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Act 1230 of
2001 authorized the creation of Assisted Living in
Arkansas. Prior to Act 1230, Assisted Living was not mentioned in
Arkansas law or regulation. This act created, within the Department
of Human Services (DHS), an Assisted Living Program for the State of
Arkansas. A copy of Act 1230 can be obtained at http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/.
To provide Assisted
Living in Arkansas, one must:
- Obtain a Permit of
Approval from the Arkansas Health Service Permit Agency,
and
- Obtain a License
from the AR Department of Human Services Office of Long Term
Care.
The Arkansas Health
Service Permit Agency has adopted an interim methodology for a
one-year period. For information on how to apply for a Permit of
Approval contact the:
Arkansas Health Services Permit
Agency
Freeway Medical Tower
5800 West 10th, Suite
805
Little Rock, AR 72204
http://www.arhspa.org/
The
Arkansas Department of Human Services (ADH) has issued Regulations
for Assisted Living. DHS promulgated the regulations
in accordance with the Arkansas Administrative Review Process, which
included a 30-day public comment period.
The Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation and NCB Development Corporation selected
Arkansas as one of nine states to participate in the Coming Home
Program. Coming Home seeks to develop affordable assisted living for
low to moderate-income individuals.
There are
links on this website that provide extensive information on the
Coming Home Project and financing opportunities. [see
Essential
Links]
The Coming
Home program seeks to create models of assisted living that will
serve low-income seniors including those on Medicaid, ie those with
incomes of $545 per month. With that in mind, the goal of Coming
Home projects is to reduce the shelter payment to about $350-$400
per month, with services funded through Medicaid.
Building an
assisted living facility with rents in the $350-$400 per month range
is indeed a challenging undertaking. It often requires the use of
public financing mechanisms such as tax credits, HOME funds, bonds,
Federal Home Loan Bank assistance, and other programs. Often these
must be combined or "layered." The Arkansas Development Finance
Authority has a set-a-side for affordable assisted living. Their Web
page provides information on how to apply for tax credits and HOME
funding.
A major
barrier to developing affordable assisted living has been a lack of
technical assistance and availability of capital. The Coming Home
Program seeks to rectify this situation by providing technical
assistance and access to an $8 million revolving loan fund for
predevelopment costs. For more information predevelopment funds see
the Term
Sheet and Predevelopment
Application. | 
