HUD Offers NOFA to Fund Service-Enriched Housing

In a first, and of great excitement, HUD's Assisted Living Conversion Grant now includes a new opportunity for certain HUD projects to provide services that will support aging in place WITHOUT the restriction that Assisted Living be the sole vehicle for the provision of those services.   Service-enriched housing accommodates elderly persons with service needs who are aging in place, including elderly persons who are able to live independently but need assistance with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, eating, getting in and out of bed or chairs, walking, going outdoors, laundry, home management, preparing meals, shopping for personal items, obtaining and taking medication, managing money, using the telephone, or performing light or heavy housework, and which may make available to residents home health care services, such as nursing and therapy.   Typical funding will cover the cost of physically converting some or all of the units of an eligible property into service-enriched housing, including remodeling common area and service space.   Properties receiving this funding will rely on a variety of programs, including Medicaid home and community-based waiver services, State Home Health Care programs, State Assisted Living Services funds, Medicare/Medicaid Programs, Money Follows the Person funds, Congregate Housing Services Program funds, and Service Coordinator funds or similar programs for the service component.   Service-enriched Housing must include a Service Coordinator, which may be funded as a project operating expense.  You must include common areas and facilities for the provision of supportive services, and residents must control their health care and supportive services decisions, including accepting, declining, or choosing services, and the choice of provider.  Your application must show that you have sufficient service coordination capacity in place to ensure that services meet licensing requirements and the needs of the residents, and that the services will be available on an ongoing basis.   The application deadline is May 15, 2012.  Grants are competitively awarded.  The maximum award is $5 million.  HUD assesses several factors, including the extent to which the conversion is needed;  the quality and effectiveness of the proposal;  the ability of the project owner to secure other community resources;  and the capacity of the project owner to carry out the conversion.   For more details: See     http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail/nofa12/alcp And      http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/mfh/progdesc/alcp