A Division of the CT State Department of Social Services

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State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) (Link to Annual Report)

Name: State Rehabilitation Council
Contact Person: Evelyn Oliver Knight
Address: c/o BRS/DSS
25 Sigourney St. – 11^th Floor
Hartford, CT 06106

Phone: (860) 424-4871
1-800-537-2549

E-mail: evelyn.knight@po.state.ct.us
Website: www.brs.state.ct.us

The State Rehabilitation Council, whose members are appointed by the Governor, provides input and guidance on the Vocational Rehabilitation Program, which is administered by the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services of the Department of Social Services. Council members also advocate for the Vocational Rehabilitation Program on the state and federal levels.

The Mission of the Council is to provide assessment, advice and recommendations to the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) and others regarding coordination and effectiveness of programs and strategies which promote community-based competitive employment for persons with disabilities.

The Council meets every other month at locations around Connecticut. Meetings of the Council are open to the public.

For further information about the State Rehabilitation Council, including a listing of its members, contact Evelyn Oliver Knight (see above).

Connecticut Independent Living Centers

Disability Resource Center of Fairfield County
Anthony LaCava, Executive Director
80 Ferry Boulevard
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 378-6977 (V); (203) 378-3248 (TDD)
web site: www.drcfc.org
e-mail: info@drcfc.org

Center for Disability Rights
Marc Gallucci, Executive director
764A Campbell Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516
(203) 934-7077 (V)
(203) 934-7079 (TDD)
web site: www.centerfordisabilityrights.org
e-mail: cdr7077@aol.com

Independence Unlimited
Candace Low, Executive Director
151 New Park Avenue - Suite D
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 523-5021 (V)
(860) 529-0436 (TDD)
e-mail: indunl@aol.com

Disabilities Network of Eastern Connecticut
Catherine Ferry , Executive director
238 West Town Street
Norwich, CT 06360
(860) 823-1898 (V/TDD)
web site: www.dnec.org
e-mail: dnec@dnec.org

Independence Northwest
Eileen M. Healy, Executive Director
Independence Northwest, Inc.
1183 New Haven Road, Suite 200
Naugatuck, CT 06770
203-729-3299 (V)
203-729-1282 (TDD)
Email: info@independencenorthwest.org

Connecticut's independent living centers promote empowerment and self-reliance for persons with disabilities. There are four core services provided by an independent living center:

peer support:
Peer counselors at ILCs provide support to consumers by drawing on their own life experience with disabilities and negotiating the system.

information and referral:
ILCs assist the individual in identifying and accessing services and supports, benefits, assistive technology, housing, personal assistance services, or any other resources to enhance independent living.

individual and systems advocacy:
ILCs assist consumers to secure the supports and services needed to maximize their independence. Advocacy on a systems level challenges the barriers that can stigmatize and exclude people with disabilities from full community participation.

independent living skills training:
ILCs provide training in activities of daily living and the skills needed to make community living as full and rich as possible. Examples of skill training areas are: management and recruitment of personal attendants, financial management, utilizing community resources, locating housing, consumer rights and responsibilities.

In response to the "Olmstead Decision" (Olmstead vs. L.C., June 22, 1999), which prohibits states from institutionalizing persons with disabilities who with proper supports can live in the community, BRS is working in partnership with representatives of state agencies, independent living centers and advocates for persons with disabilities, to find innovative ways to restructure services and expand independent living opportunities for persons who are at risk of, or who are, institutionalized. Olmstead and Connecticut’s response to it represent a profound and positive shift in disability policy.

Independent living centers are fundamentally different from other providers that serve people with disabilities. The traditional approach to assisting people with disabilities originated from a medical perspective that thinks of these people as requiring curing or fixing. Using this approach, a medical professional controls the service and the desired outcome is to achieve maximum physical or mental functioning.

The independent living model of service provision believes that the problem lies with society, not the individual. A disability is viewed as a condition, often times permanent, that affects or restricts an individual’s ability perform certain tasks. With this approach, the person with the disability controls the service instead of the professional; the desired outcome of service is to achieve complete control over daily living whenever and wherever possible.

Independent living centers offer services designed to empower persons with disabilities to maintain an independent life, no matter what their living situation. The guiding principle is integration of the person with a disability to the fullest degree possible into the community of choice.

Independent living centers are:

consumer-controlled:
directed, managed and staffed to a substantial degree by qualified persons with severe disabilities.

community-based:
located within the community in which the consumers of its services reside.

community responsive:
designed to address the disability-related needs of the community, by identifying service gaps and barriers which limit the independence of people with disabilities in that community.

cross-disability:
provide a single point of access to services for all people regardless of the nature or type of disability.

non-residential:
support self-sufficiency and independent living for the individual in their chosen community and setting.

 

The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services

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