Community Living

Every March, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) joins the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and its partners to observe Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM). This year’s theme, “A World of Opportunities,” focuses on ACL and NACDD’s shared goal of removing obstacles to community living faced by people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). ACL is committed to creating inclusive communities where everyone is valued and can do well and succeed. ACL is working alongside its partners in the disability networks to tackle these issues, with a focus on initiatives that they believe will have the biggest impact on the most pressing issues that affect people with I/DD...

USAging recently released an action guide designed to provide approaches for aging, disability, and health organizations to build partnerships with the housing sector for home modifications, repairs, and weatherization services. These partnerships aim to improve the accessibility and safety of existing housing and support community living for older adults and people with disabilities. The report highlights housing organizations that currently promote home modifications, outlines essential steps to foster successful partnerships, and provides practical strategies to identify common ground with the housing sector...

This report examines weaknesses in the home and community-based services ecosystem and outlines a roadmap to expand community living options that meet the needs of people with disabilities. The report builds upon findings in NCD’s 2021 Progress Report: The Impacts of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities (2021) and Deinstitutionalization: Unfinished Business (2012) and illustrates how each piece of the HCBS ecosystem must operate at full capacity to ensure that appropriate community living options and support systems remain available to the disabilities community.

The NIDILRR-funded Community Living Policy Center published a research brief discussing the results of a recent study of the long-term services and supports needs of people with disabilities and older adults in the US. The study explores how many people need more services than they currently receive and the connection between unmet HCBS needs and community living and health outcomes. The brief describes study findings and potential next steps for researchers and service providers to address gaps in services and supports.

This paper from AARP describes promising practices on how aging and disability network agencies, Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs), and Veteran Benefits Offices in seven states have forged partnerships to better support Veterans in community living. The paper includes a checklist for these local organizations to enhance collaboration and truly create a “no wrong door” for Veterans and their family caregivers to receive services in the community.

The brief includes information on disparities in health and disability; innovative approaches that Native communities have used to address identified disparities; how Native communities have used the Older Americans Act and other federal programs that aim to promote health and support community living for Elders; and aspects of successful programs for Native people.

On October 6, 2015, a public workshop was convened by the Institute of Medicine and the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education to learn about the supports that are needed for community living and maximizing independence. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a summary of the workshop that includes the policy and research that is needed to support independent living in the community.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) released a memo and report on the status of community living over the past 50 years. The report uses these findings to offer recommendations for improvement of services, access, opportunity, and support for for the next 25 years.