§ 8012 — Hope For Elderly Independence

(a) The purpose of this section is to establish a demonstration program to test the effectiveness of combining housing certificates and vouchers with supportive services to assist frail elderly persons to continue to live independently. The demonstration program under this section shall terminate upon the expiration of the 5-year period determined by the Secretary. (b) In connection with this demonstration, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may enter into contracts with public housing agencies to provide not more than 1,500 incremental vouchers and certificates under sections 1437f(b) and 1437f(o) of this title. A public housing agency may not require that a frail elderly person live in a particular structure or unit, but the agency may restrict the program under this section to a geographic area, where necessary to ensure that the provision of supportive services is feasible. At the end of the demonstration period, the public housing agency shall give each frail elderly person the option to continue to receive assistance under the housing certificate or voucher program of the agency. In the demonstration, the Secretary may also provide for supportive services in connection with existing contracts for housing assistance under sections 1437f(b) and 1437f(o) of this title. (1) The amount estimated by the public housing agency and approved by the Secretary as necessary to provide the supportive services for the demonstration period shall be funded as follows: (A) The Secretary shall provide 40 percent, using amounts appropriated under this section. (B) The public housing agency shall ensure the provision of at least 50 percent from sources other than under this section. (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each frail elderly person shall pay 10 percent of the costs of the supportive services that the person receives, except that a frail elderly person may not be required to pay an amount that exceeds 20 percent of the adjusted income (as the term is defined in section 1437a(b)(5) of this title) of such person and the Secretary shall provide for the waiver of the requirement to pay costs under this subparagraph for persons whose income is determined to be insufficient to provide for any payment. (D) To the extent that the limitation under subparagraph (C) regarding the percentage of income frail elderly persons may pay for services will result in collected amounts for any public housing agency of less than 10 percent of the cost of providing the services, 50 percent of such remaining costs shall be provided by the public housing agency and 50 percent of such remaining costs shall be provided by the Secretary from amounts appropriated under this section. (2) Each public housing agency shall ensure that supportive services appropriate to the needs of the frail elderly persons to be served under this demonstration are provided throughout the demonstration period. Expenditures for supportive services need not be made in equal amounts for each year, but may vary depending on the needs of the frail elderly persons assisted under this section. A public housing agency may use up to 20 percent of the Federal assistance provided for supportive services in each year of this demonstration and any amounts from any prior year in which the public housing agency did not use 20 percent of the available Federal assistance. (3) In determining compliance with paragraph (1)(B), an agency may include the value of such items as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, which may include the salary paid to staff to provide supportive services, if such items have a readily discernible market value. (d) An application under this section shall be submitted by a public housing agency in such form and in accordance with such procedures as the Secretary shall establish. The Secretary shall require that an application contain at a minimum— (1) an application for housing assistance under section 1437f of this title, if necessary, and a description of any such assistance already made available that will be used in the demonstration; (2) a description of the size and characteristics of the population of frail elderly persons and of their housing and supportive services needs; (3) a description of the proposed method of determining whether a person qualifies as a frail elderly person (specifying any additional eligibility requirements proposed by the agency), and of selecting frail elderly persons to participate; (4) a statement that the public housing agency will create a professional assessment committee or will work with another entity which will assist the public housing agency in identifying and providing only services that each frail elderly person needs to remain living independently; (5) a description of the mechanisms for developing housing and supportive services plans for each person and for monitoring the person’s progress in meeting that plan; (6) the identity of the proposed service providers and a statement of qualifications; (7) a description of the supportive services the public housing agency proposes to make available for the frail elderly persons to be served, the estimated costs of such services, a description of the resources that are expected to be made available to cover the portion of the costs required by subsection (c)(1); (8) assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that the supportive services will be provided for the demonstration period; (9) the plan for coordinating the provision of housing assistance and supportive services; (10) a description of how the public housing agency will ensure that the service providers are providing supportive services, at a reasonable cost, adequate to meet the needs of the persons to be served; (11) a plan for continuing supportive services to frail elderly persons that continue to receive housing assistance under section 1437f of this title after the end of the demonstration period; and (12) a statement that the application has been developed in consultation with the area agency on aging under title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965 [42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.] and that the public housing agency will periodically consult with the area agency during the demonstration. (1) The Secretary shall establish selection criteria for a national competition for assistance under this section, which shall include— (A) the ability of the public housing agency to develop and operate the proposed housing assistance and supportive services program; (B) the need for a program providing both housing assistance and supportive services for frail elderly persons in the area to be served; (C) the quality of the proposed program for providing supportive services; (D) the extent to which the proposed funding for the supportive services is or will be available; (E) the extent to which the program would meet the needs of the frail elderly persons proposed to be served by