New Member Orientation

Congratulations on being appointed as a new member of the New York State Independent Living Council, Inc. (NYSILC).

New Member Orientation Manual

NYSILC is an independent, non-profit, state council that is required by federal law.  Our primary purpose is to work with state partners to develop, monitor and evaluate New York’s three-year Statewide Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). NYSILC promotes the Independent Living (IL) philosophy through a network of Centers for Independent Living (CILs). The council conducts surveys, issues reports, increases education and awareness, and supports advocacy and systems reform around disability issues.

NYSILC’s Recruitment Committee streamlined the orientation process to provide essential information upfront for new members to learn about the council and familiarize themselves with what takes place at Full Council Meetings (FCMs) along with NYSILCs committee structure and work. We strongly encourage new members to connect with a mentor during their first year to help support them through this process. A welcome and opportunity to connect to mentors will occur in mid-January before the first FCM. Mini-trainings will take place during the FCMs on SILC related issues to further the development of council members.

For the orientation, we recommend the following steps:

  1. Review the segment, What you need to know for your first council meeting, below.
    • If you have any questions, connect with your mentor. After your first FCM, if you have any questions, connect with your mentor. They can provide some clarity and or provide additional connections to other council members/staff if needed.
  2. Be sure to follow up with the Important documents to review below. Please fill out both and email Brad at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. when finished.
    • NYSILC Conflict of Interest Policy Form PDF & Word Document
    • NYSILC Council Member Duty Form PDF & Word Document
    • If you have any questions about either one of these two documents, or how to transmit them, contact Brad Williams at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or 518 424-8121.
  3. Familiarize yourself with the council:
    • Your peers on the council can be found on the following listing: https://nysilc.org/council/council-members. There are 26 council members. NYSILC is a large council compared to most nationwide. Get to know who else is on the council, reach out, and network. In addition, you will be asked how you want to be listed on this webpage.
    • Please take some time and review some of the information on the NYSILC webpage: www.nysilc.org.
    • An organizational chart https://nysilc.org/nysilc-org-chart informs you that the NYSILC office is small (three staff) with a group of specialized vendors. Staffing and use of vendors vary for SILCs nationwide.
    • Review the NYSILC committee structure chart https://nysilc.org/committee-mats. Be sure to have a discussion with your mentor about what committee or committees will be the best match for you to participate on.
    • Reference NYSILC’s accomplishments https://nysilc.org/about/accomplishments to get a sense of the council’s history.
  4. When you have additional time, Review some of these important SILC documents:
    • New York State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL): As mentioned earlier, the primary purpose of the council is to jointly develop, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the 3-year State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Here is the link for the 3-year SPIL for 2021-2023: https://nysilc.org/images/Approved_NY_SPIL_2021-2023.docx.
    • Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended: Independent Living is addressed in Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The Rehabilitation Act, and several other federal disability laws, were amended in 2015 with the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Relevant sections include 701 Purpose, 704 State Plan, and 705 Statewide Independent Living Council. Refer to the following link to reference these IL sections of Rehabilitation Act: https://nysilc.org/title-vii-rehab-act-sections.
    • Other council policies and documents: As council members, it is important to be aware of other NYSILC policies. They are in the updated NYSILC Bylaws https://nysilc.org/nysilc-bylaws. The council’s Whistleblower policy is noted in Section 3.11 and attached, along with the council’s Fiscal Policies, referenced in Section 8.1 and attached.
    • Last, refer to the following link for Common Acronyms: https://nysilc.org/acronyms.