[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6252823,"mediaKeyId","3185728-a83bb0c1ad4597bac26a9aebc52caf45","parentId",3185728,"title","Centers for Independent Living ask legislature for $6 million to expand services statewide","audioSeconds",1083,"startMs",2961000,"endMs",4044000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3185728-a83bb0c1ad4597bac26a9aebc52caf45&start=2961&end=4044","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3185728-a83bb0c1ad4597bac26a9aebc52caf45/thumbnail_2961000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6252823/Michigan/Centers-for-Independent-Living-ask-legislature-for-6-million-to-expand-services-statewide","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6252823-3d65b20edd6e46a01a63059e317c25c2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771023398&Signature=ikCO7sH2ZbNrguEJd5kFUC3SAfIMP4DB7GX12MCJoGUmwIr39W1qfcdrXwBeE85PfN9FJL-HciYuRcMg6vW0F7WSIKB3TvkEGTc6D8Tc3l1RUj3E3FMLoJ7JmIgq3Ixc~-iHjT5KbrvCprD9qwP1GxR-mYSTh9f1uNH9UXjYm6ZyyQitYW6Vz584eZprOteEbYCxA3PdN1esT1cgDDm191eOxgPhTgokIexKcO3XAlu-pB~N7C5NQMBidx9G3~lUp9epf2Fja7TTJBJPy296LrsfPYCe8Crek6pjNPe9MK~UeU6jj-DLMhgAyd8e-NJC6HiUlOuPH1ShR3Bg5wi-UQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Appropriations - Labor and Economic Opportunity ","date","2025-04-30T00:00:00Z","article","Terri Langley, executive director of Disability Network Michigan, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity that Michigan’s Centers for Independent Living (CILs) operate statewide and requested an additional $6,000,000 in state general funds for fiscal 2026 to increase capacity and serve underserved areas.

Langley said CILs are \"non residential, consumer driven, community based disability organizations,\" created under the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and required to be consumer-led. The network represents 15 centers that, Langley said, cover all 83 Michigan counties and employ more than 300 people combined.

Langley described the centers’ five federally required core services — peer support, information and referral, individual and systems advocacy, independent living skills, and transition to community‑based living — and gave examples of their work: loan closets for mobility equipment, adapted cooking classes, mock interviews for youth, housing transition assistance for people discharged from nursing facilities, and accessibility assessments for public spaces. She cited partnerships with state agencies including the Department of Natural Resources, the Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections (for voting access and voter-assist terminals), the Michigan State Police Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

On funding, Langley said CILs rely on federal grants, state general fund appropriations, local philanthropy and fees for service. She described a distribution formula the network uses that she said is 50% equity and 50% equality (with the equality portion split 60% by population and 40% by geography). Langley told the subcommittee the governor’s proposed FY26 line item repeats the fiscal 2025 investment of $19,700,000 and that centers are requesting an additional $6,000,000 to address capacity limits in areas including Detroit, Oakland–Macomb, Mid‑Michigan, Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Langley gave activity figures from recent reporting: about 76,000 contacts statewide to CILs last year and roughly 12,000 consumers who received services. She said last year’s total distributed to centers was about $14,800,000 from the $19.7 million package, described program income and contract differences, and noted the network’s ongoing effort to produce an updated return-on-investment study; a 2019 calculation the network shared with the legislature estimated a $7 state savings for every $1 invested.

Langley emphasized that many people with disabilities remain unaware of CIL services, saying, \"I do argue that we are the best kept secret in your districts.\" She also described situations where CILs reduced state costs by helping individuals leave nursing facilities or avoid longer hospital stays by making homes safe for return.

The subcommittee did not take an appropriation vote at the hearing. Langley encouraged members to refer constituents in need of assistance to their local center and said center staff are available for follow‑up questions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Appropriations - Labor and Economic Opportunity | Wednesday, April 30, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Disability Network Michigan told the House appropriations subcommittee that 15 Centers for Independent Living cover every county but remain underfunded; the network requested $6 million in additional state general funds to expand staffing and reach.","taxTitle","Appropriations - Labor and Economic Opportunity, Appropriations, House of Representative, Committees\t\t\t\t\t, Legislative, Michigan","taxId",30765,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6252827,"Michigan Rehabilitation Services seeks state match to draw down federal funds, expand services",1187,930000,2117000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3185728-a83bb0c1ad4597bac26a9aebc52caf45&start=930&end=2117","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3185728-a83bb0c1ad4597bac26a9aebc52caf45/thumbnail_930000.jpg","/articles/6252827/Michigan/Michigan-Rehabilitation-Services-seeks-state-match-to-draw-down-federal-funds-expand-services","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6252827-c03cc8a15df83ff6f9bb5b3b1597a87e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771023398&Signature=IRfyPZaaXr3zMba~fsXggYj8fVszMCALi9IZxqh6YBOgRKYqe7S5tLHD3JNCkQTcNLkJ0z6g-~ClXa8QkfNIas7mfkrpE7XZBBCI5PpuUyZqZq1K5qaYUHMcFCE1cqXFTpSEqOLakhw-Bw7JUZyYRSA0mKYmaBDFkxgPv26Cqpd~~GxpBZgetXO0ft-ozd2zQ5xQttLSpOuZ3Hb3wIwtzWNkmC228IeojRzXhWtu-Sq9YT-fOpQyQgFE07hdS~qlm8giSR2CKf7a~12nwAELlizLM~xgBOPldsq-BHuukq7Wfh0rYALETYdAdpH7atbGrwMn-W1rxllftTRkeNqxng__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Stephanie Beckhorn, deputy director of employment and training at the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity at a subcommittee meeting that Michigan Rehabilitation Services is requesting state general-fund increases to expand pre-employment and vocational rehabilitation services and to draw down federal formula dollars.

The request matters because the federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) grant that funds much of MRS’s work is a formula award that requires a state match. \"For every dollar we put in in state funding, we can draw down $4 from the federal government,\" Beckhorn said, summarizing the program’s roughly 4-to-1 federal–state leverage and explaining why the state contribution affects Michigan’s ability to claim its full federal allotment.

MRS provides individually tailored services aimed at helping people with disabilities obtain and retain competitive integrated employment. Beckhorn told the subcommittee that the agency’s fiscal 2025 budget is about $130,000,000 and that nearly 79% of that — more than $102,000,000 — comes from federal sources administered through the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Agency. She described how the program’s federal formula requires a state general-fund match to draw the federal award and said that without roughly $10 million in additional state match, “Michigan's share of the pie that the formula said would come to us goes back at the federal level, and it would be awarded to other states who have the match available.”

Beckhorn gave program-level detail: MRS operates the Michigan Career and Technical Institute in Plainwell, which served almost 500 students in the most recent complete year; last year MRS served almost 33,000 individuals with disabilities and worked with about 6,800 businesses across the state. She cited labor-market statistics to underscore the need for services: about 1,300,000 Michiganders have a disability (roughly 1 in 5), individuals with disabilities have an unemployment rate of about 15% compared with the statewide rate of about 5.5%, and the employment rate for people with disabilities was reported at about 37% versus 76% for the general population.

Beckhorn described the governor’s fiscal 2026 recommendations that MRS presented to the committee: $8,400,000 in state general funds for expanded pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) for students, which she said would draw down about $32,000,000 in federal funds (yielding roughly $40,400,000 total for those services); and roughly $2,000,000 in state funds for traditional vocational rehabilitation work, which she said would draw down about $7,000,000 in federal funds (about $9,200,000 total). Beckhorn said those increases would allow MRS to serve about 25% more individuals in the student Pre-ETS cohort (about 8,000 additional people) and project a 10% increase in customers who obtain an industry credential and full‑time employment.

During questions, committee members pressed MRS on geographic reach, partnerships and the populations it serves. Beckhorn said MRS staff are colocated in community settings and with Michigan Works! agencies and that the agency partners with organizations such as Goodwill Industries rather than competing with them. Representative Van Werkom asked what types of disabilities MRS serves; Beckhorn and Sigrid Adams, director of Michigan Rehabilitation Services, emphasized that MRS serves a wide range of conditions — physical, cognitive, sensory and other impairments — and that services are customized according to the functional limitations that result from a person’s disability. Adams said eligibility is based on whether a disability results in a substantial impediment to employment and noted that MRS uses medical documentation and individualized assessment to determine eligibility.

Adams described staff qualifications and training, saying many counselors hold master’s degrees and receive ongoing training so they can tailor services to varied, often complex needs. On program goals she said the agency focuses on individuals who want employment and on helping employers retain workers who develop new limitations, for example because of declining vision or changing physical capacity.

The presentation included client examples used to illustrate outcomes. Beckhorn described one client, Riley Strouch of Clinton Township, who received Pre‑ETS supports and mobility training and obtained a new retail job with more hours and higher pay; Beckhorn said, “Independence was incredibly important to Riley.”

At the start of the meeting, Representative Robinson moved to approve the minutes of the April 23 meeting; there were no objections and the minutes were approved.

The subcommittee members did not vote on the budget recommendations during the session. Presenters said the additional state funds would be used to capture federal match and expand services if appropriated in the fiscal 2026 budget.","Officials from the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity told a House appropriations subcommittee that Michigan Rehabilitation Services needs roughly $10 million in additional state general funds to draw down federal matching dollars and expand employment services for people with disabilities.","actionData","errors"]

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Centers for Independent Living ask legislature for $6 million to expand services statewide

Michigan Rehabilitation Services seeks state match to draw down federal funds, expand services