State spending to rise tenfold on housing for people with developmental disabilities

Housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is about to see another boost in state funding. 

Lawmakers this year set aside $19 million for it in the Housing Trust Fund. That brings this two-year budget cycle’s total to almost $44 million, a tenfold increase from most other budgets. 

“This is a big deal,” Rep. Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said. “These folks need that housing, so this is a big step forward.” 

The new funding, which will flow through grants to mostly nonprofit developers, will likely help build about 80 affordable housing units, according to advocates. That’s on top of the 155 units that last year’s record amount of funding will help build. 

In 2022, the state only set aside enough funding for 65 units, and in 2021, they only helped build eight, according to the Department of Social and Health Services. 

Housing for people with disabilities is often expensive and difficult to build as it must be accessible, located close to services and affordable for people with low incomes. 

“The physical infrastructure and cost is much different than other types of housing,” Rep. Jamila Taylor, D-Federal Way, said. “It doesn’t pencil out the same way.” 

This year’s funding still only touches a piece of the need. Advocates say at least $25 million worth of applications were unfunded after last year’s grant cycle. 

A 2022 report from the state Department of Social and Health Services found that more than 37,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Washington are facing housing insecurity. That includes adults living with an elderly parent and one-third of those living independently or with a roommate. 

A recent report from The William D. Ruckelshaus Center found that housing affordability affects people with developmental disabilities in different ways, but one of the biggest challenges is income. People with developmental disabilities often receive Social Security Income payments as their only form of income, which is currently set at $943 a month for 2024.

These payments alone “often cannot cover rent costs, especially in urban areas where rents have increased dramatically,” according to the report. 

Another issue is getting developers to build the housing. The Ruckelshaus Center report noted that developers often can’t afford to build this housing in King County or other areas unless another organization or state funding pays for part of it. 

Taylor said the hope is to have developers start to incorporate housing options for people with developmental disabilities in all of their residential projects. 

A proposal that would have added a new 1% tax on expensive real estate sales to pay for housing for people with developmental disabilities and other types of affordable housing failed in the Legislature this year.

Not getting that funding stream was a “real disappointment,” Scott Livengood, chief executive officer at Alpha Supported Living Services said. Supporters of the proposal have said they will likely bring it up again next year. 

Along with funding the brick-and-mortar, advocates are pushing for more funding to increase pay for staff who care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

According to the Ruckelshaus Center report: “Housing and staffing issues cannot be separated. Building or acquiring new units requires staffing to make supports and services work.” 

There was a push to bump care professionals’ pay this year but lawmakers only funded a fraction of the proposed increase providers were looking for. Low pay is seen as one of the main reasons the sector has an almost 50% turnover rate every year.

“We will keep pressure on to get an increase for the stability of the entire workforce,” Taylor said. “These are folks who are essential workers.”