Columbia, MD (March 3, 2021) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) has selected Healthy Housing Solutions to conduct a three-year evaluation of the implementation and impact of the Older Adults Home Modification (OAHM) Grant Program administered by HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH). The selection was made in late September 2020 but was announced today. The OAHM program will provide funding to local organizations to make repairs and safety upgrades to the homes of low-income older adults, enabling them to remain in their homes safely and independently.
Solutions’ team will use their experience evaluating projects such as the Community Aging in Place—Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) approach to develop protocols and collect data to assess the processes employed by grantees to implement the program and the impact the project has on senior participants. The evaluation will focus on approximately 20 grantees and the impact of their activities on an expected 2,000 recipients. OAHM grantees will represent urban and rural communities and offer home modifications in both single-family and multifamily homes. The evaluation will compare residents’ self-reported health outcomes and healthcare utilization pre- and post- renovation, as well as other measures, to determine whether their health changed after home modifications.
In preparation for the launch of the OAHM grant program in 2021, Solutions is developing evaluation design protocols and data collection tools, with the goal of having its design plan in place as grantees roll out the program in their community.
For more information, please contact Noreen Beatley.