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Adult Services Section

North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services

  
Special Assistance In-Home Program
(State-County Special Assistance In-Home Program for Adults)

The State/County Special Assistance In-Home Program for Adults (SA/IH) provides a cash supplement to help low-income individuals who are at risk of entering an Adult Care Home, and would like to remain at home. SA/IH provides an alternative to placement in an Adult Care Home (ACH) for individuals who could live at home safely with additional support services and income.

Eligibility for Medicaid for the Special Assistance In-Home Program is not automatic as it is for Special Assistance in adult care homes. Recipients in private living arrangements must be determined eligible for Medicaid separately. If an applicant for the SA In-Home Program is not already receiving Medicaid, they must apply for it and be found eligible.

The SA In-Home Program helps with living expenses such as food, shelter, clothing and other daily necessities. The checks are sent monthly to eligible individuals living in a private living arrangement. The amount of the check is based on income and need in conjunction with a comprehensive services assessment.

Case managers at the county departments of social services conduct comprehensive assessments to identify the nature and extent of the impact of certain factors on the lives of individuals requesting Special Assistance payments and how the factors affect their ability to live at home. Primary factors include: (1) the functional status of the client and need for care and services; (2) availability of family, friends, and neighbors to provide care and services; (3) availability and access to care and services from agencies and other formal service providers; (4) ability to pay for housing; and (5) availability of affordable and safe housing.

The services assessment is needed to determine whether an applicant/recipient could remain safely at home, and what support services and additional income would be needed to assure the applicant’s needs are met. The case manager’s role is an essential one in helping the clients remain at home. All SA/IH recipients receive ongoing case management.

Using the assessment information, the case managers work directly with the clients and their families and other caregivers to develop a care plan that enables the client to live at home rather than move to an adult care home. The case managers also establish the amount of the SA/In-Home payment, work with the client to determine how the payments are used, and monitor to assure that the payments are used for the intended purpose.

Special Assistance In-Home is available in 91 counties. Each participating county has a limited number of slots.

For more information about the State/County Special Assistance In-Home program please view our State/County Special Assistance In-Home Program for Adults Informational brochure.

For information on Special Assistance for adults who need ACH level of care in an Adult Care Home please view Adult Care Home Assistance.

If you or someone you know requires these services, contact your county department of social services.

Link to view the 2007 Annual Report on the Special Assistance In-Home Program

 

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