New Jersey would offer home accessibility grants to low-income seniors

The Department of Community Affairs would award grants for changes that make homes more accessible. Applicants must be at least 62 and have annual household income at or below half the area's median for households of the same size and makeup. Grants would cover their main homes. Seniors would apply to the department, which would set rules for applications, selection, and allowed uses. The department would report yearly on spending, applications received, and nursing home placements prevented. The law establishing the program would take effect immediately upon enactment.

The Department of Community Affairs would set aside part of the State Rental Assistance Program's available money for the home modification program. The community set-aside would cover state-designated underserved areas and towns with no more than 30,000 residents and fewer than 4,000 people per square mile, based on the latest federal census. Some grant money would be reserved for eligible seniors in rural or underserved communities. The bill does not specify the amount or share of either set-aside.