Mary has been a consumer of the Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living (IVCIL) for several years.

IVCIL assisted Mary to locate and hire personal assistants. A personal assistant is an individual who assists a person with a disability in activities of daily living, such as personal care, meal preparation, housekeeping, shopping, and errands. Personal assistants allow individuals with disabilities to live at home instead of being placed in a nursing home, other care facility, or an institution.

IVCIL locates personal assistants and maintains a registry of personal assistants who have attended IVCIL’s orientation training and passed a background check. Orientations for prospective personal assistants are held once a month in various locations around IVCIL’s service area. Personal assistants specify what skills they possess, what hours they are available for employment, and which areas they are willing to travel to. All of this information is then entered into the IVCIL’s registry. However, IVCIL is not the employer – the consumer is the employer.