1

Appendix D. ILS Dataset-Level Documentation 

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) administers the Independent Living Services (ILS) 

program through formula grants to eligible states/territories authorized under Title VII, Chapter I, Part B 

of the Rehabilitation Act, as Amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 

2014. States/territories must fulfill two criteria to be eligible for ILS funding: develop, submit and receive 

approval on a State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL); and establish and maintain a Statewide 

Independent Living Council (SILC). ILS grants fund the provision, expansion, and improvement of 

independent living services throughout the state/territory. 

Each year, all ILS grantees submit an annual performance report (PPR) to ACL. The report includes data 

about sources and amounts of funds and resources, distribution of funds, administrative support 

services and staffing, number and types of individuals served, services delivered and achievements, 

community activities and coordination, and the SPIL and SILC. These data comprise the ILS dataset, one 

of many administrative and survey data collections on aging and disability programs overseen and 

managed by ACL.

The purpose of this appendix is to provide ILS dataset-level documentation as a resource and reference 

during the development of the data structure that connects ACL datasets and the future platform 

through which end users will access ACL data. The ILS dataset-level documentation includes an overview 

of the collection and methodology, changes to the data collection over time, information management 

systems, data review and processing, key variables, and additional notes and resources. Additionally, ILS 

variable-level documentation is provided in the Excel Workbook entitled ACL DR II – Variable Level 

Documentation.xlsx, which includes information on all variables from all datasets considered in the ACL 

DR II project.

Overview of ILS PPR Data Collection and Methodology 

The purpose of the ILS PPR data collection is to help track program activities and funding, measure 

program performance, determine training and technical assistance needs of grantees, support 

continued program funding decisions, and fulfill statutory requirements for data collection on the ILS 

program. 

The ILS PPR used for federal fiscal year 2018 consists of 293 items1 and is organized into six major 

subparts: Administrative Data; Number and Types of Individuals With Significant Disabilities Receiving 

Services; Individual Services and Achievements Funded through Title VII, Chapter 1, Part B Funds; 

Community Activities and Coordination; Statewide Independence Living Council; State Plan for 

Independent Living Comparison and Updates, Other Accomplishments and Challenges of the Reporting 

Year. Table 1 provides further details on each section.

Table 1: ILS PPR 

Section of PPR Number of Items Type(s) of Data Collected

Administrative Data 51 Numeric, Text

Number and Types of Individuals With 

Significant Disabilities Receiving Services

36 Numeric

1 This is the minimum number of items, including optional items.
2

Section of PPR Number of Items Type(s) of Data Collected

Individual Services and Achievements Funded 

through Title VII, Chapter 1, Part B Funds

93 Numeric, Text

Community Activities and Coordination 8 Text

Statewide Independence Living Council (SILC) 100 Numeric, Text

SPIL Comparison and Updates, Other 

Accomplishments and Challenges of the 

Reporting Year

5 Text

The ILS PPR is an annual administrative data collection. All grantees are required to submit data covering

an annual reporting period of September 30 to September 29. ILS grantees have 90 days after the 

project year ends to prepare and submit the data to ACL. Then ACL staff conduct reviews, request any 

corrections, and certify the complete grantee ILS PPR data. There is no set date by which ACL must 

approve the data.

2

Additional resources that provide detailed explanation of the ILS PPR are listed and described in Table 2

below. AGing, Independence, and Disability (AGID) Program Data Portal files can be downloaded from 

the following website: https://agid.acl.gov/datafiles. File names and versions may change.

Table 2: Additional Resources – ILS PPR 

File Name Description Location

ILS_PPR_Instrument.docx Provides the full PPR instrument 

completed by ILS grantees

AGID

ILS_PPR_Instructions.docx Provides extensive instructions for 

completing the ILS PPR including 

frequently asked questions, glossary of 

terms, general instructions, and specific 

instructions for each section within each 

subpart of the PPR instrument

AGID

Major Changes in ILS PPR Data Collection and Availability, 2010–2020 

Although annual reporting for the ILS program began in 1993, the data are very limited prior to 2016. 

Under authorization from the WIOA of 2014, the ILS program transferred from the Department of 

Education to ACL in fiscal year 2015. The information system the houses ILS PPR data prior to the 

transfer is held by the Department of Education. For the years 2016 to 2018, ILS data are available for 

public access from AGID (https://agid.acl.gov/). 

Though there have been multiple revisions to the ILS PPR form since 1993, the form was the same for all 

ILS data currently available (2016 to 2018) from AGID. It is likely that the ILS PPR form will change in the 

future, as part of the WIOA reauthorization, but there is no firm date for when revisions to the ILS PPR 

form are expected to occur.

