Funded under Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) program, the New Editions contract, Housing Capacity Building Initiative for Community Living Project, was announced in June 2010 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius. The Secretary lauded the project’s vision to assist older adults and those with chronic conditions find appropriate housing to live more independent lives. This technical assistance project joined the departments of HHS and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) MFP Rebalancing Demonstration, to assist federal, state and local agencies and community partners create a sustainable, collaborative system between housing and human services agencies - particularly those aimed at helping individuals transitioning from nursing homes and other restrictive settings or at-risk of institutionalization - to live in the community.
New Editions and housing and community long-term services expert subcontractors - Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. (TAC), Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) and others - provided:
Interviews of key agency personnel to identify knowledge gaps and barriers between housing and human services agencies;
Federal and state training activities-based information garnered from the interviews and recognizing unique needs;
Regional meetings to promote knowledge sharing, collaboration and partnership development;
Pilot activities offering local-level agencies and local community leaders the opportunity to work closely together on a defined project for housing and supportive services; and
Dissemination of resources and the promise to continue to foster relationships between housing and human services agencies in the future.
