This report provides interim findings for the evaluation of the first cohort of grantees under HUD’s Older Adults Home Modification Grant Program (OAHMP). The purpose of the OAHMP is to help communities implement programs that provide home modifications and limited home repairs to meet the needs of low-income older adult homeowners as they age. HUD issued the first NOFO for the OAHMP in March 2021 and in August 2021 awarded grants to 32 nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, and public housing agencies. Three OAHMP grantees are acting as grant “administrators” for an additional 15 subgrantees, i.e., although they themselves are not implementing the OAHMP in their community, they oversee implementation of the program by their 15 subgrantees. The program provides up to $5,000 per household for home modifications and requires the involvement of an Occupational Therapist (OT), Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA), or Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) to ensure the home modification process addresses the client’s specific goals and promotes their full participation in daily life activities. The purpose of the evaluation is to (1) assess the impact of the program on client outcomes related to independent living (such as difficulties with ADLs and IADLs, falls, and unplanned healthcare usage) using a pre/post design model; (2) assess the process grantees use to implement the OAHMP; and (3) collect feedback directly from OAHMP clients’ about the program processes.

Although PD&R awarded the contract to Solutions in late September 2020, the program experienced substantial startup delays, such that grantees did not fully launch their programs or begin providing data to the evaluation team until July 2022. This report documents outcomes for the 47 grantees (32 prime and 15 subgrantees) from July 2022 through January 2023, using the limited data collected during that six-month period. The report discusses the baseline characteristics of clients served and documents substantial challenges experienced by grantees in implementing the program and meeting the needs of the evaluation. It provides valuable information on areas where HUD could improve on the Program’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for future rounds. The report provides value information on how Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) oversee the program and other insights related to the interplay between the program design and the evaluation. Reflecting the compressed evaluation period and data collection challenges, this report does not produce estimates of the impact of the program on client outcomes related to independent living.