Affiliations: Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on
Independent Living Management, Western New York Independent Living Project,
Inc. (WNYILP), 3108 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. E-mail:
djusiak@acsu.buffalo.edu | University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, NY
14214, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: This paper presents the methods and findings of a Rehabilitation
Research and Training Center on Independent Living Management (RRTC-ILM) study
which identifies the profile of an effective center for independent living
(CIL) as seen by CIL stakeholders, with a focus on structural elements and
expected outcomes. This study represents an initial phase of a larger RRTC-ILM
project that seeks to identify CIL management practices with a view toward
helping the centers identify training needs. Five hundred and eighty-eight
(588) stakeholders participated in the study representing CIL board members,
executive directors, staff, volunteers, consumers and funders. Their responses,
collected in focus groups and via telephone interviews, were subjected to
qualitative content analysis. Findings include nine management categories into
which stakeholder-perceived elements clustered. Consumer Involvement emerged as
a category distinct to CILs and showed the importance of consumer control in
the organization. Outcomes found to be important to stakeholders were congruent
with the management categories that were important to them.
Keywords: independent living, independent living center management, inclusion, stakeholder involvement, organizational structure
