What is a SILC?
As part of the 1986 amendments to the Federal Rehabilitation Act, each state needed to establish a SILC or a State Independent Living Council. In Washington, former Governor Mike Lowry, through executive order 93-04, created the Washington SILC (Governor Gary Locke amended the original executive order in 2004 with EO 04-05).
In cooperation with the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitations and Department of Blind Services (known as "Designated State Units" or DSU's), the primary purpose of the SILC is to prepare a State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) which sets goals and benchmarks for the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and the services they provide. To help guide this "blueprint", the SILC solicits continual public feedback on the effectiveness of independent living services and the changing needs of the community.
The SILC also works with appropriate bodies such as the CILs, the two DSU's, the state legislature, and others to develop additional capacity to serve and advocate for and with individuals with disabilities.
The SILC consists of an eight-person governor-appointed board, an executive director and a one-half staff (executive assistant). The SILC is presently housed in the state's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Office in Lacey.
What is a Center for Independent Living?
CILs are non-residential, private, non-profit, consumer-controlled, community-based organizations providing services and advocacy by and for persons with all types of disabilities. Their goal is to assist individuals with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential within their families and communities.
Also, CILs serve as a strong advocacy voice on a wide range of national, state and local issues. They work to assure physical and programmatic access to housing, employment, transportation, communities, recreational facilities, and health and social services. These are just a few of the services offered.
What is Independent Living?
Independent Living (IL) is a philosophy and a movement of people with disabilities who work for self-determination, equal opportunities and self-respect.
Independent Living does not mean that we want to do everything by ourselves and do not need anybody or that we want to live in isolation. Independent Living means that we demand the same choices and control in our every-day lives that our non-disabled brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends take for granted. We want to grow up in our families, go to the neighborhood school, use the same bus as our neighbors, work in jobs that are in line with our education and abilities, start families of our own. Just as everybody else, we need to be in charge of our lives, think and speak for ourselves.
To this end we need to support and learn from each other, organize ourselves and work for political changes that lead to the legal protection of our human and civil rights.
