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Appendix E. CIL Dataset-Level Documentation 

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) administers the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) 

program through discretionary grants authorized under Title VII, Chapter I, Part C of the Rehabilitation 

Act, as Amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. CILs are consumercontrolled, community-based, cross-disability, nonresidential, private nonprofit agencies that provide 

independent living services to individuals with significant disabilities. A population-based formula 

determines the total funding available for discretionary grants to CILs within each state. There are 354 

CIL grantees across the U.S. 

At a minimum, CILs must provide the following core services:

• information and referral,

• independent living skills training,

• peer counseling,

• individual and systems advocacy, and

• services that 

o facilitate transitions from institutional to community-based living arrangements,

o assist those at risk of entering institutions, and

o facilitate transition of youth to postsecondary life. 

Each year, all CIL grantees submit an annual program performance report (PPR) to ACL. The report 

includes data about funding and resources, administrative support services and staffing, number and 

types of individuals served, services delivered and achievements, community activities, and training and 

technical assistance needs. These data comprise the CIL 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 CIL 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 CIL dataset-level documentation includes an overview 

of the CIL PPR data 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, CIL 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 CIL PPR Data Collection and Methodology 

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

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

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

the CIL program. 

The CIL PPR used for federal fiscal year 2018 consists of 187 items1 and is organized into seven major 

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

Services; Individual Services and Achievements; Extent of CIL Compliance With the Six Evaluation 

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

Standards; Annual Program and Financial Planning Objectives; Training and Technical Assistance Needs; 

and Additional Information. Table 1 below provides further details on each section.

Table 1: CIL PPR

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

Administrative Data 15 Numeric

Number and Types of Individuals With 

Significant Disabilities Receiving Services

37 Numeric, Text

Individual Services and Achievements 93 Numeric, Text

Extent of CIL Compliance With the Six 

Evaluation Standards

24 Numeric, Text

Annual Program and Financial Planning 

Objectives

5 Text

Training and Technical Assistance Needs 11 Numeric, Text

Additional Information 2 Text

The CIL 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. CIL grantees have 90 days after the 

project year ends to prepare and submit the data to ACL (by approximately December 30). Then ACL 

staff conduct reviews, request any corrections, and certify the complete grantee CIL PPR data. ACL 

typically certify the data within 45 days (by approximately February 15).

Additional resources that provide detailed explanation of the CIL 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 – CIL PPR

File Name Description Location

CIL_PPR_Instrument.docx Provides the full Annual Program 

Performance Report instrument 

completed by CIL grantees

AGID

CIL_PPR_Instructions.docx Provides extensive instructions for 

completing the CIL 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 CIL PPR Data Collection and Availability, 2010–2020 

Although annual program performance reporting for the CIL program began in 1993, the data are very 

limited prior to 2016. Under authorization from WIOA of 2014, the CIL program was transferred from 

the Department of Education to ACL in fiscal year 2015. The information system that houses CIL PPR 
3

data prior to the transfer is held by the Department of Education. For the years 2015 to 2018,

2 CIL data 

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

There have been multiple revisions to the CIL PPR form since 1993. However, the form was the same for 

all CIL PPR data currently available (2015 to 2018) from AGID. It is likely that the CIL PPR form will 

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

the CIL PPR form are expected to occur.

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

Datafiles 

Prior to 2020, grantees submitted CIL 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). CIL PPR data can be extracted from ACLReporting, but 

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

extracts CIL 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 4 years 

of CIL PPR data available in ACLReporting (2015 to 2018).

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

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

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

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 CIL PPR 

data tables (i.e., 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 CIL PPR datafile contains eight variables. Each variable is listed and 

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

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

Table 3: Cleaned and Transformed CIL PPR Datafile 

Variable Name Unique ID/Key Description

Year3 Yes Fiscal year of the CIL PPR data, used to determine the timeperiod represented in the variable

2 Although the CIL PPR reporting period follows the common fiscal year (i.e., September 30 to September 29), the 

CIL PPR data are referred to using the year corresponding to the September 30 start date, rather than the 

September 29 end date. This is unique to the CIL dataset. For example, the CIL PPR data for September 30, 2015, to 

September 29, 2016, are referred to as fiscal year 2015 data, whereas ILS PPR data for the same time period are 

referred to as fiscal year 2016 data.

