So you want to create some ASD adult housing?

General Concerns

• Adult autism is a largely new phenomenon, with little historical precedent
• As a consequence, there are few options for the surging population of adults with autism
• The creativity, smarts, and chutzpah of concerned parents will spur innovative solutions
• Fed and state social programs need revamping to address unprecedented, intensive needs
• Many options are financially out of reach for ASD families; we cannot stress enough the need for new programs and incentives to boost supply of housing affordable and available to those with ASD
• On top of the financial barriers, it can be challenging to secure Regional Center commitment to fund services; each family is at a different state of readiness financially and emotionally; it is difficult for groups of parents to reach consensus about project details; and projects often require strong, committed leadership
• Okay, that said, here are some things to think about....

Creating housing without government money for acquisition/development
(This means you can select the tenants, to an extent, including your own children)

1. At home with mom and/or dad

• 80-90% of young adults with autism continue to live at home with parents
• Sustainability of this arrangement is often dependent on existence of good-quality day programs or supported employment, both of which are in short supply
• It is also dependent on support staff to assist the parents at home as needed. County-funded In-Home Support Services and Regional Center-funded Independent Living Services can provide additional support at home, though pay rates are below market.
• Assuming parents are mortal, this is a temporary solution. However, the family home can be put in trust as a “legacy home” with a life estate for the adult child, managed by a nonprofit, with other rooms rented to roommates, as may or may not be appropriate. The child’s care could be managed by a Supported Living Services agency, funded by the Regional Center.

2. Create a licensed group home (congregate living of people with disabilities)

• A group of parents can purchase or build a single-family home for maybe three or four developmentally disabled adults, with ASD-friendly design and amenities
• This investment could be liquid, with ability to sell shares should the child need to move
• Or the parents can create and fund a nonprofit, which would then acquire the home.  In this model, if the child had to move, the parents’ investment would be lost. On the other hand, the nonprofit ownership may sway toward greater permanence of the asset serving those with ASD, and also property tax could be waived.
• The owner could then contract with a vendorized group home operator to provide services
• In theory, most operating costs would be covered by Regional Center vendor funding

3. Create an unlicensed co-op

• Just like the above, but without licensing or a master program operator 
• It could be owned by an LLC or a nonprofit
• The tenants would have their own SLS or ILS support, per Regional Center IPP
• Property management could be via parents, owner, or a nonprofit

4. Create an unlicensed ASD-inclusive apartment community

• In an ASD-inclusive apartment community (like FCSN), parents and other investors could band together as an LLC to purchase or build an apartment complex to serve their children and possibly others as well
• There are basically four ways for an ASD adult to pay rent:
  1. A “low-income” unit with a fixed low rent
  2. A market-rate unit heavily subsidized with a portable rental voucher (Section 8). Please see this sample letter for advocating for HUD rental vouchers from your local Housing Authority
  3. A market-rate unit heavily subsidized with a property-based rental voucher (another form of Section 8)
  4. A special needs trust or other private payor
• The LLC management team could deliberately include ASD-friendly design elements and onsite amenities
• The LLC could possibly contract with Regional Center to provide programmatic and/or property management elements
• Parents would own shares in the LLC, which shares could be sold to new investors/tenants upon approval of other members
• If formed as a nonprofit, little property tax owed, but then it would no longer be a liquid investment for the parents
• Structure of investment could be tailored to needs of the investors
• Ideally, tenants would receive rental vouchers (Section 8) to cover costs of maintenance and operation, with possibly some return to investors
• As an alternative, the investors could angle to get the property “project based” vouchers from the local Housing Authority to subsidize the rents

5. Create or work with a scattered site housing services program

• In this model, parents could band together as a nonprofit to find and support ASD housing in the city. Similar programs are run by West Bay Housing Corporation in SF and Housing Choices Coalition in San Jose.
• Existing properties can be maximized through a nonprofit such as WBHC through a centralized application and wait list management

Housing that uses government money for acquisition or development
(Due to fair housing laws, this means tenants are selected via lottery or waitlist)

• “Low-income housing” includes housing offered at reduced rents in development projects that have received public funding of some sort.
• Ironically, most ASD adults are too impoverished to qualify for low-income housing, which usually have income thresholds, with some exceptions.
• Parents are often reluctant to spend time and energy supporting these projects because tenants are selected through a lottery process. In other words, parents risk no personal return on their investment of time and/or money.
• That said, Housing and Community Development and Tax Credit Allocation Committee funding could be moved to fund multifamily projects that address intensive needs of those with substantial neurodevelopmental impairment, including new housing models, which could possibly involve an integrated services solution.
• In SF, Mayor’s Office of Housing (which now runs Public Housing and Redevelopment), could also be tapped to provide ASD-friendly housing in publicly owned properties.
• Nonprofit entities such as WBHC could develop new ASD-friendly properties or units in other developments via set-aside arrangements.
• Expansion of the concept of Community Placement Plan housing. The CPP program is funded by DDS to move consumers from Developmental Centers, such as Agnews, to licensed residential care facilities with on-site services at negotiated rates (eg, group homes). Applying the CPP model to the creation of new housing stock for ASD adults could be a compelling concept, though unlikely to provide large numbers of units, and again, parent effort and investment would be discouraged due to lack of assurance one’s child would be awarded an open spot.

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