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"Seniors and people with disabilities should be able to stay in
their own homes and communities and live safely and independently,"
said Blagojevich. "This funding will help them make basic, but
necessary, home improvements so that they can remain living in their
own homes and avoid having to move to nursing homes or other
institutions." The Illinois Housing
Development Authority, as part of the state's comprehensive
housing plan initiatives, will allocate the $2.3 million in grants
to 12 nonprofit organizations and public agencies around the state
to administer the program locally. It is expected that, statewide,
139 senior residents and people with disabilities statewide will be
helped.
The 2007 Home Modification Program grant recipients are
listed below.
"Governor Blagojevich announced last year the Home Modification
Program with $1 million in funding," said DeShana L. Forney, IHDA
executive director. "As a result, we received approximately $4
million in applications, proving that there is a real need to help
these two underserved groups. While Illinois already has a number of
programs to prevent premature nursing home placement for low-income
seniors and people with disabilities, these do not specifically
address home modification needs. This is why we believe the Home
Modification Program was met with such a positive response, which
led to the program receiving more than double funding for this
year."
"My 16-year-old granddaughter, Anna, has had to be bed-bathed for
years now because it became too hard for me to lift her into the
bathtub on my own," said Kay Boughers, a resident in Salem who
received a $12,500 grant from B.C.M.W. Community Services from last
year's funding. "We heard that the governor was giving out these
grants, and we were so happy to have received one. Thanks to the
grant, I was able to install a shower rail and ramp and widen the
doorways in our home to make it easier to cope with the demands of
caring for a child with cerebral palsy. It has made a world of
difference."
Each eligible household can receive a maximum of between $15,000
to $25,000 as a five-year forgivable loan to spend on modifications
that address accessibility or health and safety concerns. The funds
are expected to be available in early 2008.
To qualify for the program, households must have at least one
family member with a disability or a senior over the age of 60.
Household incomes must not exceed 50 percent of the area median
income based on household size. For a family of four living in Cook,
DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Will counties, this limit is
$37,000, while the same size family in Sangamon County cannot earn
more than $32,450 to be eligible.
An additional goal of the program was to coordinate housing
resources with other service programs for the elderly and people
with disabilities. Therefore, applicants must be able to document
the need for the home modifications. Eligible households have to be
referred to the administering groups from agencies funded by the
Department on Aging or Department of Human Services and will be
awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. For more details,
residents who wish to apply for the grants should contact the agency
serving their area.
The governor also announced that Illinois is among 12 states to
receive a grant from the Administration on Aging to further efforts
to help at-risk individuals avoid unnecessary nursing home
placement. The Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grants Program
will enable states to use existing Older Americans Act and state
general revenue funds in a more flexible manner to make a greater
range of home and community-based support options available.
[to top of second column] |
"The Illinois Department on Aging is very pleased to be awarded this
grant and looks forward to participating with the Administration on
Aging to implement consumer direction in assisting older persons in
living in the community," said Charles D. Johnson, Department on
Aging director. "This new funding continues the governor's efforts
to reform long-term care and develop programs to prevent premature
nursing home placement."
The Illinois program for the Nursing Home Diversion Modernization
Grant will initially offer consumer direction of personal care
services in four regions of the state: Kankakee, Decatur, Peoria and
the East St. Louis area. This program builds on the efforts of the
Illinois My Choices/Cash and Counseling demonstration program, which
allows seniors to take their monthly service allowance usually
devoted to homemaker or adult day services and either hire their own
worker or purchase other services. It will also replicate successful
initiatives that allow families to purchase short-term respite care.
By the end of the 18-month grant period, the Illinois Department on
Aging will offer consumer direction statewide to people who are
eligible for its Community Care Program.
The Community Care Program provides home and community-based
services to frail elderly people age 60 and older who meet nursing
home eligibility requirements. During the 2007 fiscal year, the
program provided services to more than 60,500 seniors, thereby
successfully diverting or delaying those individuals from nursing
home placement. Programs offered through CCP include homemaker
services, adult day services and emergency home response services.
Additional services, such as respite, home-delivered meals and
services that support caregivers for older adults, are provided
through Area Agencies on Aging and their local networks of service
providers. Each year, more than 800,000 elderly Illinois residents
receive services in their homes and communities.
The Nursing Home Diversion Modernization Grant complements the
grant awarded to Illinois for the Money Follows the Person
initiative. In May, Blagojevich announced that Illinois will receive
more than $55.7 million in enhanced federal matching funds through
the initiative over the next five years to help people currently
living in nursing facilities to transition back to their homes and
communities. In addition to the federal award, the state also
committed $23.8 million in increased spending over the five-year
period to expand home and community-based services.
For more information about the Nursing Home Diversion
Modernization Grant, the Community Care Program and other services
for seniors, contact your local Area Agency on Aging or call the
Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 or 1-888-206-1327 TTY.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
 |
2007 Home Modification Program
grant recipients
|
Grantee |
Service area |
Amount funded |
Residents to
be helped (estimate) |
|
Ramp Up Foundation |
Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake,
McHenry and Will counties |
$320,000 |
16 |
|
Access Living of Metropolitan
Chicago |
Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will
counties |
$220,000 |
11 |
|
City of Kankakee Community
Development Agency |
Kankakee County |
$165,000 |
11 |
|
City of Joliet |
City of Joliet |
$180,000 |
9 |
|
Will County Center for
Community Concerns |
Will County, excluding city of
Joliet |
$140,000 |
7 |
|
Western Illinois Regional
Council |
Warren, Henderson counties |
$180,000 |
12 |
|
Two Rivers Regional Council of
Public Officials |
Adams, Brown, Pike, Schuyler
counties |
$210,000 |
14 |
|
City of Springfield |
City of Springfield |
$240,000 |
16 |
|
St. Clair County |
St. Clair County, excluding
the cities of East St. Louis, O'Fallon and Scott Air Force
Base. |
$150,000 |
10 |
|
Western Egyptian Economic
Opportunity Council |
Jackson, Monroe, Perry,
Randolph counties |
$165,000 |
11 |
|
B.C.M.W. Community Services |
Bond, Clinton, Marion,
Washington, Jefferson counties |
$180,000 |
12 |
|
Wabash Area Development Inc. |
Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton,
Saline, Wabash, Wayne, White counties |
$150,000 |
10 |
|
|
Total: |
$2,300,000 |
139 |
|
