                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

AWARDING OF GRANTS; PURPOSES; ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS (§ 51.5-161)

A. The Department is authorized, subject to other requirements of this law, to
make grants or enter into contracts, in accordance with rules and regulations of
the Commissioner, for the following purposes:

   1. To promote a philosophy of independent living, including a philosophy of
   consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access,
   and individual and system advocacy, in order to maximize the leadership,
   empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities
   and the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into
   the mainstream of society by:
   				a. Providing financial assistance for expanding and improving the
   provision of independent living services; and
   				b. Providing financial assistance to develop and support a statewide
   network of centers for independent living; and

   2. To assist employers in employing, training, and providing other related
   services to persons with significant disabilities.

B. Applications for the grants and contracts authorized in subdivision A 1 may
be made by consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability,
nonresidential, private nonprofit agencies that (i) are designed and operated
within a local community by individuals with disabilities and (ii) provide an
array of independent living services. Each applicant shall be established and
shall have a governing board, the majority of whose members shall be persons
with disabilities, for the sole purpose of operating the independent living
center.

C. Applications for the grants and contracts authorized in subdivision A 2 may
be made by employers in the Commonwealth who wish to take affirmative steps to
employ and advance in employment persons with disabilities.

HISTORY: 1985, c. 421, §§ 51.01-23, 51.5-23; 1992, c. 755; 2003, c. 503; 2011,
cc. 7, 166; 2012, cc. 803, 835.