The 2026 fiscal year budget bill passed Tuesday in the Michigan House slashes funding for the state’s 15 Centers for Independent Living (CILs) from $19.7 million to $11 million beginning Oct. 1, 2025.
CILs provide critical programs and resources for people with disabilities, caregivers, agencies and municipalities. The cuts threaten thousands of people who rely on CILs to live independently. Reductions to Medicaid, Community Mental Health and vocational rehab services will further magnify the impact.
Locally at stake:
• Employment assistance and skills training
• Advocacy and rights protection
• Medicaid and Medicare help
• Peer support and mentorship
• Accessibility evaluations
• Independent living programs
• Risk of forced institutionalization
• Job losses for CIL employees, many of whom have disabilities
The cuts will backfire financially. Michigan Medicaid spends an average of $74,000 annually to house one person in a nursing home, costing billions for long-term care. CILs prevent unnecessary institutionalization. A 2019 analysis found every dollar invested in CILs saves the government $7 through transition-based services.
CILs also help people with disabilities find and keep employment, reducing Social Security Disability claims. Businesses will lose valuable workers dependent on community and home-based services, worsening staffing shortages.
“We implore Gov. Whitmer and the Senate to remember their 2025 pledges to the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Disability Network leaders said. “Cutting CIL funding nearly in half starkly opposes Michigan’s commitment to the ADA, Senate Resolution 62, and the governor’s proclamation, both honored at our 35th anniversary celebration of the ADA on July 26, 2025.”
Contact Sens. Bumstead, Damoose and Hoitenga and urge them to restore full $19.7 million funding for Michigan’s Centers for Independent Living.
About Disability Network Northern Michigan
DNNM serves Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle and Wexford counties.
CILs are consumer-controlled, nonprofit organizations led by and for people with disabilities, providing independent living services that prevent institutionalization, support education and employment, and strengthen Michigan’s economy.
Alanna Lahey
Executive Director
Disability Network Northern Michigan
