Shortly after the ruling in Olmstead , on February 1, 2001, President Bush announced the "New Freedom Initiative," an effort through multiple federal agencies, in cooperation with the states, to ensure full participation in society of persons with disabilities. Part of the New Freedom Initiative was an executive order implementing the Olmstead decision to ensure that all people with disabilities, not just those with mental illnesses, benefit from community-based treatment. The federal government makes funds available to finance subsidized rental housing for persons with disabilities primarily through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Over the years, a number of other HUD programs have been used to fund housing units dedicated to persons with disabilities, and many of those units are still in service. Federal block grant programs—the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships program—have also been a source of funds used by states and local communities to develop and rehabilitate housing for persons with disabilities. In addition, prior to creation of the Section 811 program, the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program set aside units for persons with disabilities. The Definition in Other HUD Programs

The definition of the term "person with disabilities" in the Section 811 program differs somewhat from the definition for both the tenant- and project-based Section 8 programs (referred to here by the blanket term "Section 8") and the Public Housing program, which are defined together in the same statute and regulation, and properties developed under the Section 202 loan program, which is found in regulation. Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program

The Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program is administered by HUD and funds permanent supportive housing for very low-income persons with disabilities (those with family income at or below 50% of area median income). To the extent that Congress may still appropriate new capital grants for Section 811, P.L. Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Program

As part of P.L. 111-374 , enacted at the end of the 111 th Congress, the Section 811 program was changed to allow rental assistance funds to be used to assist multifamily housing units developed using other, non-Section 811 sources of funding such as LIHTCs, HOME, or other public or private sources. The Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act ( P.L. Other HUD Housing Designated for Persons with Disabilities

While the Section 811 program is dedicated solely to persons with disabilities, HUD also funds housing for persons with disabilities through programs that serve all tenant populations, but that also give project owners the ability to designate buildings to special populations, including elderly persons and persons with disabilities. In addition to housing historically provided through the Section 202 program (described in the "Evolution of Section 811" section of this report), property owners that participate in the project-based Section 8 rental assistance program and Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) that administer the Public Housing program may choose to designate buildings specifically for elderly residents and residents with disabilities together (sometimes referred to as "mixed population" developments) or for residents with disabilities alone. Since then, persons with disabilities have lived in public housing facilities designated for elderly residents (defined as households where one or more person is age 62 or older). 111-374 was funding for Section 811 rental assistance only (i.e., not provided in conjunction with Section 811 capital grants), called the Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program. Using Section 811 Capital Grants with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

Financing affordable housing, including housing for persons with disabilities, may require multiple streams of funding in order to support the design, construction, and ongoing operating costs of a project.
The ability of persons with disabilities to live independently in affordable, accessible housing became a prominent issue starting in 1999 as the result of a Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C. The court held that institutionalization of persons with mental disabilities in lieu of community-based care may constitute discrimination. Shortly after the Olmstead decision, on February 1, 2001, President George W. Bush announced the New Freedom Initiative, an effort through multiple federal agencies to ensure full participation in society of persons with disabilities. Part of the New Freedom Initiative was Executive Order 13217, which implemented the Olmstead decision by ensuring (among other things) that all people with disabilities, not just those with mental illness, benefit from community-based treatment.
In order to ensure that persons with disabilities may live in community settings rather than in institutions, affordable and accessible housing is necessary. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operates a number of programs that provide housing for persons with disabilities in various ways. The Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program is authorized to provide capital grants and project rental assistance to nonprofit developers of housing targeted specifically to persons with disabilities. Prior to creation of Section 811, persons with disabilities lived together with elderly residents (defined by HUD as households with one or more adults age 62 or older) in developments funded through the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program.
The project-based Section 8 and Public Housing programs give project owners the option of dedicating facilities to elderly residents, residents with disabilities, or both populations together. Over the years, both the Section 811 and the tenant-based Section 8 programs have set aside housing vouchers for persons with disabilities. And two HUD block grant programs—HOME and the Community Development Block Grant—may be used by states and communities to construct or rehabilitate housing for persons with disabilities. In addition to these HUD programs, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), administered by the Internal Revenue Service, may be used by states to target housing to special needs populations, including persons with disabilities. The LIHTC may be used in conjunction with HUD grants, including capital grants through the Section 811 program.
Congress has not appropriated capital funds for new Section 811 units since FY2011. In FY2012 through FY2014, Congress made Section 811 rental assistance funds available to be used in conjunction with capital funding from other sources (such as LIHTCs and HOME funds) rather than Section 811 capital grants, which were not appropriated. This use of rental assistance was authorized as part of the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act (P.L. 111-374), and is referred to by HUD as the Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Program. P.L. 111-374 instituted other changes to the Section 811 program: authorizing that the source of funding for Section 811 tenant-based rental assistance be converted to the Section 8 program; decreasing the concentration of housing units for persons with disabilities by limiting the units in multifamily housing dedicated to persons with disabilities to 25% of the total; and delegating the processing of mixed finance developments to state housing finance agencies.