2

For the most recent reporting period (i.e., September 30, 2018–September 29, 2019), ACL approved the ILS PPR 

data on March 15, 2020.
3

Description of ILS PPR Data Submission, Information Management System, and Final 

Datafiles 

Prior to 2020, grantees submitted ILS PPR data to ACL through ACLReporting, a grantee report 

management system that allows grantees from various ACL grant programs to submit PPRs and other 

federally required information (e.g., state plans). ILS PPR data can be extracted from ACLReporting but 

not into a user-friendly file format. Currently, the ACL Office of Information Resources Management 

extracts ILS PPR data from ACLReporting, formats the data as a multitable Excel workbook file, and 

provides it to other ACL offices for use (e.g., data cleaning, posting to AGID). Currently, there are 3 years 

of ILS PPR data available in ACLReporting (2016 to 2018).

As of 2020, ACLReporting is no longer used as the data collection and information management system 

for the ILS program. A replacement system has not yet been released.

For data prior to 2020, we applied several transformations to align the ILS PPR Excel data structure in 

order to combine the data with other aging and disability datasets from ACL and the U.S. Census Bureau 

in a database for cross-dataset analysis. First, we determined the unique variables common to the ILS 

PPR data tables (Grant Number, State, and Year) and used them as a base to transform the other 

variables from column to row format (long to wide format). Once this transformation was complete, we 

formed multiple records per the base variables. Next, we separated all numeric rows and text rows into 

separate variables to be consistent with OAAPS formatting. We then performed quality assurance 

checks to verify numeric values were the same before and after transformation. Finally, we applied the 

GeoID variable for consistency with the OAAPS formatting. 

The cleaned and transformed ILS PPR datafile contains eight variables. Each variable is listed and 

described in Table 3 below, which also includes an indication of which variables can be used together to 

uniquely identify records or serve as keys for relating ILS PPR data with other datasets.

Table 3: Cleaned and Transformed ILS PPR Datafile 

Name of Variable Unique ID/Key Description

Year Yes Fiscal year of the PPR, used to determine the time-period 

represented in the variable

GeoID3 Yes Geographic identifier, used to determine the geographic 

area represented in the variable (Grantee Entity, State, 

Census Division, ACL Region, Census Region, or National)

GrantNumber No ILS program grant number assigned by ACL to the grantee

Field No Short title for variable

FieldLabel No Long title for variable

Data Type No Format type for variable (numeric, currency, or text)

Numeric Value No Value of variable, if numeric formatted

NonNumeric Value No Value of variable, if text formatted

3 Not available from ACLReporting formatted datafiles. Constructed in the ACL Data Restructuring project to test 

technical and conceptual linkages within and across datasets. Based on GeoID variable in constructed files 

uploaded to AGID.
4

Additional resources that provide detailed explanation of ACLReporting, including tools and features, are 

listed and described in Table 4 below. The abbreviation OILP denotes the ACL Office of Independent 

Living Programs, and ILRU stands for Independent Living Research Utilization.

Table 4: Additional Resources – ACLReporting 

File Name Description Location

FY2019 ILS PPR Guidance 9.27.19.docx Most recent version (September 2019) of the 

annual guidance document sent by OILP to all 

ILS program grantees including essential facts 

for using ACLReporting, ACLReporting quick 

tips, key PPR guidance, and important tips for 

completing the ILS PPR

OILP

2017 IL Grantee UserGuide 704 Part 

1.docx

Current version (updated September 2017) of 

the ACLReporting Grantee User Guide for ILS 

program grantees including information on 

ACLReporting roles and permissions, 

instructions for first time and active users, and

instructions for entering report information

OILP

IL Part II User Guide.pdf Most recent version (updated September 

2017) of the ACLReporting Grantee User 

Guide, which provides an overview of the 

reporting system roles and permissions, 

instructions for first time and active users, and 

instructions for entering report information

ILRU

Note: The files listed in Table 4 were legacy reporting guides from the previous grantee reporting 

management system, ACLReporting. ILRU files can be downloaded from the following website: 

https://www.ilru.org/sites/default/files/training/webcasts/handouts/2017/011117_ACLReporting/IL%2

0Part%20II%20User%20Guide.pdf. File names and versions may change.

Feasibility and Validity of Merging ILS PPR Data 

ILS PPR data can be validly merged within each year, across years, and across some datasets.

