1.  Developing a long-term, broad-based, stable financial foundation. 

2.  Being able to expand services offered to the consumer with a limited number of staff and a limited budget.

3.  Relations with board of directors, i.e., making the board feel involved in the operations of the ILC without having control over all functions.

4.  Public relations, i.e., developing an independent living identity. 

5.  Board relations . . . effectiveness . . . consumer-direction . . .       what does it really mean?
(TIE)
5.  Board recruitment.

7.  Keeping center staff working in a happy medium so that the staff operates as a team rather than individually.
(TIE)
7.  Maintaining/developing the philosophy of the independent living movement by developing a cadre of new leadership in ILCs.

9.  Stress management and avoiding burnout.

9.  Personnel issues.
(TIE) 
9.  Evaluation--reasonable accountability is O.K., but the welter of federal and state evaluations may threaten ILCs with over-bureaucratization and takes us away from our central focus--the independence of people with disabilities.

9.  Developing and maintaining appropriate means of communication with other ILCs and service providers so that areas of service can increase and the center's identity is not lost.

________________________

   *Results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, Texas  77005
713-666-6244, 666-0643 (TDD)

1.  How to foster and maintain true consumer involvement in management of the center.

2.  How to cost out programs; how to set up services on a fee-for-service basis--setting up small business/revenue-producing programs.

3.  How to maintain an adequate and consistent cash flow.

    (TIE)   4.  Locating, hiring, and effectively training qualified staff who have disabilities.

    (TIE)   4.  Fund raising, the ability of a center to generate adequate funding.

    (TIE)   6.  Working cooperatively and effectively with the board of directors.

    (TIE)   6.  Long-range planning--managing growth.

8.  Determining most effective use of staff time and resources when there are mutliple needs to be met.

9.  Personnel management, motivation, job satisfaction, and production.

10. Health insurance.

   *Results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, Texas  77005
713-666-6244, 666-0643 (TDD)

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1. Fund Raising (Grants, Fee-for-Service, Contracts, Donations, Special Events)

2. Board Effectiveness (Recruiting, Training, Proper Use)

3. Program Evaluation/Quality Assurance (Addressing Standards,
Implementing a Systematic Evaluation Protocol, Using Evaluation Results Constructively)

4. Financial Stability (Diversification of Funding Sources, Income Maintenance, Contingency Planning)

5. Staff Development (Creating Opportunities, Adequate Training, Monitoring Progress)

6. Community and Public Relations (Consumers, Services Providers, General Public)

7. Long-Range Planning (Forecasting, Contingency Planning, Monitoring)

8. Outreach to Underserved Populations (Identifying Underserved
Populations, Defining Needs, Developing Effective Programming)

9. Team Building (Developing Sound Philosophical Basis, Translating
Philosophy into Actions, Encouraging Participative Problem-solving
Approaches)

10. Consumer Involvement (Board/Staff/Volunteer Roles, Qualifications, Reasonable Accommodation)

*Results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77005 713-666-6244 666-0643 (TDD).

3/90

1. Dealing with consumer apathy on advocacy issues so that consumers are involved effectively in advocacy efforts, and center staff and board do not have to carry the whole load.

2. Balancing advocacy activities and service delivery activities in centers.

3. Obtaining funding to support advocacy efforts that is not earmarked for specific non-advocacy service delivery.

4. Developing effective strategies for advocacy efforts and preparing leaders to use those strategies.

5. Training board and staff on what advocacy is, how to teach advocacy skills to consumers, and how to be more effective advocates themselves.
 

6. Educating consumers and providing them with knowledge and skills to advocate effectively on issues.

7. Giving advocacy work a high enough priority in the center workload and freeing up staff time from service delivery to do advocacy.

8. Setting priorities for advocacy efforts that appropriately involve
consumers, staff, and board members of center.

9. Involving board members in advocacy efforts and having approaches in place--including a board committee or subcommittee with responsibility for advocacy efforts--to assure board involvement and oversight of advocacy efforts.

10. Recruiting, hiring, and training qualified staff to lead advocacy efforts.

*Preliminary results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  IIRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77005 713-666-6244 666-0643 (TDD).

2/90

1. Securing and maintaining adequate funding to support the skills training program.

2. Dealing with lack of community resources (e.g., accessible housing, attendant care, transportation) required for training to be effective.

3. Incorporating self-advocacy skills into all aspects of the skills training program.

4. Recruiting qualified people to do independent living skills training.

5. Identifying or developing an effective skills training curriculum.

6. Assessing consumer needs and developing appropriate independent
living plans for addressing those needs.

7. Insuring that independent living planning is consumer directed.

8. Meeting the needs of persons with all types of disabilities.

9. Determining if services are effective for both the individual
being served and for the program as a whole.

10. Incorporating independent living philosophy into the skills training program.

*Preliminary results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77005 713-666-6244 666-0643 (TDD)

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1. Preparing budgets and managing finances

2. Writing and developing grants

3. Developing a quality assurance approach for determining quality and consistency of center program

4. Seeing the "whole picture' (relationship of program to center, center to movement, etc.)

4. Lack of understanding about the independent living philosophy and movement

6. Failure to recognize that centers are businesses

6. Lack of supervisory skills:
Performance evaluation
Recruiting and hiring
Disciplining

8. Implementing organizational change

9. Lack of knowledge and skills in how to motivate consumers to become more active in disability rights issues

10. Solving the problem of being constrained by funding sources

11. Training for staff and board on the ILC role in the community

11. Dealing with problems associated with centers becoming more bureaucratic

13. Translating the independent living philosophy into practice

14. Lack of time to operate the center and at the same time to be involved in the movement at a national level

14.  Lack of knowledge of computer systems

*Preliminary results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77005 713-666-6244, 666-0643 (TDD).

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1. Evaluating peer counseling services

2. Documenting peer counseling services and outcomes consistently

3. Reducing risk of center liability

4. Developing entrance criteria for consumers entering the peer counseling program

5. Lack of funding for peer counseling program

6. Lack of funding for peer counselor training and networking

7. Evaluating individual peer counselor performance

8. Recruiting peer counselor

9. Lack of guidelines to distinguish "peer counseling" from "therapy"

10. Maintaining and coordinating a pool of trained volunteer peer counselors

11. Time management: not enough time for recruitment, coordination, training, follow-up

11. Resolving differences between people with different disabilities and experiences and integration of underserved populations

13. Developing a training curriculum to involve consumers as providers of peer counseling

14. Assuring coordination among the peer counseling program and other center program areas

14. Difficulty in meeting consumer needs

14. Developing skills in peer counselors so that they know when bounds are exceeded

14.  Overcoming travel problems for peer counseling program participation

* Results of a study conducted by ILRU using a modified Delphi approach.  ILRU, 3400 Bissonnet, Suite 101, Houston, TX 77005 713-666-6244, 666-0643 (TDD).

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