More than 28,000 people live in over 453 adult homes throughout the state. The state of New York spends over $80 million annually through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and hundreds of millions more in Medicaid for medical and mental health services for low income individuals living in adult homes.  Originally designed for the elderly, almost half of the people living in adult homes have diagnosed psychiatric disabilities.  Many people with these disabilities came to live in adult homes after being discharged from state or community hospitals because there were no other housing options available. 

Thirty years ago, adult homes were one of the few housing options available to individuals with psychiatric disabilities and limited resources.  Now there is a wider array of housing options that are, unlike adult homes, designed and regulated with the needs of individuals with psychiatric disabilities in mind.  These community mental health housing options are more cost-effective than adult homes because they are designed to promote skill development, independence, and recovery. 

People with psychiatric disabilities living in adult homes have lived without a voice in policy making or choice of housing for the better part of their lives.  SCAA works to insure that adult home residents are not ignored.  Toward that end, SCAA and the New York Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) co-coordinate the New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform (NYSCAHR), whose mission is to fundamentally change the living conditions, care and treatment for people with psychiatric disabilities who live in adult homes. NYSCAHR members include social services, disability and legal advocacy groups, and residents of adult homes.  SCAA also helps coordinate the Adult Home Resident Speak Out for Dignity, Respect and Choice, an annual advocacy event held in Albany.

Adult Home Resources:

Raising Expectations: Transitioning Adult Home Residents with Psychiatric Disabilities to New Housing

A New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform white paper.
February 2011. download white paper

NYSAPRS excerpts of the adult home law suit ruling
Disability Advocates, Inc. Vs NYS Governor David A. Paterson et al Nicholas G. Garaufis, United States District Judge. United States District Court Eastern District Of New York, excerpts of ruling. -download excerpts

CIAD videos on YouTube - "Coco's Story" and "Gary's Story", videos that follow two former adult home residents' journey to independence, are now on CIAD's YouTube page. The videos demonstrate in a powerful and personal way the importance of Judge Garaufis' decision in DAI v Paterson.

A Place for Us: For decades, New York's adult homes have profited by keeping the mentally ill in squalor. A February 2010 Mother Jones photo essay and article on Surf Manor. see A Place for Us

Adult Home Reform Report Card. A NYSCAHR report card that grades the progress of the Adult Facilities Work Group five years later. February 2008.  download report card

A Review of Assisted Living Programs in "Impacted" Adult Homes. New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities. June 2007. go to pdf report

Action Plan for Dignity, Respect, Choice and Recovery for People Living in Adult Homes. February 2007. download action plan

Transforming Housing for People With Psychiatric Disabilities Report. HHS Pub. No. 4173. Rockville MD: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2006. download report

The West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, Inc. created a March 2003 powerpoint presentation Supportive Congregate Housing, Putting the Pieces Together: Housing Persons with Special Needs in New York State. Two exhibits accompany the presentation: Exhibit A: Narrative Description of Supportive Congregate Housing and Exhibit B: Description of Operating Costs and Funding Sources

The Cause of Dignified Living: The Psychiatrically Disabled in Adult Homes
(February 2003)

There's No Place Like Home: Recommendations for Improving the Quality of Life in Adult Homes Serving People With Mental Illness (June 2000)

Consumer advocates at the 8th Annual Adult Home Speak Out in Albany on March 10, 2011.

NY court rejects group's patient access limits

Wall Street Journal online (October 20, 2011) Associated Press - ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's top court is rejecting rules drafted by operators of adult-care homes to limit access by attorneys and other advocates. -see story

Abused and Used

A New York Times article series by Danny Hakim, which examines the treatment of the developmentally disabled in New York State and how money is spent on their care. -see series

Apartments in offing for mentally ill

silive.com (February 2, 2011) By Judy L. Randall - STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Some 569 mentally ill individuals currently living in four adult home facilities on Staten Island will be transitioned to rental apartment units here in a $10 million move over the next three years as part of a court order against “warehousing” the mentally ill. -see story

Obey the Law on the Mentally Ill

New York Times (July 7, 2010) Editorial - Nearly a year has passed since a federal court ruled that New York violated federal disability law by warehousing mentally ill people in highly restrictive “homes” that are in some ways worse than the psychiatric hospitals they were meant to replace. -see editorial

Mental health patients await housing decision

Legislativegazette.com (March 15, 2010) By Emily Claire Atkin - Mental health advocates are continuing their push for state officials to comply with a federal court's order to integrate New Yorkers with psychiatric disabilities who are living in institutionalized housing back into their communities. -see story

Judge Orders 4,500 Supportive Housing Units for Adult Home Residents

New York Nonprofit Press (March 2, 2010) - Advocates for individuals with mental illness won a major victory yesterday when a federal court ordered that New York State develop a minimum of 4,500 supported housing units over the next three years to accommodate current and future residents of adult homes in New York City. -see story