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

STATE OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EXECUTIVE OFFICE ON AGING (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. Program(s) with home modification or repairs include:

Area Agencies on Aging: Home Modification Services
Area Agencies on Aging in Hawaii utilize Title III Older Americans Act funding of up to $500 per older adult for simple home modifications and repairs. The State Unit on Aging allocates approximately $35,000 for this effort.

STATE OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

Home and Community Based Services Waiver for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 
Program Description: This waiver provides services to support a full life in the community for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through a person-centered planning process with case managers, service needs are identified and may include physical adaptations that are permanently installed in the participant’s home (owned or rented by the participant or family with whom the participant resides) to enable the participant to function with greater independence in the home. The physical adaptation must be ordered by a physician or other health practitioner with prescriptive authority under Hawaii law. Covered home modification services include the installation of ramps and grab bars; widening of doorways; modification of bathroom facilities; and environmental control devices that replace the need for physical assistance and increase the participant’s ability to live independently.
Population Served: Medicaid-eligible persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

HAWAII STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Assistive Technology Resource Centers of Hawaii (ATRC)
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.

HAWAII STATE FALL PREVENTION COALITION

Hawaii State Fall Prevention Consortium
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:

A Brush with Kindness
Habitat for Humanity – Maui
Wailuku, Hawaii
A Brush with Kindness, a program of Habitat for Humanity Maui, assists low-income homeowners with maintaining the exterior and interior of their homes. Volunteers help revitalize the condition of homes through small projects such as painting, patching, minor repair, landscaping, or replacement of materials for the purposes of maintaining good and sound condition. Wheelchair ramp construction is considered as well.

Stay on Your Feet: Falls Prevention Volunteer Program
Na Hoaloha – Maui
Wailuku, Hawaii
Na Hoaloha of Maui matches volunteer caregivers to older adults to enable them to remain in their homes and independent. Services include friendly visits, telephone reassurance, transportation, in-home respite for family caregivers, and Stay on Your Feet. Stay on Your Feet volunteers assist residents with identifying factors in their home that may contribute to falls through a free in-home fall risk assessment. The volunteers also conduct education and outreach to educate the public about the impact of falls. Stay on Your Feet has developed a self-evaluation tool for fall risk.

Thrive for Life
Honolulu, Hawaii
Thrive for Life is a private home modification company founded by two occupational therapists serving the islands of Hawaii. They utilize a 7-step process with their clients that includes performing comprehensive home assessments. Then, they work with draftsmen, contractors and designers to determine appropriate modifications. Thrive for Life guides their clients through the process including collecting contractor bids, filing for permits and conducting a comprehensive post-construction assessment where they observe the client in their new space.