OMRDD Receives $1 Million Grant to Fund Savings Program

ALBANY, NY (07/16/2008)(readMedia)-- The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities’ Office of Housing Initiatives and Supports has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that will support OMRDD Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter’s mission of advancing homeownership not only for those with developmental disabilities, but also for direct care workers.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services grant will assist OMRDD to develop the New York State Individual Development Account Program (NYS IDA) to help income-eligible individuals, their parents or legal guardians and direct support employees working in a state-run or voluntary agency facility with saving money to purchase a home.

The funding comes from the federal Assets for Independence program. OMRDD will create a specialized matched savings account: for every $1 saved by the consumer over the course of the program, OMRDD will match it by $4. For example, if the individual is able to raise $1,000, OMRDD will contribute $4,000, bringing the total in which to use as a down payment for a home to $5,000. These funds can also be used to cover homebuyer costs such as home appraisals or application fees.

The program will be available to 360 single individuals and families/households in 12 counties where affordability of housing is not an issue. Those counties include: Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Monroe, Chemung, Steuben, Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego, Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer.

“This program mirrors OMRDD’s vision of assisting individuals and their families to live in a home of their choice,” said OMRDD Commissioner Diana Jones Ritter. “I am also very excited by the fact that the opportunities the NYS IDA program present are not only for the individuals in our care and their families, but are extended to direct care workers as well – our front-line employees who so deserve the chance to purchase a home just like everyone else.”

This is the first project for OMRDD’s Home of Your Own Program that includes people with developmental disabilities, their parents and legal guardians, and direct care workers. Eligibility requirements may vary depending on the person, but the program is designed for first-time homebuyers who must be income-eligible. The minimum time a person must save is six months before making any withdrawals – the typical savings plan will range from 12 to 36 months. To participate in the 5-year program, homes must be purchased before December 2013.

Direct care staff who take part in the program must be employed full-time by OMRDD or at a voluntary agency and remain employed for at least five years.

“In addition, the NYS IDA program requires anyone participating to take training sessions in such things as foreclosure prevention, predatory lending and credit counseling,” Ritter said. “OMRDD not only wants to assist people with purchasing their homes – we want to help them keep them. This program truly resonates OMRDD’s motto of ‘putting people first.’”

For more information about NYS IDA or the Home of Your Own program, contact Nicole Weinstein, OMRDD Acting Director of Public Information (518) 474-6601.

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