Plain Text Brochure

What is LIFTT?
LIFTT is a nonprofit agency providing services in Southeastern Montana since 1988 which empower people with disabilities to live independently in and have access to their communities. LIFTT is one of four independent living centers providing services in Montana. It is funded in part the by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Amended in 2014 (Title VII Independent Living Services). Independent Living Services have Federal oversight by the Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living.
LIFTT is:
Governed by a consumer-controlled Board of Directors, staff and volunteers whose lives have been personally impacted by a disability all working towards improving the quality of life for persons with disabilities.

LIFTT services are
Infused with independent living philosophy of self-determination, the right to equal and full access to the same opportunities as the rest of society, consumer directed, community responsive, and community based.

Who can use LIFTT services?
Information and referral is available to any person regardless of disability, affiliation or location. Independent Living Services are provided to individuals of any age with any disability within our service area. Some programs may have additional specific eligibility requirements.

LIFTT Core Services
Our staff excels at providing services which are custom to the needs of each individual we serve. We provide services in several categories, each designed to foster individual empowerment.

Information & Referral:
Providing assistance in obtaining information and/or referral regarding community services, benefits, housing, caregiver services, transportation options and other services.

Individual and Systems Advocacy:
Assisting individuals to become their own best advocate to understand their individual civil rights and responsibilities as well as promoting and modeling these to others. Also advocating with businesses, community organizations and legislative framework to ensure those rights are recognized and enforced.

Skills Training:
Individual or group training to enhance personal growth and life skills to promote independence. Training may include: daily living, budgeting, benefits application, acquisition of transportation and other skills.

Peer Mentoring:
One-on-one support by a person who has experienced a disability may be available to another individual based on similar experiences and challenges. Peer Mentoring empowers individuals with disabilities to make positive life choices that enable them to maximize their personal potential through self-advocacy.
All Peers are trained and supervised by LIFTT’s professional staff members. LIFTT offers a variety of opportunities for individuals with disabilities to engage in social activities, community events, educational offerings as well as health promotions. In addition LIFTT promotes Social Change. Through understanding individual civil rights and responsibilities, individuals with disabilities become active advocates for change by participating in a number of programs and events to promote and model these interests.

Peer Program Mentoring Aims and Objectives
• Develop and enhance an individual’s identity while living confidently with a disability.
• Through self-advocacy to become effectively and successfully integrated into school, career, and community.
• To develop and acquire necessary skills to live as independently as possible and become lifelong learners.

Transition Services:
Assisting youth with disabilities to transition as independently as possible into adulthood. Through partnerships with Montana Youth Transitions Program | MYTransitions and Montana Youth Leadership Forum | MYLF LIFTT works to ensure youth, families, teachers and professionals have access to as much information as possible to assist youth to become strong leaders and transition successfully into their next stage of life.
Also transition includes assisting individuals to move out of institutional care into a less restrictive environment that meets his/her needs. LIFTT provides information and referral to families, individuals and professionals regarding the community service options available to support an individual to live as independently as possible.

Personal Assistance Services:
The Medicaid Community First Choice Self Directed Personal Assistance Services (CFC – SDPAS) Program is designed especially for individuals who wish to manage their own services by developing a long-term supportive care program in a home setting. This program allows the person with a disability the opportunity to hire, train and supervise the personal assistants that work in their homes. Initial arrangements may involve recruiting, hiring, training and managing personal care attendants as needed by the consumer. The specific type of care authorized is dependent upon the consumer’s needs, living situation, the approval of the healthcare professional, and the Mountain Pacific Quality Health Foundation.

CFC – SDPAS services may include: help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, eating, ambulation, and exercising. Depending on your personal situation, you may also receive authorization for: meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping, medical escort. In addition your health care professional may allow self-management of your personal bowel program, catheter care, medication administration or wound care.
To qualify for CFC-SDPAS, you must:
1. Have a health condition that limits your ability to perform activities of daily living.
2. Participate in the screening process.
3. Be eligible for Montana Medicaid.
To remain eligible for CFC-SDPAS, you, the consumer, must follow the rules of the program, participate in your self-care as much as possible and remain financially eligible for Medicaid. If your situation or needs change, adjustments in service or a potential discharge from the CFC-SDPAS program may occur.
As your CFC-SDPAS liaison, LIFTT serves as the fiscal agent for payroll and billing to Medicaid for service payments, as well as provides you with instruction on how to train and educate your own Personal Care Attendant (PCA).

What is a Disability?
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a person with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities may include: walking, seeing, speaking, hearing, breathing, learning, performing manual tasks, caring for oneself and working.
How to obtain services
LIFTT provides services in eighteen counties of southeastern Montana. A staff member is available to discuss individually and confidentially any situation to determine the most appropriate and timely potential strategy for obtaining services. A number of resource options may be available to cover the cost of LIFTT services including grant funders, fee for service structure, state and federal assistance programs and other resources.
For more information on how LIFTT services may benefit you or someone you know, contact us at the information below.
1201 Grand Avenue # 1 | Billings, MT 59102
406.259.5181 | 800.669.6319