Funding and managing the adaptation of owner occupied homes for people with physical disabilities

摘要

AbstractThe importance of housing in the implementation of community care policies is increasingly being recognized. Adapted housing is particularly important for people with physical disabilities if they are to remain living in their own homes or to return to their homes after leaving hospital. In 1990 there was a major change in the funding arrangements for adaptation work with the introduction of a new disabled facilities grant. This paper draws on the findings of several research studies carried out by the authors to provide an assessment of the implementation of this new grant. It identifies a number of problems including: the need for more involvement of users in the planning of services, an overall shortage of resources making it difficult to meet mandatory needs in some areas, inadequacies in the test of resources used to determine the amount of grant aid, a lack of top‐up contributions for social services departments in some areas, and difficulties in liaison between the various statutory and voluntary agencies involved in the adaptation process. A current review of the grant system raises the prospect of further restrictions on grant availability which may have considerable implications for organizations involved in the provision of care and support for people with disabilities. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which health and welfare organizations could respond to this review. It also suggests ways in which services may need to change if grant resources continue to be cut back. There is a need for alternative funding sources for adaptations to be developed, for improvements in the working relationships between all the organizations involved in providing adaptations, for more agency services to be developed to provide practical help with arranging finance and organising building work, and for users and carers to be more involved in the planning and implementation of service