Minnesota supports people with disabilities to live, work, and play in communities of their choice. Various challenges and barriers can make it hard to find housing, budget, interact with landlords and neighbors, and understand the rules of a lease. Finding and keeping stable affordable housing is important to the health of Minnesotans. Housing Stabilization Services is a new Medical Assistance benefit designed to help people with disabilities and seniors find and keep housing. Housing Stabilization Services is a home and community-based service.
The purpose of these services is to:
- Support an individual’s transition into housing,
- Increase long-term stability in housing in the community and
- Avoid future periods of homelessness or institutionalization.
Housing Stabilization Services is a Medical Assistance benefit to help people with disabilities, seniors and individuals that are at risk of homelessness find and keep housing. Housing stabilization services are state plan (not waiver) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).
HSS is composed of three different services: Housing Consultation, Housing Transition, and Sustaining
Housing consultation
- Services that assist a person in developing a housing-focused person-centered plan assist the
person to access needed state plan services that support housing stability and provide referrals or
information about other needed services. - This service is available to people on Medical Assistance who do not have a waiver case manager,
mental health targeted case manager or MSHO/MSC+ care coordinator involved to complete an
assessment and a person-centered plan of care.
Housing transition
Helps people plan for, find, and move to homes of their own in the community by:
- Develop an individualized housing plan
- Identifying and assisting in resolving barriers to accessing housing
- Supporting the person in applying for benefits to afford their housing
- Contacting prospective housing options availability and information
- Supporting the person with tenant screening and housing assessment
- Helping to understand and negotiate a lease
- Identifying resources to cover moving expenses
- Ensuring the new living arrangement is safe and ready for move-in
Housing sustaining
- Supports a person to maintain living in their own home in the community by:
- Prevention and early identification of behaviors that may jeopardize continued housing
- Assistance with the housing recertification processes
- Training on being a good tenant, lease compliance, and household management
- Supporting the person to understand and maintain income and benefits to retain housing
- Supporting the building of natural housing supports and resources in the community
- Housing sustaining services do not cover room and board