Group Residential Housing (GRH)
The Group Residential Housing (GRH) program pays for room and board for seniors and adults with disabilities who have low incomes. The program aims to reduce and prevent people from living in institutions or becoming homeless. There are more than 5,765 licensed or registered settings that qualify as group residential housing. About 4,260 of those are adult foster care homes. Others include board and lodging facilities, supervised living facilities, noncertified boarding care homes, housing with additional services establishments and other assisted living settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Asset Limit
Difficulty of Care
Earned Income and Six-Month Reporting
Food
Habitability Inspection
Interim Assistance Agreements and Applying for Other Benefits
Private Pay Residents in a GRH-authorized Setting
Professional Statement of Need
Spousal Allocation
Temporary Absence
Asset Limit
If a person is over assets for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), are they still eligible for Group Residential Housing (GRH)?
Yes, if they are under the GRH asset limit of $10,000. However, the federal SSI asset limit remains $2,000, and it may not be in the person’s best interest to lose SSI benefits, especially if they intend to transition off of GRH in the future.
Difficulty of Care
Can individuals in Adult Foster Care receive Group Residential Housing (GRH) Difficulty of Care (DOC) services and waiver services?
No, individuals cannot receive DOC and waiver services at the same time.
How often does eligibility for a Group Residential Housing (GRH) Difficulty of Care (DOC) payment need to be reviewed and approved?
Eligibility for DOC services must be reviewed and approved annually, along with the person’s eligibility for GRH room and board.
Earned Income and Six-Month Reporting
Are financial workers required to pre-pay all Group Residential Housing (GRH) payments unless the stay is expected to be 30 days or less?
No, the only time pre-payment is required is when the client has earned income of over $100 (making them a six-month reporter) and is expected to be in the setting for more than 30 days.
A Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient lives in a post-pay setting (because the county is choosing to do that). He starts working but leaves the GRH setting before submitting any documentation of earnings. How should the GRH budget be calculated for the month?
If the amount of earned income is not available and the person has disappeared, use the budget from the previous month.
If a Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient is working and starts a second job during the six-month budget period for GRH, does the new income get added into the budget?
No, while new income may be known to the agency due to reporting for other programs, it must not change the income projection or the GRH budget. If it continues, it must be considered at the next six-month report.
Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient is working and is a six-month reporter. The client obligation is $500/month. Recipient’s job ends and they will not have $500 to pay the GRH vendor for the month. Should the financial worker go back and adjust the budget?
No, the provider should work out a plan with the client to repay as they are able with earned income or assets if needed. This is an allowable expense for “pooled funds” for GRH vendors serving clients in community GRH settings ( GRH vendors in group settings already pool funds for residents in their settings and may adjust program budgets within allowable expenses.
Can an income reduction be used for a Rep Payee Fee and a Guardian and Conservator Fee in the same Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient’s budget?
Yes, allow for both deductions in the Prior Income Reduction field if there is documentation on file that both are ongoing.
Food
Does Group Residential Housing (GRH) pay for both raw food costs and food preparation and service if a person is on a waiver?
No, if a person is on a waiver and the waiver funding covers food preparation and service of the food, GRH funding is used to pay for the raw food. If the waiver does not pay for the preparation and service of the food, then the GRH vendor must cover those in addition to raw food.
Habitability Inspection
How often does the Habitability Inspection Form need to be completed?
A Habitability Inspection Form is only required for residents of Group Residential Housing (GRH) Long-term Homeless Supportive Housing at initial application and with every change in residence. For example, if a GRH recipient moved from 212 Thompson Avenue to 212 Jefferson Avenue, a new form would be needed at each address.
How long is the Habitability Inspection Form valid?
The form is valid as long as the Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient receives GRH benefits in the unit.
Interim Assistance Agreements and Applying for Other Benefits
Are Interim Assistance Agreements (IAAs) required of all applicants for General Assistance (GA) and Group Residential Housing (GRH)?
No, but it is required that all applicants who are not receiving Social Security benefits must sign IAAs. And, only applicants who appear to be eligible for “other maintenance benefits” must be referred to apply for other benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), or Medical Assistance (MA).
A PBEN panel does not need to be completed for every person applying for GA or GRH. Only complete a PBEN panel for applicants who appear to be eligible for “other maintenance benefits”. Case note IAAs on file for applicants who do not appear to be eligible for “other maintenance benefits” and do not complete a PBEN panel. Individuals are not required to apply for “Other Maintenance Benefits” before GA or GRH is approved.
If the Interim Assistance Agreement (IAA) is not received within 30 days of application, does General Assistance (GA) and Group Residential Housing (GRH) need to close?
Yes, and allow 10 days’ notice.
