Supportive Housing: HUD Is Not Assessing the Needs of Elderly Residents
Highlights
GAO discussed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) efforts to provide supportive housing for the elderly, focusing on: (1) the methodologies HUD uses in assessing elderly need for section 202 housing; and (2) the need for modernization of section 202 buildings. GAO noted that: (1) HUD neither collects data nor has a methodology for assessing section 202 residents' supportive service needs; (2) HUD considers section 202 supportive services as the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and there is inadequate cooperation between HHS and HUD; (3) the HUD lottery method of fund disbursement for supportive services inadequately targets residents and fails to provide assistance for those in the greatest need; (4) HUD lacks data on resident fraility levels, which would assist in determining modernization and retrofitting needs, target identification and disbursement of limited funds, and providing for resident needs; and (5) limited HUD travel and staff funding impedes annual inspections and assessments of retrofitting requirements.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
Matter | Status | Comments |
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Congress may wish to request that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development study the feasibility of a more productive methodology by developing a uniform definition of need and a standardized instrument for measuring needs for supportive services. |
Closed – Not Implemented
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The subcommittee was disbanded along with the rest of the Select Committee on Aging. |