CILO offers Four Core Services in which direct provision is carried out to people with disabilities: advocacy, independent living skills training, peer counseling, and information & referral services. You can see a breakdown of those core services in each of CILO’s unique programs below. These services are provided for free to roughly 4,100 consumers per year with a 90% success rate.
CILO’s Crime Victim Services Program serves approximately 2,000 of the 4,100 consumers served every year. This program includes services such as: Restraining Order Assistance, Victim’s Compensation Claims, Safety Planning, Court Accompaniment & Support, Law Enforcement Report Accompaniment & Support, Peer Support Groups, Accommodation Requests for Criminal Justice-Related Appointments, and Information & Referral Services. We also provide training to criminal justice related entities on how to assist crime victims with disabilities and have provided guidance and verbiage on law enforcement protocols and procedures for responding to individuals with disabilities.
General Advocacy services, which includes: Voter Access, Disability Accommodation Request Assistance, Disability Discrimination Complaint Assistance, Fair Housing Assistance, and providing the community with Disability Sensitivity & Disability Law Trainings.
CILO offers Food Assistance through Monthly Food Pantry Assistance which serves upwards of 300 consumers per year, the DINE Program which is a weekly frozen food delivery service, and Information & Referrals to community food banks and other sources.
Our Independent Living Services cover many different direct services including application assistance for Food Stamp, Medicaid, and Medicare Premium Waivers, Transportation, Healthcare, Unemployment, and other applicable service applications identified by the individual’s unique needs. This program also offers Independent Living Skills Training, Social Skills Coaching & Peer Support Groups, Job-Readiness Skills Training, American Sign Language Classes, Financial Literacy Classes, Computer Classes, and Information & Referrals to Community Resources. Last year, over 100 consumers received $14,300 in monthly food stamp benefits and about 50 consumers received $6,500 in monthly Medicare Premium Assistance.
CILO’s Equipment Lending & Recycling Program provides Adaptive Durable Medical Equipment to individuals in need as well as a small fund for Home Modification Assistance. Over 50 pieces of adaptive equipment have been given out to people with disabilities for free that wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to purchase it on their own.
The Youth Service Programs includes After-School & Holiday Camps for Youth & Young Adults of Transition Age (14-26) to teach Independent Living Skills Trainings, Social Skills, Job-Readiness Skills, including how to write a resume, how to apply for a job, and how to apply to college. Our VR camps have averaged about 75 youth and young adults from 6 different counties receiving free trainings on the skills listed above and the After-School program has average about 50 youth per year that attend free classes weekdays for up to 3 hours a day.
CILO has multiple programs for Financial Assistance which has served 150+ people annually expending approximately $130,000 which includes COVID-Related Emergency Assistance (strict eligibility criteria), Emergency Rent, Mortgage, & Utility Assistance for individuals with disabilities (strict eligibility criteria), Emergency Rent & Utility Assistance for Families with a family member that has a disability (strict eligibility criteria), and Senior Rent & Utility Assistance (strict eligibility criteria).
CILO’s Educational Advocacy program assists students with disabilities to ensure they are getting a free and appropriate public education by providing supports and accommodations needed to get the best learning experience possible. Through this program, advocates provide IEP and 504 Plan Support, Mediation Between the School District personnel and Parents, and Due Process Complaint Assistance.
The Social Security Disability Program specialist provides Denial Appeals all the way up to District Court as well as Overpayment Assistance, and assistance Navigating Social Security Programs such as ticket to work, death benefits, and basic information on retirement benefits. This program served 353 clients during FY19-20 and won 14 cases resulting in $215,000 in benefits for consumers.
Lastly, CILO offers Training & Technical Assistance to the Community by providing Disability Sensitivity Training, Disability Law Training, Crime Victims with Disabilities Training, Accommodations/Accessibility Training, and Education & Transition Forums for Parents of Kids with Disabilities. We have provided more than 150 free presentations to multiple agencies including law enforcement, child welfare, adult services, and other community entities.
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