Coming Home Program

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Florida Coming Home Program Officially Ended on December 31, 2005.

Florida 's Coming Home Program successfully completed its assisted living grant requirements and officially ended on December 31, 2005. The Department of Elder Affairs in partnership with the Agency administered the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant project for Health Care Administration and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The purpose of the grant was to address issues and challenges to the development and operations of affordable assisted living for low-income frail elders in rural communities, public housing and other underserved areas.

Through assisted living research, policy analysis, technical assistance, information dissemination, and the development of affordable assisted living models; Florida 's Coming Home Program has focused on the promotion and facilitation of affordable assisted living facilities and services for low-income, frail elders statewide. The Program and its partners have also worked diligently to develop effective collaborative relationships with vital long-term care and housing developers, providers, regulators, funding sources, and consumer service agencies with the goal of facilitating affordable assisted living through integrating and maximizing existing resources. The following list contains some of the Program's accomplishments:

• Sponsored the formation of the Committee for Affordable Assisted Living Facilities (CAALF), a working group of stakeholders involved in the development and regulation of assisted living facilities whose task it is to review rules and regulations regarding funding, development, licensure and Medicaid reimbursement to identify and address affordable assisted living challenges and opportunities;
• Established formal partnerships with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and the Florida Agency for Health Care, as well as, memorandums of understanding/collaboration with organizations such as the Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
• Facilitated the development of 11 affordable assisted living pilot projects across Florida . Of the 11 projects currently being developed, six are now operating and serving low-income elderly assisted living residents;
• Provided ALF development and operations technical assistance and information to pilot project sponsors, other assisted living developers and providers, state and local government officials, communities, as well as, elders and their family members;
• Developed and launched a ALF-specific website, http://www.FloridaAffordableAssistedLiving.org, which is a comprehensive clearinghouse of information for assisted living developers, operators, and consumers;
• Produced the policy report: "Affordable Assisted Living Facilities: Government-sponsored Benefits for Reimbursing Assisted Living Services, Room and Board."

Sustaining many of the Coming Home Program activities, projects and resources, such as the Florida Affordable Assisted Living Web site was a major impetus for the department to establish the Elderly Housing Unit. The Elder Housing Unit was established in September 2005 and is a program within the Communities for a Lifetime Initiative. For more information regarding the Elder Housing Unit, please visit the Communities for a Lifetime Web site at http://www.communitiesforalifetime.org/.