Feasibility of Merging ILS PPR Data Within Each Year 

ACLReporting formatting provides all ILS PPR data within a single datafile. The data are not organized 

into separate datafiles that would require merging within each year. 

Feasibility of Merging ILS PPR Data Across Years 

ACLReporting formatting allows for all years of ILS PPR data to be appended together. The constructed 

GeoID variable includes all states/territories and can be used with the Year variable to validly link 

grantee data over time. 
5

Feasibility of Merging ILS PPR Data Across Datasets 

The ILS dataset can technically link4 with other datasets at the state/territory geographic level. It is also 

valid to aggregate the data to technically link with other ACL and U.S. Census Bureau datasets at the 

following geographic levels: Census Division, ACL Region, Census Region, and National. 

Additionally, the ILS dataset includes information that can be conceptually linked5 with SPR, Title VI, ACS 

PUMS, and CIL data. For more detailed information on available conceptual linkages, please see the 

resources listed and described in Table 5 below.

Table 5: Additional Resources – ILS Conceptual Linkages 

File Name Description Location

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The SPR-ILS worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

ILS and SPR.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The Title VI-ILS worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

ILS and Title VI.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The ACS PUMS-ILS worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

ILS and ACS PUMS.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The CIL-ILS worksheet lists and describes 

conceptual linkages between ILS and 

CIL.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

Schema for ILS Dataset 

The ILS schema in Table 6 below shows the datafile structure for cleaned and transformed ILS PPR 

datafiles. The ILS schema shows the available variables for ILS PPR data. Key variables are bolded to 

signify that they are used to technically link ILS PPR data to other datasets (i.e., on the basis of 

geography, using 1.1 GeoID, and of time, using 1.2 Year). For convenience, the variables needed for 

technical linkages are listed first in the ILS schema, followed by other variables found in the dataset.

Each dataset and each variable included in the ACL DR II project is assigned a number. The purpose of 

numbering each dataset and variable is to help to account for all the datasets and variables to be 

included in the database for cross-dataset analysis. The order and the magnitude of the numbering does 

not have any meaning. The numbering is used only to track all datasets and variables and can easily 

scale to include additional datasets and variables that may be added in the future. Table 5 above 

provides a description of each ILS variable.

Table 6 presents conceptual linkages between ILS PPR data and other datasets that match on the basis 

of geography and time as well as on the basis of subject area and measurement. Broad subject areas are 

4 Technical linkages exist between data that match across datasets on the basis of time and geography. A data user 

might be interested, for example, in using technical linkages to produce a report about all OAA programs and 

services in their state using the most recently available year of data.

5 Conceptual linkages exist between data that match on the basis of time and geography but also on the basis of 

subject area and measurement (e.g., variable definition, variable category, method of data collection). A data user 

might be interested, for example, in using conceptual linkages between common variables in NORS and Title VI to 

examine staffing (e.g., total count of full-time and part-time staff paid using grant funds).
6

listed in the Topic column, while datasets in which these conceptual linkages can be made with ILS PPR 

data are listed in the Dataset(s) column. Specific subtopics in ILS PPR data that conceptually link with 

other datasets are shown as bulleted lists under each main topic, when available. These subtopics 

provide an additional level of detail not shown in Exhibit 3: Overall Schema of the ACL DR II project final 

report entitled ACL DR II - Final Report 9-20-2021.docx.

Table 6 is designed to provide a quick view of the conceptual linkages between ILS and other datasets. 

For detailed information on conceptual linkages between ILS and other datasets, refer to the resources 

listed in Table 5: Additional Resources – ILS Conceptual Linkages. 

Table 6: ILS Schema 

Topic Dataset(s)

Demographics

- Gender

- Race/Ethnicity

- Age

SPR, ACS PUMS, CIL

SPR, ACS PUMS, CIL

SPR, ACS PUMS, CIL

Total Clients Served SPR, CIL

Service Type CIL

Increased Independence CIL

Improved Access CIL

Cases Closed CIL

Funding CIL

Persons With Disabilities

Served

CIL

Additional Notes, Considerations, and Key Resources for ILS 

For further information on the ILS program and PPR data, refer to these resources:

• Independent Living Services (ILS) Program: https://acl.gov/ils-programs

• AGing, Independence, and Disability (AGID) Program Data Portal: https://agid.acl.gov/

• Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) training and technical assistance resources and 

information for ILS program grantees: https://www.ilru.org/

7.0 ILS

7.1 GeoID

7.2 Year

7.3 GrantNumber

7.4 Field 

7.5 FieldLabel 

7.6 Datatype 

7.7 Numeric_Value

7.8 Non_Numeric_Value