Through My Eyes: Transitioning Into the Community

Author: Leonor Vanik

Dissertation School: University of Illinois at Chicago

Abstract:

Since the 1960s, nursing homes have been an alternative setting for people with disabilities transferring out of a state institution (Braddock et al. 2008; Heller et al. 1999; Lakin et al. 1991) into a slightly less restrictive setting but similar to programs and services as that of a state institution. Since then, pressure from disability advocates led the federal government to create reasonable accessible accommodation policy and programs for equitable living opportunities.

In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Olmstead vs. L.C. made the compulsory institutionalization of disabled people illegal. As a result, there have been shifts in policy and program initiatives at both the federal and state levels. States have been tasked to facilitate deinstitutionalization and enhance community living. Money Follows the Person Demonstration Grant (MFP-D) is one such program that allows states to reorganize disability assistance around the individual and re-balance how states fund services. For people with disabilities, this is a significant life altering program.

In 2007, there were approximately 18,300 people with a disability in Illinois nursing homes that expressed a preference to return/transition to the community; of these, one-third are under the age of 65 (CMS, 2008). As a MFP-D recipient, Illinois is currently preparing to transition approximately 1,800 people with disabilities. The Chicagoland area is faced with a shortage of affordable housing (Voorhees, 2007) and people with disabilities transitioning out of an institutional setting are competing with non-disabled people for affordable housing.

Current research on people with disabilities focuses on discrimination in gaining access to housing but it does not provide for the rich understanding that this population experiences to find accessible, affordable, integrated housing. Also missing in the literature is what people with disabilities consider as necessary features to live in a community. This proposed research intends to fill this gap by answering this question: What are the critical elements of the housing search process for people with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes into the private housing market, and are there unique housing market experiences or issues faced by people with disabilities using housing choice vouchers in search of affordable, accessible integrated housing?

This research also brings to light another sub-question: Are there specific community amenities (for example, visitability of local businesses, proximity of public transportation, health services, and curb cuts) that make selection of affordable, accessible integrated housing preferable for people with disabilities? These questions will be addressed in the context of disability type (physically disabled, intellectually disabled, and mentally ill) race and gender.

To answer these questions, the melding of qualitative and quantitative research methods to forge a mixed-methodological approach through a series of focus groups, face-to-face/telephone in-depth interviews, and surveys will be used. Analysis will be conducted through the use of qualitative coding software for the focus groups and in-depth face-to-face/telephone interviews. Quantitative descriptive and statistical reduction methods of analysis will be utilized to gain insight on the experiences people with disabilities face in the realities of the housing market in their transitioning process and for the preliminary insight of what constitutes a livable community.

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