State Independent Living Council tells committee housing, Medicaid and workforce shortfalls drive institutionalization risk

Mel Levitan, executive director of the Idaho State Independent Living Council, told the Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Jan. 16, 2025 that the council's statewide needs assessment and ongoing work identify housing affordability, access to health care, a shortage of direct support professionals, and limited case management as top challenges for Idahoans with disabilities.

"We do a whole lot for with 4 people, and we're pretty excited about the things that we get to do," Levitan said, summarizing the council's work. Levitan said the council is a volunteer body of roughly 17 to 24 members with four ex officio state-agency seats and a four-person staff, including a financial specialist and a program specialist, Jamie Davis, who was present at the hearing.

Levitan described the SILC's collaboration with the three regional centers for independent living — Disability Action Center Northwest (serving northern Idaho), Living Independence Network Corporation (LINC, serving southern and southwestern Idaho) and LIFE (serving eastern Idaho) — and said the council does not provide direct services but…