Community Living

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​Community Living Resources

  • ​Centers for Independent Living​ -  provide services to help empower persons with disabilities to lead self-directed, independent and productive lives in the community.  

  • My DHS -  apply for benefits and services online, monitor the status of your cases, update important account information, and more. 

  • 211 Maryland is a partnership of four agencies working together to provide simple access to health and human services information. 2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone number that connects people with important community services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is available in over 180 languages. You can also search the directory of resources on its website. 

  • The Administration for Community Living (ACL), created in 2012, serves as the Federal agency responsible for increasing access to community supports, while focusing attention and resources on the unique needs of older Americans and people with disabilities across the lifespan. Under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ACL advocates for older adults, people with disabilities, and families and caregivers; funds services and supports provided primarily by states and networks of community-based programs; and invests in training, education, research, and innovation.

  • The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is the longest-running national cross-disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Since its inception in 1982, NCIL has carried out its mission by assisting Centers for Independent Living in building their capacity to promote social change, eliminate disability-based discrimination, and create opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in the legislative process to affect change. 

  • The Community of Practice for Supporting Families, led by the Developmental Disabilities Council and the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA), is a collaborative effort across the state to provide families of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to discover information and navigate the system, connect and network with others, and access day-to-day services and supports. For more information, contact the DDA's Director of Family Supports, Mary Anne Kane Breschi, at mary.kane-breschi@maryland.gov or visit the national effort's website.

  • The Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration provides research, evaluation, training, technical assistance and dissemination to support the aspirations of persons with developmental disabilities to live full, productive and integrated lives in their communities.

  • The Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas seeks is to further Independent Living for people with disabilities by collaborating with consumers on productive research and by using innovative methods to disseminate useful knowledge.