New Freedom Initiative -- Preliminary Report: Housing

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Initiative ~ Executive Order ~ HHS Role ~ News & Additional Resources

Delivering on the Promise: Preliminary Report

Federal Agency Actions to Eliminate Barriers and Promote Community Integration

Housing

The lack of accessible, affordable housing continues to present a major barrier to the participation of people with disabilities in their communities and in the economic life of the nation. There exists a full range of housing barriers, manifesting themselves differently depending on geographic location, available services, infrastructure arrangements, and whether the individual is currently living in a community or an institutional setting.

There currently is not enough appropriate or affordable housing for those people with disabilities who already live somewhere in the community. As more people with disabilities leave institutions to enter community life, this housing shortage will become even more acute. There are an insufficient number of accessible privately owned rental units in some housing markets in the nation, often resulting in families with general or targeted vouchers having an extremely difficult time locating an accessible unit that meets their needs.

In order to address these barriers, federal agencies will carry out the following activities.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD will provide technical assistance to local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to expand knowledge of need and utilization of vouchers for people with disabilities. HUD will strongly encourage local PHAs to consult with local disability organizations on how best to distribute that knowledge and maximize usage within their local areas.
HUD will coordinate efforts with DOJ to devote substantial resources to investigations and enforcement actions against developers, architects, and site engineers who design and/or construct multi-family housing that does not comply with the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
HUD proposes to allow Section 811 (Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act) tenant-based assistance to be used for homeownership, and will seek changes to the Section 811 statute to allow greater flexibility in terms of supportive services.
HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development will issue a notice informing Community Development Block Grant Entitlement and State grantees of what the Olmstead decision means to grantees.
HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing will develop a notice to be transmitted to Public Housing Authorities and HUD Field Offices explaining the New Freedom Initiative, the Executive Order on "Community-Based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities," and what the Olmstead decision means to grantees.

Department of Labor

DOL's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) will support collaboration with DOL's Employment and Training Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Transportation, to develop strategies to encourage integration of housing and transportation services for people with disabilities within One-Stop Career Centers.

Department of Education

ED's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) will explore establishing an ad hoc workgroup comprised of appropriate federal agencies (Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, etc.) to address the housing issues associated with individuals with disabilities.
RSA will identify resources for funding opportunities for modifications to living spaces and disseminate that information to consumers of independent living services.

Department of Justice

DOJ will devote substantial resources to investigations and enforcement actions against developers, builders, architects, and site engineers who design and/or construct multi-family housing that does not comply with the requirements of the FHA and rental offices and other places of public accommodation within housing complexes that do not comply with the ADA.
DOJ will encourage advocacy groups and private counsel representing persons with disabilities to alert DOJ to private lawsuits where amicus participation by DOJ would assist the court in interpreting and applying the provisions of the FHA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
DOJ will work with other agencies to improve the accessibility of public housing and to ensure that tax incentives do not go to those who discriminate on the basis of disability in housing.
DOJ will develop guidelines to assist HUD in identifying section 504 accessibility cases that should be referred to DOJ for enforcement action.
DOJ will meet with HUD on a quarterly basis to discuss section 504 accessibility cases that meet the guidelines for referral to DOJ for enforcement action.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS will work with HUD and with other federal agencies to devise and implement strategies on housing issues as part of the Interagency Council on Community Living.

Last revised: April 9, 2002