Center for Independent Futures

The Center for Independent Futures (CIF), is a not-for-profit organization based in Evanston, Illinois that forms innovative partnerships to create product and service models that give adults with disabilities and their families the skills and opportunities to realize full lives. They use proprietary processes to establish sustainable solutions through community living options, personal networks, lifelong planning and education.

Founding

Kay Branz and Jane Doyle formed Center for Independent Futures out of a shared experience raising daughters with developmental disabilities. They met nearly twenty years ago and together navigated the school system, advocating for programs and experiences that would help prepare their daughters for the world beyond school. Because of lack of services in Illinois, the founders of CIF decided they needed to create ways to obtain needed services themselves. They searched to uncover and best practices and services that support families and individuals with disabilities.

Since their founding, they have worked closely with a non-profit organization in Massachusetts called Toward Independent Living and Learning (TILL) and have become very familiar with TILL’s model that enables individuals with disabilities to become active, contributing citizens and live independently within their chosen community. PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network) in Canada introduced CIF to Personal Networks designed to enable individuals with disabilities to sustain their quality of life. Faculty at Northwestern helped develop a process to organize interested families to work together to creatively solve issues that individuals with disabilities face.

Jane Doyle continues to serve as CIF’s Executive Director and has assembled a dedicated team made up of the board of directors, staff, professional support, family partners, corporate sponsors and foundations and private financial supporters that help CIF with its rapid expansion of services.

History

2001

*Introduced the Community Living Option (CLO) Family Partnership Initiative.
*Piloted Full-Life Future Planning to enable individuals, their families, and other members of their support network to create a picture for the individual’s future.
*Launched the VIP Academy to give individuals with disabilities an opportunity to continue their education after high school.

2002

*CIF became an Illinois not-for-profit organization.
*Introduced Public Benefits Workshops to educate families to better understand the funds available to them and maintain them.
*Launched “What’s Next? Consultations” to help families address legal and financial issues.

2003

*Launched first Community Living Options (CLO) residence in Evanston, Illinois.
*Started providing Independent Living Skills Training and Support Services.

2004

*Opened second CLO residence in Evanston, Illinois.
*Introduced “Independent Living Readiness Inventory” to assess skill levels and identify needed support.

2005

*Began offering Transition Planning Workshops to train educators and families on how to prepare for life after high school.
*Launched the New Futures Initiative to enable families and organizations in other communities to replicate our programs and service models.

2006

*Opened third CLO residence in Evanston, Illinois using a model in which families purchase condo units built from the ground up in collaboration with developers.

In the News

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=1691241http://www.independentfutures.com/download/Trib%201-28-01.pdfhttp://www.independentfutures.com/download/Trib%202-04-01.pdfhttp://www.independentfutures.com/download/Trib%202-20-04.pdfhttp://www.independentfutures.com/download/EvRev%209-04-03.pdfhttp://www.independentfutures.com/download/Roundtable%206-06-01.pdfhttp://www.independentfutures.com/download/Round_Table_11_16_05.pdf

ources

* [http://www.independentfutures.com/ Center for Independent Futures]
* [http://www.independentfutures.com/history.htm History]
* [http://www.independentfutures.com/milestones.htm Timeline]