The Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Home Access Program is designed to promote independence and allow persons with disabilities to reside in their homes with the appropriate home modifications and to avoid unnecessary entry into nursing homes. It also helps those in nursing homes transition back to their own homes.
In Fiscal Year 2008, DCA entered into its initial agreement with the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission (BSITFC) to use the administrative infrastructure of the Home Access Program to provide accessibility improvements to the homes of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or spinal cord injury (SCI) who are determined eligible for this assistance and referred by BSITFC. DCA has maintained Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with BSITFC to provide these services through the Home Access Program to date.
To be eligible for BSITFC grant individuals must have sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) from an external force (such as a fall, motor vehicle crash or assault) and must provide medical documentation of this from a physician.
“Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)” means a traumatic injury to the brain (cranio-cerebral head trauma), not of a degenerative or congenital nature, but arising from blunt or penetrating trauma or from acceleration-deceleration forces that is associated with any of these symptoms or signs attributed to the injury: decreased level of consciousness, amnesia, other neurologic or neuropsychologic abnormalities, skull fracture, or diagnosed intracranial lesions. These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and can result in a partial or total functional disability.
“Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)” means a traumatic injury to the spinal cord, not of a degenerative or congenital nature, but arising from blunt or penetrating trauma or from acceleration-deceleration forces, resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia, which can be a partial or total loss of physical function.
One must also meet BSITFC eligibility criteria by submitting:
- Full Trust Fund grant application
- Proof of Georgia residency
- Proof of U.S. citizenship
More details at the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission website: https://bsitf.georgia.gov .
Those wishing to apply for a grant can contact the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission at dph-info-bsitf@dph.ga.gov or call 1-888-233-5760.
The program allows grant awards of up to $10,000 to improve the accessibility of an owner-occupied home in which an individual with disability resides. Eligible activities through the Home Access Program includes but not limited to, bathroom retrofitting which may include roll-in showers, construction of wheelchair ramps, lowering of cabinets and counters, widening of doorways, and installation of visual aids and audible alarms. DCA works with Centers for Independent Living (CIL) affiliated with the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and others as Contract Administrators to carry-out home modification projects.
In State Fiscal Year 2017, DCA received State funds for the Home Access Program. DCA collaborated with Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and worked with their partnering agencies working with persons with physical disabilities for referrals and home modifications. As a result, 37 projects have been completed to make individualized home modifications, including but not limited to, ramps and door modifications to attain access and exit to home safely, bathroom modifications etc.
This year DCA received funds for SILC for the Home Access Program at the amount of $100,000. The Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between DCA and SILC to continue with the program. For those wishing to apply for the home modification services can contact Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia http://www.silcga.org/ or call 770-270-6860 or its local affiliated Centers for Independent Living (CIL). The CIL are regional service providers. Their information is available at https://www.silcga.org/cils/find-cil-locations-in-georgia/.
