The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has two kinds of public housing programs. The programs provide rental housing for families, older adults, and people with disabilities, who have low incomes. Local public housing authorities (PHAs) run both programs. Public Housing The first program, low-rent public housing, may be apartments in multi-family buildings,… Continue Reading What’s the Difference Between Public Housing and “Section 8” Housing?
Iowa Compass got a “shout out” in a recently published report from the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). The report, “Complex Needs and Growing Roles: The Changing Nature of Information and Referral/Assistance,” cites Compass as the leading example of information and referral/assistance… Continue Reading Iowa Compass Community Resource Database Featured in National Survey of Best Practices
As Iowa’s disability-related information and referral service, Iowa Compass reaches out to a broad audience. Because we use information technology (IT) to reach our audience, we pay close attention to the need for digital security. Iowa Compass is based at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). This allows us to share IT security… Continue Reading Security at Iowa Compass
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the law that forbids discrimination against people with disabilities. Discrimination means treating someone with a disability differently than someone without a disability. A physical or mental disability stops people from doing a major life activity, such as walking, seeing, or hearing. The ADA says people with disabilities have… Continue Reading Getting Ready to File a Discrimination Complaint Based on Disability
Why Iowa Compass Rewrote Its Tip Sheets in Plain Language Iowa Compass is the state’s leading source of information on services and supports for Iowans with disabilities. The Compass database has thousands of records that guide people to disability-related services and programs. But Compass also has records called “tip sheets.” Tip sheets give people an… Continue Reading Making Complex Topics Easy to Understand
Assistive technology (AT) can help stop elopement or the wandering away of people with autism spectrum disorder. AT can be as simple as building a fence. It can be as complex as using GPS tags to locate someone who wanders away and gets lost. AT devices may be expensive. But there is funding support for… Continue Reading Funding Support for Anti-Elopement/Wandering Devices
What is crowdfunding? Crowd-sourced funding, best known as crowdfunding, is a new method of raising funds to support a cause or meet a need. This includes fundraising for personal causes or medical needs, such as buying assistive technology devices. Crowdfunding requires access to the Internet, using a computer or a smartphone. It relies on peer-to-peer… Continue Reading Using Crowdfunding to Buy Assistive Technology