The SILC has two state agency partners who are part of the Iowa Independent Living Network: Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS), and Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB). Both of these State agencies have Independent Living Programs and provide independent living services. Each receives a portion of the federal Part B Independent Living funds as well as the required State match to provide services.

Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS) is the Designated State Entity (DSE) in the three-year State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). As the DSE, IVRS receives the federal Part B funds for Independent Living from the federal funder, the Administration on Community Living (ACL). IVRS then distributes the Part B funds to the other partners as outlined in the SPIL. The other partners are the SILC, the CILs, and Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB). IVRS does annual contracts with the SILC and CILs for the Part B funds, and they also do a contract with the CILs for the State funds that the CILs receive. In addition, IVRS operates an Independent Living Program and utilizes some of the federal Part B funds, and the required State match funds, to operate that program.

The Independent Living (IL) program operated by IVRS is designed to complement the vocational component of the agency’s mission: independence and inclusion of persons with significant disabilities.

The target population of the IL program is individuals with significant disabilities who experience barriers to independent living in their home and communities and who also do not identify employment as a goal. The IL program primarily addresses architectural and environmental barriers to independence, with services generally fitting under the umbrella terms of rehabilitation technology and assistive technology.

For those needing independent living services, assistance can be provided for ramps, bathroom modifications, vehicle modifications, some durable medical equipment not covered by insurance, hearing aids, environmental controls, and augmentative communication devices. IVRS partners with Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB), the Iowa Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC), and the six Iowa Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to help promote the expansion of services for independent living throughout Iowa.

217 West 5th Street
Spencer, Iowa 51301
Phone: (712) 262-9585
E-Mail: julie.sexton1@iowa.gov

600 Gunder Road NE, Suite 9
Elkader, Iowa 52043
Phone: (563) 880-1350
E-Mail: robert.hendrickson@iowa.gov

510 E. 12th Street, Suite 1
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Phone/Text/FaceTime: (515) 802-1460
Fax: (515) 281-5474
E-Mail: vienna.hoang@iowa.gov

To learn more about the Independent Living (IL) Program that IVRS operates, or to apply for services:

Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB) is a partner in the Iowa Independent Living Network. IDB receives a portion of the federal Part B funds, and provides the required State match for the Part B funds, to provide Independent Living Services to individuals who are blind or experiencing significant vision loss. Additional support to facilitate the purchase of aids and devices needed for program participants is provided by generous donations to the Iowa Department for the Blind’s Gifts & Bequests Fund.

The IDB Independent Living program provides comprehensive in-home and community-based services to support Iowans living with vision loss. Learn how we have helped Edna, who is legally blind, to live independently.

524 Fourth Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50309-2364
Phone: 515-250-1184
Toll-Free: 800-362-2587
Fax: 515-242-5781
E-Mail: kim.walford@blind.state.ia.us

To learn more about the Independent Living (IL) Program that IDB operates, or to apply for services: