National Council on Independent Living
NCIL is the national membership organisation for Centres for Independent Living (CILs) and the people they serve, providing cross-disability policy advocacy rooted in the independent living philosophy that people with disabilities are the best experts on their own needs.
About the National Council on Independent Living
NCIL was founded in 1982 to provide a national voice for the independent living movement — a civil rights movement that emerged in the early 1970s in Berkeley, California, where Ed Roberts and colleagues demonstrated that severely disabled people could live independently in the community with the right supports.
Centres for Independent Living (CILs) are community-based organisations run by and for people with disabilities that provide four core services: information and referral, independent living skills training, peer mentoring, and transition services (from institutions to community, and from school to adult life). There are approximately 500 CILs across the US, funded in part by the Rehabilitation Act.
What they do
NCIL advocates at the federal level for Rehabilitation Act reauthorisation, strong funding for CILs, Medicaid HCBS, accessible transportation, affordable accessible housing, and civil rights enforcement. NCIL convenes an annual conference that brings together CIL staff and independent living advocates from across the country.
Consumer control: A defining principle of independent living is that CILs must be "consumer-controlled" — more than 51% of the board and staff must be people with disabilities. NCIL upholds this standard as a membership requirement.
Key programs and resources
- Annual conference and legislative summit: Members meet with their representatives on Capitol Hill
- Policy advocacy on Medicaid, housing, transportation, and rehabilitation services
- CIL directory and referral: Connecting people with their local CIL
Who they serve
People with all types of disabilities across the lifespan, particularly adults seeking to live independently in the community.
Why it matters
Independent Living Centres are often the most important disability-specific resource in a community — providing peer support, skills training, and connection to services that don't exist anywhere else. NCIL's advocacy ensures CILs are adequately funded and that the independent living model — consumer-controlled, cross-disability, community-based — is protected.