With support from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), US Department of Health and Human Services
GOAL: to maximize older adults’ ability to age in place by increasing the availability and awareness of home modification at the local, state, and national levels
This web page is a sampling of educational resources focused on home modifications for older adults and caregivers and includes checklists, funding sources, and fact sheets. Click on the links below to jump to home modification materials created for different audiences. Stay tuned for new resources created by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology as part of this ACL project!
This list is for informational purposes and individuals must use their own caution and judgment when using these resources.
GENERAL HOME MODIFICATION CONSUMER RESOURCES
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO LOW INCOME OLDER ADULTS
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO OLDER ADULTS IN RURAL AREAS
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO OLDER VETERANS
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO NATIVE AMERICAN ELDERS
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO ADULTS AGING WITH DISABILITIES
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO CAREGIVERS
RESOURCES TRANSLATED IN OTHER LANGUAGES
RESOURCES HELPFUL TO LGBTQ OLDER ADULTS
The 2019 Home for the Holidays campaign, a partnership of n4a and the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, aims to ensure that older adults and their caregivers are aware of home modification services and programs available to support them as they modify their homes for successful aging.
A fact sheet by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology with recommendations on how to make the home safer and more supportive, many of which are low or no cost.
This interactive resource of the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology includes photos of design features and products in actual homes that have been modified.
A searchable listing provided by the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology of public and private home modification and repair service providers across the United States.
Developed by the University of Southern California and the National Council on Aging, this extensive inventory of housing, lending, social, health care, tax, and non-profit funding sources can be used to support home assessment and/or modification and repairs.
Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults
This Centers for Disease Control checklist, organized by area of the home, aims to help identify and eliminate fall hazards in the home.
HomeFit Guide
The AARP HomeFit Guide was created to help people stay in the home they love by turning where they live into a “lifelong home,” suitable for themselves and anyone in their household.
Rebuilding Together Safe at Home Checklist
This checklist helps to identify fall hazards, home safety, and accessibility issues for the homeowner and family members.
Remodeling Today Guide: Design Ideas for the Kitchen and Bathroom
This guide, created by The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence, is organized into two sections – Kitchen and Bathroom – with a checklist of universal design features to consider for inclusion when remodeling the home.
This user-friendly fact sheet outlines easy steps to make low cost home modification solutions that can support independence.
A PDF by AARP on low to no cost suggestions for making the home safer.
A tip sheet on what older adults can do to age in place and the role of Occupational Therapists to help with those concerns, including a section on making home modifications on a limited budget.
Section 504 Home Repair Loans/ Grants provide loans (up to $20,000) to very-low-income homeowners age 62 or older in rural areas to repair, improve, or modernize their homes or grants (up to $7,500) to remove health and safety hazards.
Providing sources to older veterans in rural areas.
An overview of housing challenges faced by older adults living in rural areas, including housing quality and accessibility.
List of special grants for veterans needing home modification
A collection of government and community resources that can help service members or Veterans with disabilities with financial assistance and technical advice on adapting your home to make it accessible.
Providing injured, wounded, ill and/or aging Veterans with the resources they need to regain their mobility and independence, including home modifications.
Includes a review of types and costs of the most prevalent of home modifications, funding streams at the federal and state levels, and an Appendix listing recommended home modifications for specified conditions related to military service.
A list of home modification services for various tribes in each state as well as the contact information of the director of such services
A fact sheet on preventing falls among Native Americans elders
Resources about Section 184 Loan Guarantee Program for borrowers, which is targeted toward tribal communities and may be used to rehabilitate homes.
An AARP article including a special needs checklist to encourage universal design
A fact sheet that describes how vision loss increases fall risk and ways to reduce vision-related fall risks.
Tips from the Arthritis Foundation on home modifications to protect your joints and preserve your ability to do daily activities.
Tips from the American Occupational Therapy Association to help people with arthritis live life to its fullest and promote safety, including home modifications.
Considerations and strategies for adapting the home to support an individual living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
A list created by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of state programs and tax credits that help finance accessibility improvements to homes.
Tips for home modification for caregivers wanting to create a safer home environment for their loved ones
A tip sheet for adult children to help their parents age in place and the role of an OT (occupational therapist) to help with those specific concerns
A story-like video on what caregivers could do in regards to home safety to care for their loved ones with dementia
A PDF fact sheet of Suggestions and ways caregivers can reduce the risk of falling for their loved ones including making minor home modifications
Consejos para hacer su hogar más seguro y mitos comunes y la realidad de modificaciones en el hogar.
A brochure in Spanish by the Centers for Disease Control identifying hazards and suggesting changes in the home to reduce the risk of falling
The AARP HomeFit Guide was created to help people stay in the home they love by turning where they live into a “lifelong home,” suitable for themselves and anyone in their household.
Fact sheet in Spanish on the USDA Section 504 Loan and Grant Program that may be used for home repairs
Tips to make your home safer and myths and realities of home modification by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
Tips in Chinese to prevent falls at home
Tips to make your home safer and myths and realities of home modification by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
This checklist covers safety tips to prevent falls at home.
A webinar for LGBT consumers and providers with home safety tips and inexpensive home modifications to assist LGBT older adults to safely age in place.
The National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative advocates against housing discrimination, trains eldercare providers to be LGBT culturally competent, provides education related to housing rights, and assists builders across the country with strategies to replicate LGBT-friendly housing.
This project was supported, in part, by grant number HHS-2018-ACL-AOA-HMOD0308 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.
Information that the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Fall Prevention Center of Excellence publishes on its web site may contain references or cross references to other agencies, products, programs, or links. The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Fall Prevention Center of Excellence does not endorse nor qualify any of the links. The listing of these products, programs, and services is for informational purposes and individuals must use their own caution and judgment when using these resources. USC does not hold any liability or personal interest in any of these agencies, products, or services.
