State Profile: Minnesota
Welcome to the Minnesota State Profile Page! This page features a sample of survey and research results from a comprehensive review of state and local home modification activities across the country. It has a special focus on the aging population and the efforts of State Units on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, and Native American aging service programs that are funded by the Older Americans Act Title VI Grants for Indian Tribal Organizations.
Check back as new updates will be posted periodically! Have any changes or additions? Please contact homemods@usc.edu
SPOTLIGHT ON STATE LEVEL HOME MODIFICATION ACTIVITIES
This section shares information that demonstrates the need for home modification in this state and highlights some of the state's important home modification efforts, policies, and funding sources.
This report by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence and ADvancing States reports on a national survey
MINNESOTA BOARD ON AGING (State Unit on Aging)
State Units on Aging (SUAs) are designated state-level agencies that develop and administer state plans that advocate for and provide assistance, including home modifications or repairs, to older residents, their families, and adults with physical disabilities. SUAs administer funds, including Older Americans Act funds, which may be used to support home modification or repair services through local Area Agencies on Aging and other state and local entities.
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Home Modification and Repair Programs
Minnesota has a variety of programs and funding streams dedicated to home modifications and home repairs for older Minnesotans. Through these programs, the state strives to reach older adults on Minnesota’s means-tested programs as well as older adults not eligible for those programs. Under The Minnesota Board on Aging, funds are administered to the state’s Area Agencies on Aging to provide home modifications for older people. Minnesota’s 2019 State Plan on Aging, developed by the Minnesota Board on Aging, embeds home modification strategies as key to assisting older low income homeowners to age in the community through affordable home maintenance, modifications and in-home services. The Minnesota Board on Aging is advocating for the implementation of a state-level multi-agency task force assigned to focus solely on the needs and opportunities related to older adult housing. It is also launching a public-private partnership to complete all home modifications and home maintenance repairs needed by very low-income older homeowners at risk of needing to move. The Board also works with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency’s (MHFA) Rehabilitation Loan Program to fund home modifications and maintenance for very low-income older homeowners. Additionally, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Aging and Adult Services Division has a grant program called Live Well at Home Grant (LWAH), wherein grant money is provided to grantees to build the Long Term Services and Support System throughout the state. Through LWAH, money is awarded to grantees that execute home modifications for homes that lack the necessary structural features and support systems to make aging in place viable.
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Minnesota Fall Prevention Coalition
The Minnesota Falls Prevention Coalition provides information, advice, and tips to help prevent falls and fall-related injuries among older adults in Minnesota.
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Environmental Accessibility Adaptations: Medicaid Waivers
Environmental accessibility adaptations to ensure the person’s health and safety or enable the person to function with greater independence are allowable under the following Minnesota waivers: 1) Alternative Care (AC) (older Minnesotans who require the level of care provided in a nursing facility and who are not yet eligible for Medical Assistance); 2) Brain Injury (BI) Waiver (for people with a traumatic, acquired or degenerative brain injury); 3) Community Alternative Care (CAC) Waiver (for people who are chronically ill or medically fragile and require the level of care provided in a hospital); 4) Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) Waiver (for people with disabilities who require the level of care provided in a nursing facility); 5) Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver (for people with developmental disabilities or related conditions who require the level of care provided in an intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities (ICF/DD); 6) Elderly Waiver (EW) (for older Minnesotans who require the level of care provided in a nursing facility)
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Live Well at Home Grants
The Live Well at Home grant program, administered through community organizations, expands the capacity of long-term services and supports to help people age 65 and older stay in their homes and communities of choice. Grant opportunities include environmental accessibility home modifications such as grab bar installation, bathroom adaptations and building ramps and home repairs.
SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL HOME MODIFICATION EFFORTS
This section shares information that demonstrates the need for home modification in this state and highlights some of the state's important home modification efforts, policies, and funding sources.
This Data Brief highlights key findings from the 2019 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging on how Area Agencies on Aging are providing and funding home modification and repair activities. It was developed by the USC Fall Prevention Center of Excellence in partnership with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging as part of the Administration for Community Living project, “Promoting Aging in Place by Enhancing Access to Home Modifications.”
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Age Well at Home
Age Well at Home preserves homeownership and generational wealth in the Twin Cities by partnering with older adults of color to bring healing, comfort, and stability at home through safety modifications.
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Elderly Maintenance Program
The Red Lake Elderly Maintenance Program aims to preserve cultural ties and traditions while helping to maintain the housing stock for older adults of the Red Lake Nation. Services included minor repairs, carpentry, and bathroom modifications (grab bars).