Minority Youth and Centers for Independent Living

Centers for independent living, or CILs, are community-based organizations that are run by people with disabilities for people with disabilities to promote the principles of independent living. MY-CIL seeks to generate and share new knowledge that is developed with input from CIL staff and youth participants, as well as other stakeholders such as providers, policymakers, and advocates. A stakeholder advisory group provides input on the design and execution of all research and training activities.

The MY-CIL project is jointly funded through a cooperative agreement between the Office of Independent Living Programs and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, both in the Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hunter College, City University of New York is leading the project in partnership with Mathematica, the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York, and Independent Living Research Utilization. 

Activities include a survey and qualitative interviews with youth and counselors that work with youth at CILs to capture the community’s insights on challenges and promising practices. The project will pilot test practices and services for targeted youth involved with CILs and develop and test a manualized randomized control trial intervention designed to improve transition outcomes. In addition, the project is holding learning collaboratives for CIL staff and providing technical assistance related to outreach, data analysis, collaboration, and other practices that show promise for improving outcomes for youth with disabilities from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Anticipated outcomes include new knowledge on CIL practices and services, an expanded evidence base on effective CIL practices, and increased CIL capacity to deliver evidence-based best practices to improve transition outcomes for these youth.