3.2 Expansion of Network 
Describe the design for the further expansion of the network, including identification of the unserved and underserved areas in the State and the order of priority for serving these areas as additional funding becomes available (beyond the required cost-of-living increase).

Priority 1:
The Rehabilitation Act specifies the first funding priority as to fund existing Part C CILs at the prior year’s level, and include a cost of living adjustment, if possible. Following this priority, the State Plan has outlined what underserved and unserved areas would be a priority for the creation of a new CIL if Part C funds become available. 
In the event that a federal Part C funded CIL must relinquish its grant and close its CIL, it is North Carolina’s intent to make it a first priority for RSA to conduct a grant competition for a new CIL in the same service area that was served by the CIL that closed. If the closed CIL received any federal Part B funds, the new CIL may contract for those funds through the contract process as established by NC Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and consistent with the NC State Plan for Independent Living. If the RSA grant competition does not Identify a successful candidate to start a new CIL in the same service area that was previously served by the CIL that closed, the federal Part C funds designated for that service area will be divided among the other existing Part C funded CILs based upon their current percentage of federal Part C funds. Any federal Part B funds that were designated for the former CIL will be divided equally among the remaining eligible CILs as determined through the contracting process established by NC Vocational Rehabilitation Services and consistent with the NC State Plan for Independent Living. 
The Counties of Wilson, Pitt and Beaufort in Eastern NC are underserved by a Center for Independent Living (CIL); the Part B Center that currently serves these three counties in Eastern NC has limited funding and limited staff, so the available resources do not provide for the level of demand for services in this underserved area. 
Currently, NC has 58 counties that are unserved by a CIL; these counties are Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Bertie, Bladen, Burke, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Catawba, Chatham, Chowan, Cleveland, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Granville, Green, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Martin, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Person, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, and Yancey. 
The order of priority for serving the unserved and/or underserved areas of the state by any existing Part C CIL is as follows:
Priority 2:
The second priority, if additional on-going Part C funding becomes available, will be to fund a competitive application from the Part B Center currently serving the 3 underserved counties of Wilson, Pitt and Beaufort, and any combination of one or more of the 6 unserved counties of Martin, Washington, Terrell, Dare, Hyde and Greene Counties, depending on the level of available funding and the strength of the proposed program and key personnel. 
The minimum annual funding level to establish a new Part C center in the unserved and/or underserved areas is $250,000. This can be a combination of federal funds, and or state funds.
If there is not a qualified fundable applicant in Priority 2, the Part C funds will be distributed to the existing part C centers in proportion to each CIL’s share of the total IL Part C funds in the state. 
Priority 3: 
The third priority will be to establish a Part C CIL in one of the following three areas based on the most qualified fundable applicant:
(a) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett and Bladen Counties. The population of the four counties is approximately 459,912 including Ft. Bragg, a major United Army installation. Many Veterans, identified as an unserved/underserved population in NC, returning home from the war with injuries and disabilities are remaining close to the army base to receive medical care. 
(b) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Burke, Cleveland, Lincoln, Catawba, Iredell. Rowan, Alexander and Caldwell Counties. These counties in the Western area in the state have a population of approximately 754,917 people. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton area is considered a Metropolitan Statistical Area by the US Census Bureau.
(c) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Nash, Edgecombe, Halifax, North Hampton, Warren, Vance, Granville and Person Counties. These counties boarder the Virginia line and have a population consisting of approximately 369,529 people. Rocky Mount is in Nash and Edgecombe Counties, and makes up a Metropolitan Statistical Area according to the US Census Bureau. 
The minimum annual funding level to establish a new Part C CIL in the unserved and/or underserved areas is $250,000. This can be a combination of federal funds and/or state funds.
If there is not a qualified fundable applicant in Priority 3, the Part C funds will be distributed to the existing part C centers in proportion to each CIL’s share of the total IL Part C funds in the state. 
Priority 4: 
The fourth priority will be to establish a Part C CIL in one the following areas based on the most qualified fundable applicant. 
(a) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Robeson. Scotland, Richmond, Anson, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore, Lee and Chatham Counties. These counties have a total population of approximately 489,243 people. The largest population of the Lumbee Indian Tribe, recognized by the state of North Carolina, is located in Robeson County. 
(b) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Samson, Wayne, Duplin, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, Pamlico and Carteret Counties. These counties have approximately 456,235 residents and are home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. 
(c) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany and Wilkes Counties. The population of these counties is approximately 194,016. All seven counties are mountainous, and four of the counties are located in the Appalachian Mountains range.
(d) A qualified fundable applicant who proposes to serve one or more of the following counties, depending on the community-based proposal from the grassroots advocacy organization: Hertford, Bertie, Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden and Currituck Counties. These counties have a population of approximately 138,760 people. Perquimans County is part of the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area. The counties of Gates, Perquimans, Camden and Currituck contain sixty percent of the Great Dismal swamp.
The minimum annual funding level to establish a new Part C Center in the unserved and/or underserved areas is $250,000. This can be a combination of federal funds and/ or state funds.
If there is not a qualified fundable applicant in Priority 4, the Part C funds will be distributed to the existing part C centers in proportion to each CIL’s share of the total IL Part C funds in the state. 
[In the event that additional Part C funds become available in excess of the required Cost-of-living increase (COLA), but such funds equal less than $250,000 , those funds will be distributed to the existing Part C CILs according to the population-based formula used to distribute other Part C funds.]
At no time will the state of North Carolina pursue any action that will have an adverse impact on the already existing network of Centers for Independent Living. This includes any action involving temporary funding, including one-time federal funding. One-time federal funding is any federal funding that is not ongoing and that is a one-time funding appropriation with no continued funding in subsequent years.
In the event there is one time Part B federal independent living funding, it will be disbursed to all of the partners based upon the percentage that each partner currently receives of the Regular Part B funds. In terms of the CILs, the total amount of one time Part B funding designated for CILs will be equally divided among the existing CILs who are eligible for that funding.
In the event that there is one-time Part C federal independent living funding, such as with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, this funding will be disbursed equally among all of the current Part C CILs, unless it will affect Regular Part C funding in the years after the one time funding goes away. If it will affect the amounts of Regular Part C in subsequent years, the onetime Part C funding is to be disbursed to the current CILs based upon the current percentage of Regular Part C that each CIL receives.