accessible Housing Referral; (7) Assistive Technology Services; (8) Transition and Diversion Services, including institution to Community-based Living for residents to live in the communities of their choice, and Youth Transition Coordination for young adults moving from secondary education to employment and/or postsecondary education.  
Independent Living (IL) is a vested civil right under federal and state law. Living independently with Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) is a viable alternative to more costly institutionalization in nursing homes and other institutional settings, as codified through the Olmstead Act of the ADA. 
History of IL Funding Imbalances
Originally, a small number of ILCs were created with federal establishment grants. The first state General Fund allocation for ILCs was $2 million in 1979. Since 1997, the minimum funding commitment to ILCs has been $9.7 million annually. Currently, annual state funding is $12.5 million to support a total of 28 ILCs in 50 locations throughout California for over 100,000 people with disabilities. *Add in info about catchment areas* No new funding has been appropriated to supporting the 28 ILCs since 1997. The ILC funding allocation and core services were chartered in the Welfare and Institutions Code WIC § 19806. In 1998, an annual base state funding level (referred to as “AB 204” funding) was set at $235,000 There have not been any changes to this base allocation since 1998. 
All 28 ILCs receive federal funding directly from the Administration for Community Living in the form of Title 7C grants. The total amount of funding California’s 28 ILCs receive is approximately $8.2M annually.
Even though the Title 7C funding formula per state was originally based on population, there is an enormous difference in the amount of funding that each CA ILC receives since some centers have more than one Title 7C grant, regardless of their service population. In FY 2021, the highest 7C allocation per center was $593,000 and the lowest was $70,000 annually. (List # of services and cost per service) Today, the 28 ILCs share a total of $20.7 million dollars through combined state and federal funding annually, which is about $828 per individual receiving IL services directly.
Stagnant IL funding has created large underserved and unserved populations. Although ILCs must provide 8 mandatory core federal and state services to people with disabilities, funding has failed to keep pace with the demand for services and increase in both disability and older adult populations. Moreover, the lack of any funding increases or COLAs and rising costs to staff and operate an ILC, in addition to regional cost of doing business inequities, has left substantial numbers of unserved and underserved people with disabilities in the catchment areas of all 28 Centers. Significant factors not previously considered in funding allocations include regional poverty rates, geographic distances, cost of doing business, homelessness/lack of affordable, accessible housing resources, growing aging population, and recent global, long-term impacts of the pandemic. 
Funding Study and Short-Term Solutions

The Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) engaged in a nationwide survey of Centers for Independent Living in late 2013 and early 2014 using a process and instrument consistent with those used in the mid-1990s. 

The results of that process and analysis of the data set of both rural and urban Centers from varying parts of the country show a minimum base funding standard in 2014 was $570,000 to provide the five core federal services, not including implementing any additional required state services nor including cost of living variables for each state and county or region. 

In 2016, several State Plans for Independent Living (SPIL) across the country began to include a new base amount of between $500,000 to $570,000 required for each of the ILCs to provide their core IL services. In 2016, the CA SILC determined that the IL Network should adopt a new funding formula that reflects the current cost of operations for each ILC as determined in the APRIL study to include a minimum base of $500,000, a mid-range step-up base of $570,000, and a final base that also includes a CA cost of living adjustment at $746,000. 
In the 2017-19 CA SPIL, fund distribution language reflected the new tiered base funding adoption of $500,000, $570,000, and $746,000 for each Center and began to implement a temporary plan to reach these new bases using $940,000 in Title 7B funding. A tiered approach of additional federal funding, utilizing a portion of the 7B award, was implemented for those centers who were well below these three new levels of base funding for operations. 

Long-Term Solution and Plan 
In the 2020-23 CA SPIL, fund distribution language continued the use of 7B funds for the tiered base increases, but added language for the intent to develop a new funding formula that would include percentage allocations of new, onging federal and/or state IL funds to increase each center’s combined state and federal government funding toward achieving a $746,000 base. Any new funds would be distributed by the following formula: 50% base + 20% regional population + 20% cost of living/business operations + 10% regional geography. All prior state and federal funding distributions would remain the same so that no center would be negatively affected. 
The Welfare & Institutions (W&I) Code - WIC § 19806 must be modified to reflect the new funding formula for federally designated centers. 
Steps:
•	Open W&IC to update language and include new funding formula that increases base allocation with additional factors: regional population and cost of doing business
•	Change baseline State funding amount from $235K to $570K (mid-range of tiered funding: $500K, $570K, $746K) with a new funding formula that includes state and federal allocations – negative impact per center is minimal 
•	Obtain approval from ACL for each SILC to be able to determine 7C funding distributions – where are we on this? 
•	Maintain Seymour match funding or roll funds ($1M) into State base? 
•	Maintain AT funding for each ILC @ $70K
•	Maintain AT funding for hub @ $210K or add to ILC amount bringing each center allocation to $77,500? 
•	Include cost/financial impact to State from general funds $10M (check with Bobby)
•	Add in annual auto COLA language? 

Conclusion
The additional state general funding and new funding formula will allow ILCs to provide quality, equitable core services across the state for all residents with disabilities regardless of where they live. 
The additional funding will allow ILCs to meet both current and emerging needs (e.g., disaster planning and response, pandemic response, housing crises, NF transitions, etc.).