Disabled children have different needs regarding the structure of the house they live. The wrong layout or structure of a house may put the lives of disabled children at risk. However, families who have low income and a disabled child living at home may not have the resources to build or buy a safe home for their disabled children. In these cases, children with disabilities may be eligible to receive housing grants from the federal or state governments.
Handicapped Access Improvements Grant
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This housing grant provides up to $30,000 to disabled children and their families. They may use the money to make all necessary improvements in the house to make it suitable for the child's needs. The objective is to help these families to remove physical barriers that could harm their disabled children. The Department of Housing and Community Development of the District of Columbia offers this grant. Applicants who desire to buy a new house with this grant, may also seek for additional funding through the Single Family Rehab Program, which is a form of low or amortized loan. In this case, applicants have up to 20 years to repay the loan.
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Supportive Housing Grants
The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a grant known as Supportive Housing Grant to disabled children. This grant provides a safe home and services to disabled children. Although a charitable group that receives the grant, the grant provides housing for disabled children who do not have a safe home. Requirements for eligibility include being a disabled child and having a low-income family. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 1997 helped in the creation of this grant.
Housing Choice Vouchers
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a grant known as Housing Choice Vouchers. Public housings authorities receive these vouchers and provide housing for disabled children. The public housing agencies also determine the eligibility of applicants to live on the vouchers. To be eligible to receive this housing grant, the disabled children's income must be 30 percent lower than the median income within their area. If they live with their families, the family income must meet this limit.
Accessory, Shared and Sheltered Housing Program
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, offers a program aimed to finance accessory, shared and sheltered housing facilities to assist low-income elderly or disabled children. Eligible individuals and their families receive a loan to help them build a home suitable for a child with disabilities. Single-family homes are eligible for this loan if their income does not exceed 80 percent of the statewide median income. The interest rate of the loan is at least 4.5 percent. They may use the loan to finance modifications or to pay for additions needed for the shared or sheltered housing.