If an Interim Assistance Agreement (IAA) is submitted with applicant’s signature dated more than 30 days prior to the Combined Application Form (CAF) date, is the IAA still valid (i.e., client signed 07/01/16, Combined Application Form dated 09/27/16)?
No, enter the IAA signed on 07/01/16 but request a new IAA. IAA must be entered into MAXIS within 30 days of applicant’s signature.
On STAT/PBEN panel, what can be left blank and what gets a STAT edit?
Only enter a PBEN panel for recipients who are referred to apply for “Other Maintenance Benefits”. Leave APPL date blank until the recipient actually applies for other benefits. After 30 days there will be a STAT edit that the recipient needed to apply for Social Security benefits. Check in with the recipient and verify they have applied. If not, check for good cause or close with 10 day notice.
Private Pay Residents in a GRH-authorized Setting
Can a Group Residential Housing (GRH) provider charge non-GRH recipients (i.e., private pay residents on a waiver spenddown) for electricity?
GRH policy has no jurisdiction over private pay residents. GRH policies can only address issues involving people receiving the GRH income supplement.
Professional Statement of Need
Can the Professional Statement of Need (PSN) be used to establish a basis of eligibility for General Assistance (GA) for people in Group Residential Housing (GRH) settings that only receive room and board, or is it only used for those also getting GRH supplemental services?
Yes, the PSN can be used to meet a GA basis of eligibility for individuals in any GRH setting. A PSN is also required for individuals to receive GRH supplemental services, regardless of the setting type.
When a person leaves a Group Residential Housing (GRH) setting, is the Professional Statement of Need (PSN) valid to establish a General Assistance (GA) basis of eligibility using the GA community standard?
No, a PSN can only be used to establish a GA basis of eligibility for people residing in a GRH setting.
The financial worker has a Professional Statement of Need (PSN) that says services are needed but Medical Opinion Form (MOF) says the applicant can work, and applicant has no income. Does the applicant have a basis of eligibility for both General Assistance (GA) and Group Residential Housing (GRH) while residing in the GRH setting?
Yes, if one of the forms verifies a basis of eligibility, it must be used, as long as it is not considered fraudulent. However, GA and GRH only require one form to verify disability as a basis of eligibility. Individuals are not required to submit both a MOF and a PSN.
If a Professional Statement of Need (PSN) is completed by a qualified professional and it states the applicant will be ill or incapacitated for three to six months, how long is the form valid?
If the PSN states three to six months, the form is valid for six months. If “other” is checked but no length of time is indicated, the form is valid for one year.
If a Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient has a Professional Statement of Need (PSN) completed for one GRH setting, but moves to another GRH setting, do they need a new PSN? No, the PSN is valid for one year unless the professional indicates a shorter time (see Q4). For example, if the PSN is completed in January, and the recipient is in a GRH setting from January to June, but not in a GRH setting for June and July, and goes into another GRH setting in August, the January PSN is still valid unless the form specifically stated a shorter time.
If a person’s disability is certified by the State Medical Review Team (SMRT), do they also need a Medical Opinion Form (MOF) for General Assistance (GA) or Group Residential Housing (GRH)?
No, SMRT certification can be used to verify a person’s disability for both GA and GRH.
Spousal Allocation
Is spousal allocation a deduction in the Group Residential Housing (GRH) budget?
Yes, deduct the amount of spousal allocation that is determined by the Elderly Waiver (EW) program if the allocation is actually paid to the spouse. For all other clients, there are no provisions.
Temporary Absence
If a Group Residential Housing (GRH) recipient is absent 18 days from a GRH setting, does the GRH vendor receive payment for those days?
Yes, the GRH vendor must continue to receive payments if absence was due to crisis, illness or injury (i.e., jail, treatment, hospital), or if prior agency approval was given for non-crisis/illness/injury reasons.
If the GRH payment continues for a full 18 days for an absence and the GRH recipient does not return by the 19th day, then GRH payment may be suspended (made post-pay) until resident returns or GRH is terminated. It is not required that the GRH case be closed. The GRH payment may be suspended up to 2 months. If the recipient wants to return to the residence after an absence that exceeds 18 days, the GRH vendor and recipient must negotiate payment for days that the GRH payment does not cover.
Questions or Feedback?
Please email the GRH team at DHS at
Common Auditing Errors
- Missing documents/verifications
a)ID
- Overpayments not being sited
- Earned income not verified
a)No TKL to close if not returned
b)Approving case without verification
- Earned income not calculated correctly
- Not coding IMIG correctly for clients applying for SSN
- Assets not entered correctly
a)Not updated when new info is received
b)Even if excluded should be updated
- Not referring clients to apply for other maintenance benefits
- No end date on DISA
- No client signature on PSN
- Allowing payee fee without verification
- Approving wrong GRH amount.