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
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modification is important and provides examples and links to more information.
2. Home Modification: Making Your Home Safer
A fact sheet by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence 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 USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence includes photos of design features and products in actual homes that have been modified.
4. National Directory of Home Modification and Repair Resources
A searchable listing provided by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence of public and private home modification and repair service providers across the United States.
5. Home Modification Funding Sources Inventory
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence 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 created by Rebuilding Together 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.
7. Home Modification Service Delivery During COVID-19
Now, more than ever, it is important to consider the safety and support of homes. We are “safer at home” when it comes to the new Coronavirus, but our homes can have fall hazards such as throw rugs or poor lighting that could make it difficult or even dangerous for residents and guests of various ages to move about. We created a fact sheet “Home Modification Service Delivery During COVID-19” that contains tips for professionals and consumers to consider when making changes to the home during these challenging times.
8. Home Modifications During COVID-19
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes home modifications that can be done independently or with help from family or friends, as well as ways to reduce risk when professionals are working in the home.
9. Modifying Your Home for Healthy Aging: 2019 Home for the Holidays Campaign
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 developed by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence on the benefits of assistive devices and how to obtain them.
11. Catch Yourself
A fact sheet developed by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence on Simple Steps to Prevent Falls.
A fact sheet developed by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that provides a brief introduction to home modification with a list of everyday situations that pose risks for falls.
13. Home Modification: Making Your Home Safer
A fact sheet by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence with recommendations on how to make the home safer and more supportive, many of which are low or no cost.
14. Home Modification Assistance Enacted State Legislation
A list created by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of state programs and tax credits that help finance accessibility improvements to homes.
15. Home Modification Checklist
A checklist of simple home modifications that individuals and caregivers can do to increase safety and independence with resources on funding sources, providers, and more, developed by the National Home Safety and Home Modification Work Group.
A fact sheet by the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence with tips to stay safe while in the community.
1. Home Modifications for Renters with Disabilities
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for renters with disabilities and where to find more information to support renters with disabilities’ access to home modifications.
2. Low-Cost Home Modifications: Make Your Home Work For You!
This user-friendly fact sheet created by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence outlines easy steps to make low cost home modification solutions that can support independence.
3. Home Modifications for Renters with Disabilities: Special Considerations
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for renters of all ages with disabilities and provides specific resources for this population.
4. HomeFit No-Cost Low-Cost Ideas
A PDF by AARP on low to no cost suggestions for making the home safer.
1. Home Modifications for Rural Older Adults
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for rural older adults and where to find more information.
2. Home Modifications for Older Adults in Rural Areas: Special Considerations
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for rural older adults with tailored resources.
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Programs and Services
The USDA Section 504 Home Repair Loans/ Grant Program provides 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.
4. Office of Rural Health, United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The Office of Rural Health provides resources to older veterans in rural areas.
1. Home Modifications for Older Veterans
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for older Veterans and where to find more information, services, and programs.
2. Department of Veterans Affairs: Home Modification Programs
List of special grants for veterans needing home modification
3. Home Modifications for Older Veterans: Special Considerations:
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for older Veterans and provides specific resources for this population.
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.
1. Tribal Entities with Home Modification Services
A list of Tribal Entities with home modification services and contact information from the National Resource Center on Native American Aging (NRCNAA) Service Locator.
2. Elder Fall Prevention for Native Americans
A fact sheet on preventing falls among Native American elders developed by the Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (AASTEC). This resource is a copy righted document and its content, specifically the photographic portrait images belong to the AASTEC Tribal Injury Prevention Program.
3. Section 184 Loan Guarantee Program
Resources about Section 184 Loan Guarantee Program for borrowers, which is targeted toward Tribal Communities and may be used to rehabilitate homes.
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for people with disabilities and where to find more information.
2. Home Modifications for Older Adults with Disabilities: Special Considerations
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for older adults with disabilities with tailored resources.
A fact sheet developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes how vision loss increases fall risk and ways to reduce vision-related fall risks.
4. Adapting Your House When You Have Arthritis
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.
6. At Home with MS: Adapting Your Environment
A booklet of considerations, strategies, and resources for adapting the home to support living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), developed by the National MS Society.
1. Home Modifications for Caregivers
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for caregivers and where to find more information.
2. Home Modifications for Caregivers: Special Considerations
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for caregivers with caregiver-specific resources.
3. Make Your Home Safe for Your Aging Parent
Home modification tips for caregivers to create a safer home environment for their loved ones from AARP.
4. Helping Your Older Parent Remain at Home: Tips for Living Life to its Fullest
A fact sheet from the American Occupational Therapy Association for adult children to help their parents maintain independence and live safely at home. It also describes how occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to help.
5. Home Safety Video to Support In-Home Caregivers for People with Dementia
A story-like video created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health on what caregivers can do to increase home safety for their loved ones with dementia.
6. Family Caregivers: Protect Your Loved Ones from Falling
A brochure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for family caregivers on ways to reduce the risk of falling for their loved ones, including making minor home modifications.
1. Home Modification: Myths and Realities (Modificación del Hogar: Como Lograr Hacerlo)
A fact sheet developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that lists ways to increase home safety, as well as common myths and realities about home modification. Consejos para hacer su hogar más seguro y mitos comunes y la realidad de modificaciones en el hogar.
A brochure in Spanish developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for older adults and their families that identifies fall hazards in the home and ways to address them.
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.
A fact sheet in Spanish about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Section 504 Loan and Grant Program that may be used for home repairs.
1. Home Modification: Myths and Realities (家居改善: 如何辦妥)
A fact sheet in Chinese developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that lists ways to increase home safety, as well as common myths and realities about home modification.
2. Safety Tips to Prevent Falls at Home ( 简体中文)
A fact sheet in Chinese developed by developed by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
1. Home Modification: Myths and Realities (주택 개조: 실행 방법)
A fact sheet in Korean developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that lists ways to increase home safety, as well as common myths and realities about home modification.
2. Safety Tips to Prevent Falls at Home (한국어)
A fact sheet in Korean developed by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
1. Home Modifications and LGBTQ+ Older Adults: Special Considerations
Developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, this fact sheet describes why home modifications are important for caregivers with caregiver-specific resources.
2. Home Modifications and LGBTQ Older Adults
A short video by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence that describes why home modifications are important for older LGBTQ adults and where to find more information.
3. Key Considerations in Home Safety and Modifications Webinar
A webinar from SAGE’s National Resource Center on LGBT Aging for LGBT consumers and providers. It features home safety tips and lower cost home modifications to help LGBT older adults safely age in place.
4. National LGBT Housing Initiative, SAGE
SAGE’s National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative provides access to information on elder LGBT housing rights and resources by state, advocates against housing discrimination, trains eldercare providers to be LGBT culturally competent, and helps builders replicate LGBT-friendly housing.
This project was supported, in part, by grant number 90PPHM0001 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.
