In August of 2001, I began participating on the Department of Elder Affair's Affordable Assisted Living Work group which was a part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Coming Home Program. Florida was one of only 8 states to receive grant money to participate in this project. It was our responsibility to:
"1. Develop interagency agreements and establish a formal partnership between the Dept. of Elder Affairs and the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, and developers of affordable assisted living.
2. Review policies and recommend or draft regulatory proposals that will mitigate existing barriers to the development of affordable assisted living.
3. Research and document the proposed affordable assisted living models- including steps taken in their development - creating a "road map" of funding financing and operating cost information for the web-based clearinghouse of information.
4. Create a standard for an affordable assisted living facility. Facilities meeting this standard will be invited to have their facility included on a web site registry.
5. Identify rural communities with high potential demand for affordable assisted living.
6. Review the demand for affordable assisted living in these communities; along with the potential for tax credits and other economic incentives, matching affordable assisted living models to community needs.
7. Review the demand for and interest in affordable assisted living in the community by creating a checklist of indicators that a community is ready to undertake an affordable assisted living project.
8. Document the development process and evaluate project outcomes to assist in development of additional affordable assisted living models. Additional successful developments will be fostered and facilitated through the clearinghouse and education efforts.
9. Develop a meaningful public education package that addresses the information needs of builders, professional associations, local governments and boards, chronic care services providers, client advocates, etc.
10. Acquire knowledge from interaction with local community partners to allow the work group the opportunity to advocate for any public policy changes and "red tape" reductions necessary to meet community and development needs.
11. Request technical assistance of the Coming Home staff in conducting financial analysis and facilitating communication among the work group members as well as the community at large. The state will continue to learn from the knowledge and lessons of previous "Coming Home" sites around the country. the work group will review the information available from feasibility/market studies and to draw upon the expertise of the Coming Home staff as to lessons learned and assistance in understanding the prior analysis."
We split up into committees in order to address the above in the most efficient manner. I participated on the "Rural Committee", and in doing so, identified the tri-county area of Gilchrist, Levy, and Dixie counties as being a potential site to approach about the Coming Home program.
At the beginning of 2003 the project director and I met to survey the area. I was asked to initiate a meeting to introduce Coming Home to interested parties in the area. We held two of these meetings in the City of Trenton, located in Gilchrist County. Interest was quite high and the information was well received.
Since then, a Board of Directors was formed to establish a non-profit organization in order for them to participate in the project. The Board adopted Articles of Incorporation and filed them with the State. They are currently in the process of choosing a location for the affordable assisted living facility they've chosen to build, and will soon begin the process of applying for predevelopment loan funding.
I look forward to the day when their building is completed, and those in need of affordable assisted living services will no longer be forced to stay at home without services they need, or, have to travel outside of the county to a facility which will accept them based on their limited income.
For more information about the
Coming Home Program:
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