Idaho independent-living council outlines statewide needs assessment, warns DOJ report flags gaps in home- and community-based services

Mel Levitan, executive director of the Idaho State Independent Living Council (SILC), presented the council's statewide assessment and three-year plan to the Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee, describing persistent barriers to independent living and raising concerns highlighted in a Department of Justice report dated Jan. 16, 2025.

The SILC, Levitan said, is a volunteer council of 17 to 24 members that does not provide direct services but works with Centers for Independent Living and state agencies to coordinate services and amplify the voices of Idahoans with disabilities. "The SILC doesn't provide any direct services; rather we work with organizations that do provide direct services and help coordinate that statewide," Levitan told the committee.

Levitan summarized the 2022–23 statewide needs assessment: the SILC collected input from about 871 Idahoans, with responses from 34 of Idaho's 44 counties and 29 listening sessions conducted over four months. The assessment identified housing affordability and accessibility, access to health care and specialists, transportation and the…