Home Modification and Repairs for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for State Units on Aging: This report by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence and ADvancing States reports on a national survey

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: AGING AND ADULT SERVICES (State Unit on Aging)

State Units on Aging (SUAs) are designated state-level agencies that develop and administer state plans that advocate for and provide assistance, including home modifications or repairs, to older residents, their families, and adults with physical disabilities. SUAs administer funds, including Older Americans Act funds, which may be used to support home modification or repair services through local Area Agencies on Aging and other state and local entities.

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES

Independent Living for People with Disabilities 
Program Description: This program provides an alternative to living in a nursing home or other facility for eligible individuals. Services include home modifications.
Population Served: Participants must have a significant disability that severely limits their ability to live independently. Financial need is also considered.

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: NC MEDICAID

1. Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults (CAP/DA)
Program Description: This home and community-based services waiver provides supplemental services, including environmental and accessibility services, to Medicaid beneficiaries who are age 18 and older with a physical disability or who are age 65 and older with functional difficulties due to age and disability.
Population Served: Medicaid beneficiaries who meet a nursing facility level of care, at risk of moving to an institution and who choose to live in their community with the support of home and community-based services.

2. NC Innovations Waiver
Program Description: This waiver addresses the needs of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities to receive long-term care services and supports in their home or community, rather than in an institutional setting. Services may include environmental adaptations.
Population Served: North Carolina residents who meet the requirements for the level of care provided in an intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

North Carolina Assistive Technology Program (NCATP)
The State Assistive Technology Grant Program, funded under the Assistive Technology Act of 2004, supports comprehensive, statewide programs in each state that improve the provision of assistive technology (often home modification-related) to individuals with disabilities of all ages.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE FALL PREVENTION COALITION

North Carolina Falls Prevention Coalition
For an up to date list of all state fall prevention coalitions, visit: https://www.ncoa.org/resources/list-of-state-falls-prevention-coalitions/

1. To locate the Area Agency on Aging in your state, please contact Eldercare Locator at https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.aspx

2. Data Brief: Building Community Capacity to Serve Older Adults: The Role of Area Agencies on Aging in Home Modifications and Repairs
This Data Brief highlights key findings from the 2019 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging on how Area Agencies on Aging are providing and funding home modification and repair activities. It was developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging as part of the Administration for Community Living project, “Promoting Aging in Place by Enhancing Access to Home Modifications.”

3. Featured Efforts

Home Improvement Program
Cumberland County Council on Older Adults
Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Home Improvement Program of the Cumberland County Council on Older Adults installs security features and carries out minor home repairs and mobility and accessibility modifications to increase the safety of older adults’ homes.

Home Rehabilitation Program
Piedmont-Triad Regional Council of Government – Community Development Department
Kernersville, North Carolina
The Home Rehabilitation Program provides a loan to help with housing repairs, including accessibility modifications. Eligible clients include: individuals age 62 years and older; recipients of Social Security of Disability benefits; Veterans; and households with a child under the age of 6 who was exposed to lead-based paint in the home. Assistance comes in the form of an interest-free, deferred loan, forgiven at $3,000 a year, to pay for necessary repairs and modifications.

Housing and Home Improvement Program
Mid-Carolina Area Agency on Aging
Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Mid-Carolina Area Agency on Aging in Fayetteville, North Carolina offers a housing and home improvement program for older adults. The Agency provides labor and materials for minor renovations and repairs that focus on supporting the health and safety of older adults in their homes.