"The Virtual Center for Independent Living for West Virginia""The Virtual Center for Independent Living for West Virginia"Home > Advocacy in Action > WVCIL Legislative Objective: Senior Services
Objective > Legislative History > Service Stories > Supporters
The 2005 Legislative session ended with a total of 2,116 bills being introduced (1,364 House bills and 752 Senate bills). The total number of bills that passed the House was 305 and 207 in the Senate. The total number of bills that passed both Houses was 265.
Despite our advocacy efforts, the WV Centers for Independent Living were not successful in securing a supplemental budget appropriation for independent living services for seniors. However, we were successful in meeting with and educating our legislators, senior centers, the Silver Haired Legislature and other organizations across West Virginia about the tremendous need for funding for independent living services that would enable our seniors to remain independent in their homes and communities.
The WV Centers for Independent Living would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who supported our endeavor. A special thank you is extended to the following for their letters of support:
The WV Centers for Independent Living Legislative Team are looking forward to the 2006 Legislative session and advocating for legislation through education that will improve the lives of people with disabilities across West Virginia.
An estimated 74 percent of the individuals requesting independent living services are seniors. [See chart 2004 WVCIL Waiting List in PDF format]
An advocacy effort is underway by the WVCIL to educate our legislators as to the type of independent living services and the extent of need for independent living services across the state. WVCIL will advocate during the 2005 WV Legislative Session to access funding for independent living services for seniors. [See chart 2005 Counties Served by WV CIL's in PDF format]
Since the WV Bureau of Senior Services (BOSS) provide a vast array of services to seniors and their mission includes providing services to seniors that will "enable them to maintain independence for as long as possible", we hope to work with the BOSS, as well as other senior organizations, to request the WV Legislature acknowledge the need for independent living services for West Virginia's seniors and to allocate a supplemental budget appropriation of $575,000.00 to the Bureau of Senior Services for provision of independent living services that will enable our seniors to maintain their independence and live in their homes for as long as possible. [Visit the BOSS Web site.]
A breakdown of some of the services provided is shown below:
In addition to the $266,692 in funding from the Part B Program in 2003-2004, the WVCIL has been able to access over $130,000 in third party resources to provide independent living services. Third party resources utilized included: Medicaid, Medicare, Senior Centers, Lion's Club, volunteer programs, church groups and others to provide requested independent living services.
The WVCIL currently has 433 people on the Fiscal Year 2004-2005 waiting lists in 27 counties of West Virginia. Services could include but are not limited to:
There is not adequate funding available to meet the independent living needs of these individuals in our 27 county service area. It is estimated there are over 200 individuals of all ages in need of independent living services in the remaining unserved 28 counties of West Virginia that do not have access to independent living centers.
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