Housing Supports
Are you looking for Housing or are you looking to Create A Home for your adult son or daughter? There is a difference.
As parents, our biggest concern is usually about housing and who will care for our children when we are gone. That is why it is important to ensure your child is signed up for Long Term Services & Supports or at least to have Supplemental Security Income (which brings Medicaid and Community First Choice attendant care) while your son or daughter waits on the endless waiting lists.
It is important to remember also that our son’s or daughter’s may not want to live in group home situations. Our children have grown up being able to eat what they want, go out in the community, attend religious services, have their own bedrooms/bathrooms, or shop with family. Those things don’t always happen in group homes which are usually understaffed. There will be “group” activities based on availability of staff and transportation. Other options may be needed. There is a move to ensure people with disabilities have choices when deciding on residential settings….not just in where they live, but with who they live with. It’s about creating their home, not just a place to live.
Funding for housing is also an issue. Saving money in an ABLE account or Special Needs Trust may be the best way to fund those private pay options.
Sometimes it will take parents working together to build an option. If one child has a waiver and another doesn’t, can two friends move into a place together and pool resources? It will take creativity, as well as trust between families to be successful. Innovative Independent Living Project has a manual that shows families how to coordinate family-directed housing situations along with using technology for support.
Here are some resources on housing and to learn more:
- Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services Home & Community Based Services settings Final Rule – Learn what you can and cannot do with Medicaid funding when it comes to housing.
- Tx HHSC Home & Community Based Settings Transition Plan (March 2022) pdf
- Texas Community for Permanent Supported Housing (CPSH) works primarily in Dallas/Fort Worth area, but they are a wealth of resources on neighborhood homes.
- Innovations in Housing for People with an Intellectual disability (pdf) – a report compiling innovative solutions around the country
- Empowering Ability – Housing Blog videos on A Better Way to Think About Housing, Supportive Roommates, Insights on Creating a Home for People with IDD, etc.
- My Housing Support Plan – Workbook to create a plan for housing (while it is from Ontario, lots of good information to use)
- Charting The Life Course – Focus On Adulthood Quick Guide
- Houston Housing Choice Voucher – Possible opportunity to use housing choice vouchers for low income apartments (Harris County).
- Mainsteam Housing Vouchers –
- Texas Affordable Housing Resources
- Texas Housers Texas Low Income Housing Information Service
- Texas Tenant Advisor Resources – Learn about housing rights before & during leasing, evictions, moving out.
- Disability Rights Texas Housing Help and Know Your Rights
