Major research findings are synthesized and innovations of current concern to vocational rehabilitation professionals are reported in this document, which covers the area of independent living. Independent living is described as an integral part of the rehabilitation process for the severely disabled in which the individual is assisted in achieving personal and vocational objectives. In the introductory chapter, three partial concepts of independent living are reviewed: physical modification, rehabilitation, and consumer rights. Chapter 2, concerning independent living and federal rehabilitation legislation, reviews attempts to introduce independent living as a component of vocational rehabilitation services, illustrating a number of planning issues that confront policy makers. Chapter 3 discusses the problem of defining the target populations. Chapter 4 describes alternative delivery strategies/systems for independent living services, identifies several major dimensions of these programs, and reviews several examples of independent living service models. Chapter 5 reviews two programs where alternatives for organization and delivery of independent living services are being systematically evaluated. Chapter 6 reviews analytical and theoretical work to date on estimating the costs and benefits of independent living. Chapter 7, the conclusion, re-emphasizes the main programmatic features of the consumer model of independent living, and outlines major policy questions and the agenda for exploring new alternatives. An annotated bibliography is appended. (TA)