The Services CFI Offers

CFI SERVICES

Information & Referral:

CFI staff provide the latest information on and referrals to existing community supports and services. CFI can help you connect with other agencies and programs in the area that address

specific needs. Often, the referral is to someone inside CFI. When that’s not possible, consumers are referred to other organizations within the greater community that exist to address the specific need.

Independent Living Skills Training:

CFI’s expert Independent Living Specialists (ILSs) are here to help any person with a disability acquire the skills needed to live as independently as possible in the greater community and not be confined to a nursing home or other institution. Everything from budgeting to accessing public transportation to seeking more education, CFI’s ILSs are here to help.

Peer Support:

One of the most helpful activities in which people with disabilities can participate is CFI’s Peer Support program. CFI provides a place and an environment where people with disabilities can forge new friendships, learn from each other, and offer each other the moral support necessary to live independently in the community. CFI’s Peer To Peer Group meets monthly at the CFI Headquarters Office in Kansas City, Kansas and at other locations throughout the metro area.

Advocacy / Self-Advocacy:

CFI advocates for the rights and benefits of people with disabilities every day. From ADA enforcement to legislative activity to individual situations, CFI is a strong community advocate for fairness and accessibility. CFI also teaches individuals how to advocate for themselves, which is the most effective kind of advocacy. Because our counselors and specialists are on the front lines working with people with disabilities daily, CFI’s advocacy is very effective real-world situations.

Community Integration (De-Institutionalization):

CFI helps people with disabilities who wish to leave nursing homes or other institutions to do so. When people want to live independently in the community, CFI gives them the tools to exit institutions and find the places and the means to live in the community. Often, the Medicaid monies used to pay for care in nursing homes can be redirected to provide some level of care in their own homes.

CFI has these Other Services too:

Case Management:

CFI’s expert Independent Living Counselors (ILCs) offer quality case management for people who qualify for services under several of the Medicaid waiver programs.

Payroll Services:

Consumer directed waiver services allow consumers to direct their own care and choose their own personal care assistant (PCA). CFI functions as the Medicaid provider that bills Medicaid for these services and pays the PCA.

Assistive Technology:

CFI has the largest Assistive Technology (AT) department in the Heartland. From augmentative communication devices to adaptive equipment for computers to anything that will help a person live or work more independently, CFI can supply it. The AT Department serves ages from birth to the end of life with assistive and adaptive equipment for every need, and the evaluations and training necessary to make the use of the equipment a success. There is also a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) recycling program where used items such as wheelchairs, crutches, commode chairs, shower chairs, positioning devices, and a host of other DME items are made available at nominal costs. AT also includes internal and external home modifications to make dwellings more accessible to the people with disabilities who live in them.