3 We adjust CIL PPR Year information in the cleaned, transformed CIL PPR datafile to be 1 year later so that Year 

information is consistent across datasets for valid cross-dataset analysis in the database developed under Task 3 of 
4

Variable Name Unique ID/Key Description

GeoID4 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 CIL program grant number assigned by ACL to the grantee

NameofCenter No Name of CIL

Field No 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

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

listed and described below. The abbreviation OILP denotes Office of Independent Living Programs, and 

ILRU stands for Independent Living Research Utilization.

Table 4: Additional CIL PPR Resources – ACLReporting 

File Name Description Location

IL Part II User Guide.pdf Most recent version (September 2017) of the 

annual guidance document sent by OILP to all 

CIL program grantees including essential facts 

for using ACLReporting, ACLReporting quick 

tips, key PPR guidance, and important tips for 

completing the CIL PPR.

ILRU

2017 IL Grantee UserGuide 704 Part 

1.docx

Current version (updated September 2017) of 

the ACLReporting Grantee User Guide for CIL 

program grantees including information on 

ACLReporting roles and permissions, 

instructions for first time and active users, and 

instructions for entering report information.

OILP

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

management system, ACLReporting. The ILRU file can be downloaded from: 

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 CIL PPR Data 

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

Feasibility of Merging CIL PPR Data Within Each Year 

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

into separate datafiles that would require merging within each year. 

the ACL DR II project (For example, the 2015 CIL PPR raw data are labeled as 2016 data in the cleaned, transformed 

CIL PPR datafile.). 

4 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.
5

Feasibility of Merging CIL PPR Data Across Years 

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

GeoID variable includes all CIL grantees and can be used with the Year variable to validly link grantee 

data over time. 

Feasibility of Merging CIL PPR Data Across Datasets 

The CIL dataset provides data at the center level, which is unique. In order to technically link5 CIL PPR 

data with other datasets, it is valid to aggregate the data to other geographic levels used in other ACL 

and U.S. Census Bureau datasets: State, Census Division, ACL Region, Census Region, and National. This 

is the same approach to technical linkages used for the Title VI dataset.

Additionally, the CIL dataset includes information that can be conceptually linked6 with SPR, Title VI, ACS 

PUMS, and ILS. For more detailed information on available conceptual linkages, please see the resources 

listed and described in Table 5 below.

Table 5: Additional Resources – CIL Conceptual Linkages 

File Name Description Location

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The SPR-CIL worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

CIL and SPR.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The Title VI-CIL worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

CIL and Title VI.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

ACL DR II – Aligning Measures

Spreadsheets.xlsx

The ACS PUMS-CIL worksheet lists and 

describes conceptual linkages between 

CIL 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 CIL and 

ILS.

ACL DR II 

Project 

Files

Schema for CIL Dataset 

The CIL schema in Error! Reference source not found. 6 below shows the datafile structure for cleaned 

and transformed CIL PPR datafiles. The CIL schema shows the available variables for CIL PPR data. Key 

variables are bolded to signify that they are used to technically link CIL 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 CIL 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 

5 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.

6 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

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. Error! Reference 

source not found. 5 above provides a description of each CIL variable. 

Table 6 presents conceptual linkages between CIL 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 

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

data are listed in the Dataset(s) column. Specific subtopics in CIL 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 CIL and other datasets. 

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

listed in Table 5: Additional Resources – CIL Conceptual Linkages. The abbreviation ACS PUMS denotes 

American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample, and ILS stands for Independent Living 

Services.

 Table 6: CIL Schema 

Topic Dataset(s)

Demographics

- Gender

- Race/Ethnicity

- Age

SPR, ACS PUMS, ILS

SPR, ACS PUMS, ILS

SPR, ACS PUMS, ILS

Total Cases/Clients Served SPR, ILS

Service Type ILS

Increased Independence ILS

Improved Access ILS

Cases Closed ILS

Funding ILS

Persons With Disabilities 

Served

ILS

Additional Notes, Considerations, and Key Resources for CIL 

For further information on the CIL program and PPR data, refer to:

• Centers for Independent Living: https://acl.gov/programs/aging-and-disability-networks/centersindependent-living

• 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 CIL program grantees: https://www.ilru.org/

6.0 CIL

6.1 GeoID

6.2 Year

6.3 GrantNumber 

6.4 NameofCenter 

6.5 Field

6.6 Datatype

6.7 Numeric_Value

6.8 Non_Numeric_Value
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• Most recent ACL Annual Report on Centers for Independent Living (2018): 

https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/programs/2020-04/AnnualReportCILsFinal%202018.pdf