Transcript COMING HOME - One Community - The Olmstead Project Web Site

Money Follows the Person:
How Are We Doing One Year Later?
Presentation to the Virginia Association of
Housing and Community Development Officials
January 23, 2009
PRESENTATION CONTENTS
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Money Follows the Person Overview

MFP and Housing at the Federal Level

MFP and Housing Update

What’s Missing From The MFP Housing Picture, Why,
and How Do We Fill the Gaps?

MFP Annual Housing and Transportation Action Plan

Update: MFP Housing and Transportation
Resource Bank

Update: Centers for Independent Living
Money Follows the Person
(“MFP”) Overview

Largest federal Medicaid long-term support initiative ever ($1.75
billion); 32 states and the District of Columbia participating

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Over 32,000 seniors and children/adults with disabilities
nationwide will move to the community through 2011

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More than 1,000 Virginians
They are accessing the services they need through Medicaid
“waivers” or the Medicaid “PACE” program funded by:
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$38 million total dollars for Virginia
Federal ~ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
State ~ Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS)
Virginia’s MFP Project started July 1, 2008
MFP Overview, continued
 Individuals will move:
 FROM: Nursing homes, long-stay hospitals and
Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with
Mental Retardation (ICFs/MR)
 TO: “Qualified Residences” in the community:
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Their own home or apartment
A family member’s home or apartment
A setting in which no more than four unrelated
persons reside
MFP Overview, continued

Qualified Residences in Virginia
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Homes
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Apartments
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Sponsored residential homes
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Adult foster care
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4-bed assisted living facilities
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4-bed group homes
MFP Overview, continued

Projections of numbers of Virginians who will
transition to each type of qualified residence:

Homes
107/year

Apartments
101/year

Sponsored residential homes
58/year

Adult foster care
5/year

4-bed assisted living facilities
6/year

4-bed group homes
43/year
MFP Overview, continued

MFP housing components already in place
in Virginia:
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Case manager or transition coordinator to work
with individuals to find appropriate “qualified
residence”
Transition Services
Environmental Modifications
Supplemental Home Modifications
“Bridge” rent
MFP and Housing at the Federal Level

CMS identified housing as a critical element for state
systems that support individuals under MFP and has
been working with HUD

HUD asked PHAs to collaborate with state HFAs, CMS,
and local disability organizations to:
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provide integrated, affordable, and accessible community housing
options
set local preferences
use public housing units and rental vouchers to support people
moving to the community
No HUD funding as yet targeted for these individuals
MFP and Housing Update

Of the 14 Virginians who have moved to the community since
July 1:
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Majority have moved to a home or apartment
Some have moved to a group home
Geographic locations to which they have moved include:
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Central Virginia
Far Southwest Virginia
Tidewater
MFP and Housing Challenges

Lack of accessible, affordable housing
alone will prevent Virginians from moving
to the community under the MFP project

DMAS will collect data on housing barriers
and will use it to:

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Determine the need for additional housing
assistance on the state level
Educate the housing community about specific
barriers
What’s Missing From The
MFP Housing Picture?

For those who need or want to rent…

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For those who want to live with others in
supportive settings…
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a way to afford to live in an accessible apartment
insufficient numbers of qualified residences
For those living in most settings…
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non-medical transportation where they live
Why Are They Missing?
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Lack of accessible housing stock
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Housing and human services plan in different systems
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Inability to afford housing
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People living in institutions often have no, or extremely low, income.
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Sole income of many will be SSI, currently $638 per month.

Some gave up homes to receive services in institutions because they could not
access the services and supports they needed to stay in the community.

While some may obtain employment, they will not have sufficient income at the
time of transition to afford rent or non-medical transportation.
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Medicaid program cannot pay
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No state-funded programs exist

Federal housing rental vouchers are scarce, and those available are not
dedicated to individuals transitioning
How Do We Fill the Gaps?

