NYS Independent Living Council, Inc.

About ILRU

The ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization) program is a national center for information, training, research, and technical assistance in independent living.

Its goal is to expand the body of knowledge in independent living and to improve the utilization of results of research programs and demonstration projects in this field.

It is a program of TIRR (The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research), a nationally recognized medical rehabilitation facility for persons with disabilities.

Since ILRU was established in 1977, it has developed a variety of strategies for collecting, synthesizing, and disseminating information related to the field of independent living. ILRU staff--a majority of whom are people with disabilities--serve independent living centers, statewide independent living councils, state and federal rehabilitation agencies, consumer organizations, educational institutions, medical facilities, and other organizations involved in the field, both nationally and internationally.

IL NET is a collaborative project of the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) of Houston, Texas and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL )in Arlington, Virginia .The IL NET is a national training and technical assistance project working to strengthen the independent living movement by supporting Centers for Independent Living ( CILs) and Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs) directors, managers, and staff.

IL NET activities include workshops, national teleconferences, technical assistance, on-line information, training materials, fact sheets, and other resource materials. The mission of the IL NET is to assist in building strong and effective CILs and SILCs, which are led and staffed by people who practice the independent living philosophy. The IL NET program has these objectives: Assist CILs and SILCs in managing effective organizations by providing a continuum of information, training, and technical assistance. In addition, the IL NET

is supportive of efforts of the local and state centers to become strong community advocates.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Requests for technical assistance, whether from center staff, board members, or others involved in independent activities, are handled through a single point of contact at ILRU. ILRU staff determine who among various partner organizations and individuals are the most qualified to respond to the request, then provides referral to one or more potential technical assistants who may be ILRU staff, NCIL staff or board members , or other members of the project's technical assistance network. In each project year, IL NET staff has responded to over 10,000 telephone requests.

REGIONAL COORDINATORS

There are five IL NET regional coordinators , each responsible for several states/territories. Richard Farruggio is the IL staffer responsible for Regions I and II, including New England, New York State, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.. He may be reached at NYSILC, 111 Washington Avenue, Suite 101, Albany, NY 12209. (888) 469-7452 (518) 427 1060, or rfarruggio@reg1-2nysilc.org . For information on other regional coordinators, please go to http://www.ilru.org/html/projects/ilnet/coordinators.html. The regional coordinators help ILC and SILC staff learn how to use ILNET resources to meet their specific needs, and identify experts on various IL topics for peer mentoring. Also, the regional coordinators provide the ILNET with ongoing, firsthand information on the training and technical needs of CILs and SILCs in each region. Another primary task of the coordinators is to contact every CIL and SILC each project year and offer assistance in developing a simple training and technical assistance plan. You can guarantee your organization’s participation by letting Richard know immediately of name, address, phone number or E-mail changes in your organization.