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Independent Living

Business Hours

M-F 8:30am – 4pm

 

Phone: (732) 571-4884

Fax: (844) 645-5490

info@moceanscil.org

Youth Transition

Business Hours

M-F 8:30am – 4pm

 

Phone: (732) 571-4884

Fax: (844) 645-5490

rise.transition@moceanscil.org

Support Coordination

Business Hours

M-F 8:30am – 4pm

Phone: (732) 571-6232
or
Phone: (866) 980-3554

Fax: (844) 645-5490

info@moceanscil.org

Education & Advocacy

Business Hours

M-F 8:30am – 4pm

 

Phone: (732) 571-4884

Fax: (844) 645-5490

info@moceanscil.org

Our Mission

We are a non-residential, consumer-controlled, community-based, 501c3 nonprofit organization . We provide information, instruction and support for people living with disability, their families, friends and allies in the community . It is our mission to promote public awareness and barrier-free access in the community while supporting individual choice, advancing the independent living philosophy, promoting the civil rights and inclusion of all people living with disabilities. 

Advocacy

We offer both individual and systems advocacy. Individual advocacy is available to a consumer with a disability-related issue. Systems advocacy involves consumers working together to change policies and practices on a wide scale. 

Information & Referral

We provide information about disability issues and referrals to other agencies and organizations in the area that serve individuals with disabilities and their families. 

Five Core Services

We help individuals who have developmental disabilities to find the services they need. We listen to the individual’s needs and desires in life and work together to develop an Individual Service Plan.

Independent Living Skills Instruction
Peer Support

We offer both individualized and group independent living skills instruction to help consumers develop and enhance the skills needed to live independently. This can range from personal budgeting to mobility training to social skills. 

We provide peer support to individuals with disabilities both individually and in a group setting. Peer support is the sharing of experiences by and between two or more individuals with a disability and can help with the development of positive coping skills.

Transition Services

Nursing Home Diversion and Transition
Youth Transition

We facilitate the transition of people with disabilities from nursing homes or other institutions to community-based residences, with the requisite supports and services. We also help people who might otherwise be placed into institutional care remain in the community.

We offer a variety of programs and services to support young people with disabilities navigate the often confusing transition from school to postsecondary life. Learn more...

Programs And Services
OUR HISTORY

Our History

MOCEANS Center for Independent Living, Inc, is a consumer-driven, consumer-controlled organization serving people with disabilities, their families, friends and allies in the community. At MOCEANS we offer programs, skills, connections and guidance that help people who are living with disability choose how they live, work, and participate in the life of their community.

  • Originally formed as a project of the Consumer Advisory Council on the Disabled, (CACOD, Inc), which provide independent living services to people with disabilities throughout the state of New Jersey. CACOD existed from 1979 and operated for 12 years.
     

  • In 1988 CACOD, Inc. secured permanent funding from the New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, (NJDVRS), to establish an independent living center. The following year, the funding was used to establish Monmouth-Ocean Independent Living Center, Inc.
     

  • After several years of operation, Monmouth-Ocean ILC's name was shortened to MOCEANS ILC which is an incorporation of both Monmouth and Ocean counties, the center’s catchment areas.
     

  • MOCEANS ILC continued to diversify its funding and services by applying for and receiving various state and county contracts and grants in areas of personal assistant services, recreation, system change and assistive technology.
     

  • In the summer of 1995, NJDVRS in compliance with Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1992, mandated that CACOD, Inc. and MOCEANS ILC separate and that the center become its own free-standing, non-profit center for independent living.
     

  • By spring of 1996, through the hard work of consumers and the support of CACOD, Inc. Board of Directors, NJDVRS, and the New Jersey Statewide Independent Living Council, (NJSILC), MOCEANS ILC was officially established as center for independent living.
     

  • At the annual meeting in the spring of 1996, as a result of priorities identified in the strategic planning process implemented by the Board of Directors, the membership voted to change the organization’s name from MOCEANS Independent Living Center, Inc. to MOCEANS Center for Independent Living, Inc.
     

  • This decision was a result of the need for the organization to identify itself primarily as a Center for Independent Living and to promote itself accordingly. A formal name change was approved by the State of New Jersey in October of the same year.
     

  • In April of 1996, MOCEANS CIL was incorporated and in April 1997, MOCEANS received its 501(c)3 nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service.

Over the next two years, all of CACOD, Inc. contracts, grants and all other fiscal responsibilities were successfully transferred to MOCEANS CIL without any interruption of services to any consumer.

MOCEANS’ outreach into the community is well established, working with a myriad of agencies, businesses, organizations and schools to further its mission and opportunities for people with disabilities in the communities throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Our Board of Directors

John Nicklin - Chairman

John Nicklin is a lifelong resident of Monmouth County, NJ. After 24 years in banking, he moved to sales with Star Installations, Inc's. I have served on the board of Officers for Monmouth County’s United Way from 2009 to 2012 and currently serve MOCEANS Center for Independent Living Business Advisory Panel. John served on event committees for Centra State medical Center and Ladacin network. I am Past member of the Exchange Club of Freehold and the Manasquan -Brielle Rotary 2006-2010 

Christine L. Matus, Esq. - Vice-Chairperson

Christine L. Matus was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and to the U.S. District Court of New Jersey in 1995. While in law school, she served as Senior Staff of the International Law Review, received the Outstanding Service Award and the highest academic award for the Civil Rights law clinic.  Her most recent awards include: 2012-2013, Winner of Ocean County Most Happening Lawyer; 2014-2015, Finalist of Ocean County Most Happening Lawyer; 2015 Special Needs Lawyer of the Year and 2016 Probate Lawyer of the Year by Corporate Live Wire.

Matthew Brazinski - Treasurer

Matthew Brazinski lives in Toms River. A graduate from The College of New Jersey, Matt is a Licensed Loan Originator with Glendenning Mortgage Corporation, where he focuses on bringing clarity and simplicity to the home loan process. 

Judyth Brown MS Ed - Executive Director

MOCEANS Center for Independent Living serves persons living with a disability since 1989.

Chris Miller - Director

Chris Miller is the Assistant to the Policy Director at Disability Rights New Jersey.  He Studied Political Science, BA at Monmouth University, and is a life-long resident of Neptune City, New Jersey

Our Current Board of Directors
Contact Us

Contact Us

Disabilities Help desk Logo.jpg
MOCEANS Center for independent Living
Monmouth County

213  Broadway
Long Branch, New Jersey 07740

info@moceanscil.org
Phone: (732) 571-4884

Fax:866-856-0290

BUSINESS HOURS:
Monday Through Friday
8:30am to 4:00 pm

Accessible entrance in rear parking lot

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