Announcement/Press release

According to an analysis of 15 large lenders by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, \"African-Americans were nearly three times as likely as whites to take out higher-cost subprime mortgages in 2004,\" reported USA TODAY. The study is based on data that lenders recently began releasing to comply with new rules under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

This report outlines the annual Medicare Advantage capitation rate for each Medicare Advantage payment area for 2006, and the risk and other factors to be used in adjusting such rates. Attached is a spreadsheet containing the capitation rate tables for CY 2006, a spreadsheet which shows the statutory component of the regional benchmarks and the National Per Capita Medicare Advantage Growth Percentage. The 2006 national per capita Medicare Advantage growth rate is 4.8 percent.

On 2/1/05, HUD issued new guidelines to public housing authorities on using the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to assist people with disabilities. These new guidelines are part of the President’s New Freedom Initiation and Executive Order ton Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities. The new guidelines clarify issues related to issuance and preservation of certain types of special purpose vouchers for disabled families

On 3/4/05, HUD issued the estimated Median Family Incomes for FY2005. Changes were made in response to 283 public comments received during the second comment period and 26 random digit-dialing surveys conducted from September to November. These estimates have been calculated for 356 metropolitan and 2,302 non-metropolitan areas across the nation. Utilizing the Fair Market Rents (FMR) area definitions applied in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program the estimates incomes were calculated.

The supply of affordable assisted living facilities is now insufficient to meet the demands of low-income, frail older persons. This gap between demand and supply is much more apparent in some locations than others. This article uses various measures of locational inequality to assess the extent to which counties in Florida have less than their fair share of ALFs, particularly in comparison to the locations of Medicaid nursing home beds.

A must have book for everyone and anyone who wants to learn low cost assistive technology (A.T.) solutions that can be constructed in five minutes or less. This book is filled with over 600 color photographs of innovative fabrication techniques for constructing A.T. solutions for home, school, work, and play. A companion 42 Piece A.T. Tools and Materials Kit is also available. Both items can be purchased at www.nhassistivetechnology.org.

On February 1, 2005, HUD issued a very important Notice PIH 2005-5(HA). The notice ties together Housing Vouchers, Olmstead, Waivers, the New Freedom Initiative, and the President's Exec.Order 13217, that \"promotes community-based alternatives, rather than institutional settings.\" Read what HUD has told your local Housing Authorities what they must do and is required for persons with disabilities regarding Housing Vouchers.

The Indiana Waiver Services is a new unit created in Jan ‘04, to consolidate the management and operation of Indiana’s eight HCBS Waivers. Attached are documents that provide a program overview. The Services Unit Summary describes the program; the Priority Diversion Guidelines details the individual criteria for priority diversion; the Waiver Services Organizational Chart provides a pictorial overview; and the Hoosiers at Home Press Release announces the programs goals.

Acting Governor Richard Codey solidified New Jersey’s commitment to helping individuals with disabilities by proposing the creation of a $200 million housing trust fund. This fund is the initial step that will assist in the creation of 10,000 permanent, affordable housing opportunities over a 10-year period and is the beginning component of a comprehensive housing plan. The trust will be funded through unused capital bond capacity identified by the State Treasure.

The Minnesota Finance Authority has made available guides on their website to assist consumers on how to design accessible home modifications and provide details on what funding programs are available from federal, state and local levels. The website provides connection to two distinct guides: The Home Accessibility Remodeling Series and The Home Accessibility Remodeling Funding Resource