MFP Housing and Transportation Task Force
has made comprehensive recommendations

Centers for Independent Living/Statewide Plan
for Independent Living devotes major resources
to housing initiative

Both have been incorporated into an Annual
Housing and Transportation Action Plan
MFP Annual Housing and Transportation
Action Plan

STRATEGIES
1.
Increase the affordability and availability of community
housing for seniors and people with disabilities
2.
Increase the availability of accessible transportation for
seniors and individuals with disabilities
3.
Recognize the importance of the link between housing
and transportation
4.
Focus on education, awareness, and partnership
building among housing and human service agencies
and the individuals they serve
1.
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Increase affordability and
availability of housing
Develop a state-funded community living supplement
Increase availability of sponsored residential and adult foster
care providers through marketing and provider fairs
Make the auxiliary grant portable for all populations
Produce new housing units through QAP LIHTC and nonLIHTC initiatives, and low-interest loan programs
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VHDA Housing Solutions Work Group
Assess local housing capacity and assure that needs are
included in local planning
Direct federal housing trust fund monies, when they become
available, to these populations
2.
Increase availability of
accessible transportation

Disseminate information about transportation
providers that offer accessible vehicles, and about
new services available under the New Freedom
initiative

Incentivize specialized transportation providers to
coordinate their services beyond geographic
boundaries
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Incentivize specialized transportation providers to
provide door through door transportation

Develop a transportation voucher system
3. Recognize importance of the link
between housing and transportation

Develop interactive housing and
transportation website
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Use the existing Transportation and
Housing Alliance Toolkit as a resource
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Create incentives to develop housing on
public transportation routes
4.a. Educate the housing community;
awareness, and partnership building
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Offer assistance in follow up to HUD and Governor’s letters to PHAs
Provide technical assistance to local housing offices, planning
authorities and HUD offices on understanding the needs of persons
transitioning, on www.accessva.org, and on laws that govern housing
services, options and choice Encourage use of Virginia Easy Access.
Distribute Rutgers Medicaid Services Primer at Governor’s Housing
Conference
Encourage PHAs to list accessible housing units on
www.accessva.org
Through speaking engagements, e-distribution list, HUD Lines and
tele-tutorials, educate housing-related groups, including:
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VAHCDO, PHAS, Housing Counselors
COSCDA
Housing Commission
Local planners and contract administrators
4.b. Educate disability/aging communities;
awareness, and partnership building
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Orient individuals, advocates, local agencies to housing/transportation planning
Disseminate Annual Action Plan
Ensure input of disability/aging communities is considered in housing planning
activities; create a mechanism to track local changes in policy and relate ongoing
needs/solutions to statewide and national housing funding agents and authorities
Develop HOME, CDBG, and HCV contact lists; disseminate to organizations to
encourage participation in needs statements and priorities for resource allocation
Document changes in housing policy; work with the SILC to interface with multiple
policy makers/funding agents to foster and sustain increased housing options
Assure that service agencies and advocates have information about housing
agencies and a description of the services they offer through:
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Virginia Easy Access
A housing resource bank on www.olmsteadva.com/mfp/
Dissemination of information on HUD-Assisted Apartments
Training of Transition Coordinators
Developing a Housing Primer for services agencies and advocates
MFP Annual Housing and Transportation
Action Plan,
continued
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Each strategy has:
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A lead agency
A timeline
Strategies recommended by Task Force
have detailed work plans
Office of Community Integration to track
results
Update: MFP Housing and
Transportation Resource Bank

Has been established at
www.olmsteadva.com/mfp/

Includes housing resources that may be
helpful to the individuals, people working
with them to develop transitions plans, and
human services and housing agencies
Update: Centers for Independent Living

Identifying local entities involved in housing
planning
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Reviewing Consolidated Plans and PHA
Plans
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Making recommendations for local planning
Questions and Suggestions?
For More Information
Virginia’s Community Integration Initiative
One Community: http://www.olmsteadva.com
[email protected]
(804) 371-0828
Virginia’s Money Follows the Person Project
http://www.olmsteadva.com/mfp
[email protected]