The Rev­enue Esti­mat­ing Com­mit­tee will meet on Thurs­day to dis­cuss Iowa’s expect­ed bud­get growth for the next year. This will give leg­is­la­tors the last look at bud­get pro­jec­tions before they set their final FY23 bud­get tar­gets. Fol­low­ing this, we expect a joint bud­get tar­get to be released as ear­ly as Fri­day and then bud­gets to start rolling out next week in antic­i­pa­tion of an ear­ly adjournment. 

If you haven’t yet, NOW is the time to con­tact the Health and Human Ser­vices Bud­get Com­mit­tee mem­bers to request their sup­port of fund­ing for the home mod­i­fi­ca­tion grant pro­gram in the Iowa Depart­ment of Aging Budget. 

Please take time to call or email these mem­bers today, ask­ing them to allo­cate fund­ing so all Iowans have access to grant funds for home mod­i­fi­ca­tions regard­less of their zip code! 

ACTION ALERT: CON­TACT HHS Bud­get Com­mit­tee TODAY!

• Attached find the con­tact infor­ma­tion for the HHS Bud­get Com­mit­tee members.
• Empha­size con­tacts with Sen­a­tors Costel­lo and Edler, as well as Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Fry and Meyer.
• Ask them to include fund­ing for a home mod­i­fi­ca­tion grant pro­gram to be man­aged by the Iowa Depart­ment on Aging.
• Mobi­lize your networks/​volunteers/​advocates to con­tact these mem­bers as well as their own legislators. 

Talk­ing Points:

• In 2015 in Sen­ate File 505, the leg­is­la­ture direct­ed the Aging and Dis­abil­i­ty Resource Cen­ters (ADRC) and the Men­tal Health and Dis­abil­i­ty Ser­vices to Com­mis­sion to joint­ly devel­op a plan for a home mod­i­fi­ca­tion assis­tance pro­gram to pro­vide grants to assist with expens­es relat­ed to the mak­ing of per­ma­nent home mod­i­fi­ca­tions that per­mit seniors and indi­vid­u­als with a dis­abil­i­ty to remain in their homes. To 
• An invest­ment of $1 mil­lion in a home mod­i­fi­ca­tion assis­tance pro­gram would save the state over $13 mil­lion in long term care costs in the first 3 years. 

• Liv­ing safe­ly in their own home is pre­ferred by seniors and indi­vid­u­als with dis­abil­i­ties. It pro­motes emo­tion­al well­be­ing, inde­pen­dence and main­tains a con­nec­tion to their com­mu­ni­ty. Many indi­vid­u­als who can live safe­ly in their home can con­tribute to Iowa’s workforce.

• Iowa has some of the old­est home stock in the coun­try, with many of the homes in rur­al com­mu­ni­ties being built before 1940. 

• Only 11 of Iowa’s 99 coun­ties have access to a home mod­i­fi­ca­tion grant pro­gram, leav­ing large gaps across the state for those who need assis­tance. A statewide pro­gram would allow indi­vid­u­als to access assis­tance regard­less of their zip code. 

• Indi­vid­u­als liv­ing in rur­al com­mu­ni­ties would ben­e­fit most from a statewide pro­gram. Iowan’s seniors and those liv­ing with a dis­abil­i­ty liv­ing in rur­al areas deserve to age in place instead of being forced into care out­side of their community. 

• Home mod­i­fi­ca­tions can include com­mon items such as grab bars, ramps, or lifts, or more cost­ly ren­o­va­tions such as adding a ramp or widen­ing hallways. 

• Home mod­i­fi­ca­tions range in price, but the aver­age home­own­er can expect to pay $9,000 to mod­i­fy a home to meet their needs.