housing

The Milbank Memorial Fund’s Reforming States Group, with the New York State Health Foundation, published an issue brief that is a practical guide for policymakers who want to know when and how states can use Medicaid to facilitate access to social services. It offers a road map of the legal authorities upon which policymakers can rely to extend Medicaid coverage to social interventions and provides examples of how Medicaid can be an important component in improving the health of populations.

The Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC) released a new update to their guidebook, “Section 8 Made Simple - Special Edition: Using the Housing Choice Voucher Program to End Chronic Homelessness,” with support of the Melville Charitable Trust. The guidebook explains how to use fair housing law and federal guidance to make the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program accessible to people with disabilities, and adds a new focus on helping those who are experiencing chronic homelessness.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this annual report focuses on how the ADA and other federal legislation has been implemented by five different state and local agencies. The report examines employment, education, health care, transportation, and housing to demonstrate the importance of the federal legislation and disability advocates. The report also offers recommendations to inform policymakers on changes to be made in the future legislation.

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) released a report on the Eldercare Locator, a national information and referral resource, funded by the Administration on Aging, that provides assistance to older adults and caregivers. The report draws on data from the locator, breaking the data into different categories.The trends in this data reflect information gathered from 271,234 contacts made with the Eldercare Locator.

This report is a study of the severe housing affordability problems experienced by people with disabilities. Priced Out calculates the difference between what an individual receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can reasonably afford to pay for housing costs and the average cost of modest housing units. The report confirms that non-elderly adults with disabilities living on SSI confront an enormous housing affordability gap across the entire nation.

Every year the Administration for Community Living (ACL) uses U.S. Census data to compile a profile of the U.S. population over age 65. The population of older Americans is experiencing dynamic changes, and monitoring these changes over time is an important part of understanding current needs and preparing for future growth.