Everyone Deserves a Place to Call Home

People with IDD want to live in their own homes, and they want to have a say in who they live with and where they live. Separating housing ownership/control from residential and support services is a stated goal of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA).

This movement of services away from provider owned and operated group homes to supported living arrangements in which the individual owns or rents his or her own home is motivated by two major forces in the IDD field of services. The philosophy of self-determination advocates for individuals and their families to have more control over their lives—and this includes housing. 

The second force is the changing policy of Medicaid. Medicaid has recently published settings standards, which advocates for individuals to receive services in settings which do not isolate the individual from the larger society, although group homes are still allowed under these rules, it encourages the movement toward supported living. The second change at Medicaid is the unbundling of services, and with that unbundling comes a clarification that Medicaid does not pay for the cost of housing.

If service provider owned or rented group homes are not viable housing options for the future, what are affordable and accessible housing options for people with IDD? This is the problem that MIH proposes to solve.