INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTER OF KERN COUNTY

Independent Living Center of Kern County's main goal, along with its philosophy, to empower people with disabilities to live as independently as they can in whatever capacity that independence means, to benefit from the services seeking, and to educate the Kern community about disability-related issues. ILCKC wants inclusion, equality, and availability to one person is inclusive, equal and available to a person with a disability.

ILCKC's seeks to have within its agency core services, as well as knowledge and collaboration of other local agencies, offering a quality of life of independence.

ILCKC has a network of other Independent Living Centers within the State of California all with the same philosophy and goals with supporting core services as required by the State. This 18-member council of State ILCs (SILC), appointed by the Governor, represent persons with disabilities throughout the state and charged with determining the allocation of federal funds for independent living; advising the Governor and Legislature about issues impacting persons with disabilities in California; creating projects and moving forward ideas that will enhance the ability of people with disabilities to live independently; assuring compliance with applicable state and federal laws governing independent living.

ILCKC works as an independent agent and quarterly comes together with SILC to discuss State and/or Legislative issues. ILCKC also has the National Conference of Independent Living (NCIL) to see the advancement of independent living and the rights of people with disabilities.

One of the fee-for-service programs offered at ILCKC is our Transitions program. The Transitions Coordinator works with a nursing facilities, individual and/or family members of person in nursing home, physicians and others have the individual move from the nursing home as safely as possible into his/her own home. ILCKC locates affordable and accessible housing, home setup, self-care training, and more. This program can be much larger in the Kern County area than what it is. An accomplishment ILCKC is striving for.

An unexpected circumstance with a Deaf consumer seeking employment in the community with no ASL interpreter available. This brought about ILCKC accomplishing a local resource for American Sign Language Interpreting Services for Kern County. Prior to that, the closest agencies were either Fresno or Los Angeles to serve the Deaf community. The program started with one full time interpreter and a registry of contracted interpreters to now having three in-house interpreters with a registry of contracted interpreters. The program serves local agencies, doctors offices, businesses, schools, etc., helping to bridge the communication gap between the hearing and Deaf communities.