Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues

The Disability Law Center in Boston (Massachusetts'"P&A"), nine Independent Living Centers throughout Massachusetts, and the Statewide ILC recently filed their recommendations to the MA Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) regarding the MA 2008 allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to increase the number of units for persons on SSI.

These recommendations were submitted as part of the federally-mandated Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) process, with which States must comply each year. Because LIHTC is the largest growing federal housing program in the country and because these advocates warrant KUDOS, we want other advocates to know what the MA advocacy community is requesting.

Throughout the country, the extremely competitive demand for LIHTC exceeds the supply by nearly 3 to 1, which means that Housing Finance Agencies throughout the country could do exactly what the MA advocates are requesting. Here's a summary of their recommendations. For a full copy, go to http://www.dlc-ma.org/QAP_Comments.doc

First, according to the most recent data available, nationally only 7% of LIHTC were targeted to households with incomes at or below 30% of the Area Median Income. Even though the MA's LIHTC program had exceeded the national average by requiring, as a threshold, that 10% of all LIHTC units had to be already targeted to households whose incomes are at or below 30% of the Area Median Income, the MA advocates recommended that the 2008 QAP have an additional threshold requirement for another10% of the units to be targeted to persons with "very low incomes"(i.e., on SSI) with disabilities through project based vouchers - well below 30% of the AMI.

Second, the MA recommended that developers who are awarded LIHTC as a result of the competitive process be required to submit a plan to ensure that the additional 10% of the units will be made available to "very low income" persons with disabilities.

Third, to ensure people with disabilities are integrated, the advocates recommended that MA alter its policy so that LIHTC projects will assure integration by not having more than 15% of the total units in a project occupied by people with disabilities (absent a compelling programmatic reason for intensive specialized services that cannot be provided in an integrated setting).

Fourth, the MA advocates recommended that "visitability" should be a threshold requirement for ALL new construction and renovation of existing housing units. This is in addition to DHCD's current extra points for developers that provide Universal Design.

In a number of other Information Bulletins in the last few years, we have described the LIHTC process and what advocates should be doing.

MA is one great example. What's happening in your State with LIHTCs? Are there similar coalitions as exist in MA? Has your P&A and ILCs taken similar initiatives to increase the supply of Accessible, Affordable, Integrated housing via LIHTCs?