The Next Chapter After Graduation
When a family asks where their son or daughter lives next, here is one answer you can point to.
A Home, Support, Work and Friends
FIL is a co-ed community at Cypress Shores in Coconut Creek, Florida, for adults with special needs who can live independently.
A Home of Their Own
- Private one- or two-bedroom apartments, each with a patio or balcony
- A short walk from the main campus
- Residents make their own decisions
Coaching and Work
- One-on-one Independent Living Coaches help with cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, budgeting and getting around
- Three FIL team members live on site, available 24/7
- An Employment Specialist helps with résumés, interviews and job coaching
A Community for Life
- A full calendar of outings, Special Olympics, clubs and events
- Founded by parents in 1985
- More than 40 years of community
The Numbers Behind the Program
What Happens to Your Graduate Here
You have spent years getting a young adult ready. Here is what stands behind them after they leave you.
Run by families, for 40 years
FIL was founded in 1985 by parents who wanted this for their own children. Today 58 residents call it home.
Nobody is placed, everybody chooses
A tour, an application reviewed by our Leadership and Medical Teams, then a trial stay of one or two nights before anyone decides.
We say no when it is not a fit
We screen for fit as carefully as for readiness, and we tell a family plainly when FIL is not right for their son or daughter.
A planned first day
Transition meetings before move-in: admissions, a meet and greet with the resident’s support staff, and our Employment Specialist if work is the goal.
Staff who live here
Three team members live on site at Cypress Shores, with on-call support 24/7. Health needs are coordinated through our Med Room.
The skills you taught keep growing
One-on-one coaching in cooking, budgeting and getting around, and two thirds of our residents work or volunteer.
Families stay close
Parents join goal-setting meetings and regular check-ins by phone, email or Zoom, with a designated point of contact on our team.
A home, not a placement
Each resident lives in a private one- or two-bedroom apartment and makes their own choices, with a caring community right beside them.
Four Simple Steps
Call us
Tell us about the graduate or family, and whether FIL is likely to fit. We will say so plainly.
Share what helps
Hand the family our materials, or ask us to send them.
The family reaches out
They contact FIL by phone, or through the Contact Us form.
Our usual admissions process
An initial inquiry, a tour, an application, a trial stay and a final decision meeting. See the full admissions process.
FIL is a community-based program. We do not offer 24-hour supervision, and it is not the right fit for people with a psychiatric or serious emotional disturbance that affects behavior, or with serious medical conditions that need daily or weekly monitoring. Read who should apply.
Please note that FIL is private pay only. We do not accept insurance, Medicaid, etc. See Our Fees.
Support for Your Side of the Conversation
We keep you posted
With the family’s consent, FIL keeps the referring program posted on how its graduate is doing.
A short call
A short call whenever a family asks you what comes next.
Materials for your families
Printed or by email, ready to hand to a family.
Download or Request
After Graduation: A Guide for Families
What changes at graduation, what to ask on any visit, and where FIL fits in.
Download PDFFIL for Transition Programs
A short overview of FIL for programs and the families they serve.
Download PDFFIL for Educational Consultants
A one-page handout for consultants and coordinators.
Download PDFA Home for Life
How lifetime housing works at FIL, and what happens when parents are gone.
Download PDFPrivate Pay Explained
How private pay works at FIL.
Download PDFWe can put your program’s name on the flyer on request.
Refer a Family, or Start With a Short Call
Tell us about the graduate or family, or ask us how we work with programs. We will say plainly whether FIL is likely to fit.
Know a Family Asking What Comes Next?
Send them to Who Should Apply. It answers the first questions a family has, and points to a tour.
Referring from a college or transition program? See how we work with programs.