In honor of Autism Month, Autism Housing Pathways described ways to develop a housing strategy based on MassHealth’s Adult Family Care/Adult Foster Care program. The outline was issued as a series of daily Tweets in April. Here they are, in a single post. Bear in mind, this strategy is specific to Massachusetts.
- It’s Autism Month. Let’s look at developing a housing plan, one Tweet at a time.
- The Adult Family Care (AFC) program can pay you to provide support to your adult child who lives with you.
- AFC is a program of MassHealth. MassHealth is Medicaid. Changes to Medicaid could endanger AFC.
- To qualify for AFC, your child must need prompting with 1 or more activities of daily living. You can’t be the guardian.
- Consider saving the AFC stipend (not in your child’s name). It’s yours, and it’s tax free.
- Get your child on the Section 8 waiting list at 18 (or NOW, if they’re over 18). Go to www.18section8.org to learn how.
- It may be a 10 year wait to get a Section 8 voucher. Work on living skills while you wait. http://bit.ly/1Nak9zm
- Are you saving the AFC stipend? If your family member waits 10 years for Sec. 8, that’s a $90K nest egg.
- Section 8 is a part of HUD. A 13% cut in the HUD budget is proposed. The wait for a voucher could get longer.
- Your child is at the top of the Sec. 8 list! What’s your plan? You’ve only got 60 days (120 w/extension) to use the voucher.
- One option: your child could rent a two bedroom apt. w/ Sec. 8. An Adult Foster Care provider could move in, too.
- You could add a 2 bedroom accessory unit to your house for your child and an Adult Foster Care provider.
- How to pay to add on the accessory unit? You saved the Adult Family Care stipend, right? It’s a start.
- You could supplement what you saved from AFC with up to $30K from the Home Modification Loan Program. http://bit.ly/2lrSpJX
- Need some more? Consider a home equity loan. Assume construction costs of at least $200/sq. ft.
- Make sure local zoning permits accessory units (possibly via a special permit). Otherwise, you may need to move first.
- S. 729 would allow accessory units for a disabled family member as of right on lots of 5,000+ sq. ft. http://bit.ly/2nUD7mg
- Or you could buy a condo for your child with space for an Adult Foster Care provider, using the AFC savings for a down payment.
- Need a mortgage? Fannie Mae lets you get a 5% down mortgage to buy a home for a disabled adult child. http://bit.ly/1njEW6v
- Your child uses Sec. 8 to pay you rent; you use the rent to pay the mortgage.
- Can’t carry (or qualify) for two mortgages? One option is to sell your house and buy a duplex.
- Or you could consider buying a three-family, and using the rent from the third unit for respite, maintenance, etc.
- Or you could buy that three family with another family; the kids live together with an Adult Foster Care provider.
- Whatever you do, try to get individual support hours from DDS to help your child work on skills and get into the community.
- Look into assistive technology to help increase your child’s independence. http://mahousingthinktank.org/technology/
- If eligible, apply for the DDS Adult Supports waiver, to help secure ongoing access to supports. http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dmr/waiver/adult-waiver-app.pdf
- For those on a DDS waiver, ½ of costs are paid by Medicaid. Does your child go to Day Hab? That’s Medicaid, too.
- If Congress block grants Medicaid, that could end the entitlement to AFC, PCA, and Day Hab.
- The Devil is in the details. Come to a daylong housing workshop. http://bit.ly/2nmYpnL
- Consider individualized housing counseling. http://autismhousingpathways.org/services/training-and-outreach/#FamilyConsultation