the program; and (F) such other factors as the Secretary specifies to be appropriate for purposes of carrying out the demonstration program established by this section in an effective and efficient manner. (2) In reviewing the applications, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the supportive services aspects. (3) No more than 10 percent of the assistance made available under this section may be used for programs located within any one unit of general local government. (f) The Secretary may not approve any assistance for any program under this section unless the public housing agency agrees— (1) to operate the proposed program in accordance with the program requirements established by the Secretary; (2) to conduct an ongoing assessment of the housing assistance and supportive services required by each frail elderly person participating in the program; (3) to ensure the adequate provision of supportive services, at a reasonable cost, to each frail elderly person participating in the program; and (4) to comply with such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish for purposes of carrying out the program in an effective and efficient manner. (g) For purposes of this section: (1) The term “demonstration period” means the 5-year period referred to in subsection (a). (2) The term “elderly person” means a person who is at least 62 years of age. (3) The term “frail elderly person” means an elderly person who is unable to perform at least 3 activities of daily living adopted by the Secretary for purposes of this program. Owners may establish additional eligibility requirements (acceptable to the Secretary) based on the standards in local supportive services programs. (4) The term “professional assessment committee” means a group of at least 3 persons appointed by a public housing agency which shall include at least 1 qualified medical professional and other persons professionally competent to appraise the functional abilities of the frail elderly in relation to the performance of activities of daily living. (5) of this title. (6) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (7) The term “supportive services”— (A) means assistance, that the Secretary determines— (i) addresses the special needs of frail elderly persons; and (ii) provides appropriate supportive services or assists such persons in obtaining appropriate services, including personal care, case management services, transportation, meal services, counseling, supervision, and other services essential for achieving and maintaining independent living; and (B) does not include medical services, as determined by the Secretary. (1) In addition to the demonstration program authorized by the preceding provisions of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a demonstration in one Federal region, subject to the terms and conditions of this subsection, to determine the feasibility of using housing assistance under section 1437f of this title to assist elderly persons who may become frail to live independently in housing specifically designed for occupancy by such persons in sufficient proportion to achieve economies of scale in the provision of services and facilities. (2) From amounts provided pursuant to subsection (j) and subject to availability in appropriation Acts, the Secretary shall enter into a contract with a public housing agency to provide housing assistance under section 1437f(b) of this title to assist elderly persons in at least 75 percent of the units in a single housing project with more than 100 units. (3) The assistance payment contract under section 1437f of this title shall be attached to the structure and shall be in an initial term of 5 years. The contract shall (at the option of the public housing agency and subject to availability of amounts approved in appropriations Acts) be renewable for 3 additional 5-year terms. Rents for units in the project assisted pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the rent limitations in effect for the area under section 1437f of this title for projects for the elderly receiving loans under section 1701q of title 12. (4) The Secretary shall allocate, for the project assisted pursuant to this subsection, a reasonable portion of the amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization for funds for supportive services in subsection (k), based on the estimated number of project residents who will be frail elderly individuals during the 5-year period beginning on the date of initial occupancy of the project. Grants for supportive services may be used to assist any occupant in the demonstration project who is a frail elderly individual. Grants for supportive services under this subsection shall be subject to the other terms and conditions specified in this section. (5) An application for assistance under this subsection may be submitted by any unit of general local government with a population under 50,000 and shall contain such information as the Secretary deems appropriate. (6) The Secretary shall select one application for funding under this subsection based on the following criteria: (A) The number of elderly persons residing in the applicant’s jurisdiction. (B) The extent of existing housing constructed prior to 1940 in the applicant’s jurisdiction. (C) The number of elderly persons living in adjacent projects to whom the services and facilities provided by the project would be available. (D) The level of State and local contributions toward the cost of developing the project and of providing supportive services. (E) The project’s contribution to neighborhood improvement. (i) The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report evaluating the effectiveness of the demonstrations under this section. The report shall include a statement of the number of persons served, the types of services provided, the cost of providing such services, and any other information the Secretary considers appropriate in evaluating the demonstration. (j) The budget authority available under section 1437c(c) of this title for assistance under sections 1437f(b) and 1437f(o) of this title is authorized to be increased by $38,288,000 on or after October 1, 1992, and by $39,896,096 on or after October 1, 1993. The amounts made available under this subsection shall be used only in connection with the demonstration under this section. (k) There are authorized to be appropriated for the Secretary to carry out the responsibilities for supportive services under the demonstrations under this section $10,000,000 to become available in fiscal year 1993, and $10,420,000 to become available in fiscal year 1994. Any such amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended. (l) Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date that funds authorized for the demonstrations under this section first become available for obligation, the Secretary shall by notice establish such requirements as may be necessary to carry out the demonstration programs authorized under this section.