Community Living Services Program

The Community Living Services Program (CLSP) assists individuals with disabilities to function more independently in their homes and communities.

State and federal funding from this program provide independent living services such as:

Home Modifications including adding a ramp for wheelchair access to the home, bathroom modifications such as roll in showers and grab bars and other modifications to make a home accessible to a person with a disability.
Assistive Devices and Equipment including items such as hearing aids and amplified telephones.
Communication Services including items such as touch screens, speech keyboards and synthesized speech output devices (used with computers) as well as training in equipment use, Braille instruction, and reading services.
Vehicle Modifications including van conversion to accomodate a wheelchair, wheelchair and scooter lifts, hand controls such as a spinner knob on the steering wheel to allow controlled steering with just one hand and other specialized modifications.
Durable Medical Equipment such as a shower chair, walker and related items.

Apply for services

To apply for independent living services through this program, locate your county on the Community Living Services Program county list and the name and contact information for the Center for Independent Living serving your county.

Locate the Center for Independent Living serving your county

Funding and Services

The 2008-2010 WV State Plan for Independent Living [the State Plan in PDF format], developed jointly with the WV Statewide Independent Living Council, the West Virginia Centers for Independent Living, and the WV Division of Rehabilitation Services, indicates that Title VII, Chapter 1, Part B Independent Living (IL) services will be available to people with disabilities in all 55 counties of West Virginia. This is due to an overwhelming need for IL services across the state.

When we do receive requests for IL services, CIL staff make every effort to locate resources that will help that individual. When we can not locate the necessary resources, the individual's name is always put on the waiting list and served in order of request as resources become available.

Community Partner Award

MTSTCIL awarded Mr. James Brooks of Brooks Remodeling in Raleigh County the "Community Partner Award" for 2007 at the Walk for Independence 2007. Mr Brooks received the award for his gift of independence to the Independent Living community. Brooks Remodeling donated and installed a home ramp for a Raleigh County wheelchair user who was no longer able to use steps and had been unable to leave his home without assistance.

Independent Living philosophy

This program operates under the independent living philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and systems advocacy in order to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence and productivity of individuals with disabilities, and their integration and full inclusion into the main stream of American society.

Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes

Independent Living services enable West Virginians with disabilities to return to or remain in their own homes and communities and are critical to West Virginia's compliance with the most integrated setting provision set forth in Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and upheld by the US Supreme Court in the Olmstead Decision.

For more information on the Olmstead Decision please visit the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Web site.