By: Diane Sprague, MA, Director, Lifetime Home Project
Earn 1 CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is listed as a Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
(The CEU is free for MGS members; $15 for non-members.)
For years, studies and surveys have documented how seniors want to age in community, often where they’ve lived for many years. Providing a safe and comfortable home can require a range of repairs, and/or accessibility modifications that accommodate changes in functional ability. Unless extremely minor, skilled assessment and installation practitioners should manage access modification work. Financing is the third critical component, often the make-or-break factor in undertaking a project. This session will explore basic access remodeling financing techniques, remodeling “realities” and funding resources.
This session will acquaint attendees with:
- Typical home modifications, and impacts from “generations” of US home styles/layouts
- Financing techniques, and an overview of resources and contacts in Minnesota
- A home modification financing project funded by the federal Administration for Community Living that’s currently underway at the University of Southern California
Diane Sprague, MA, Director, Lifetime Home Project
Diane Sprague is the director of the Lifetime Home Project, based in St. Paul, MN. The Project provides research, outreach, training, and advocacy on accessible/universal housing, innovative “encore” housing arrangements, and home/mobile telehealth. She also instructs online for the University of Southern California. Diane previously worked for the state of Minnesota – 25 years with the MN Housing Finance Agency (on a range of disability/senior-related program/policy efforts), and four with the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. She also worked on regional housing studies for the Cuyahoga County Regional Planning Commission (Cleveland, OH) early in her career.
References/Resources:
www.homemods.org – University of Southern California National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification