Top Used Terms

1. HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES (HCBS): The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fund services for people with disabilities that aren’t within an institution or facility and are defined as home and community-based services (HCBS) programs. These include residential supports, employment programs, community services, and other programs funded by CMS to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
2. AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI): Income thresholds that are set relative to the area median income, eg, 20% AMI, 50%, 80% AMI—to identify household eligibility in income-restricted housing units. AMI is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution–half of families in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median.
3. DISABILITY-FORWARD: We center on the perspective of people with disabilities and the recognition of designing spaces, policies, and programs for disability access and inclusion to advance opportunities for everyone. Disability-forward recognizes disability as an identity that is valued and visible, and creates spaces where people of all identities are seen, welcomed, and supported. The Kelsey advances inclusion and creates access not to solve or dilute disability, but to include and embrace it.
4. ABLEISM: Prejudice or discrimination against people with any type of disability. Ableism continues a set of beliefs that devalue people with disabilities and practices that attempt take away peoples’ ability to make their own choices about their lives. Ableism categorizes people with disabilities as inferior to non-disabled people or implies that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other.
5. MIXED-INCOME HOUSING: Housing that provides options to people at multiple levels of AMI.
6. AMERICAN’S WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): A civil rights law that doesn’t allow for discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including schools, transportation, jobs, and all private and public open to the general public. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.
7. OLMSTEAD: A Supreme Court ruling where Olmstead v. LC, commonly referenced as “Olmstead,” a 1999 United States Supreme Court ruling where the segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ruling included two statements on the dangers of institutional living: 1) “institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable of or unworthy of participating in community life” and 2) “confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.”
8. LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT (LIHTC): Federal funds provided to states that subsidize the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income tenants.

 Disability Terms and Language

1. ABLEISM: Prejudice or discrimination against people with any type of disability. Ableism continues a set of beliefs that devalue people with disabilities and practices that attempt to take away peoples’ ability to make their own choices about their lives. Ableism categorizes people with disabilities as inferior to non-disabled people or implies that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other.

2.  AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): A civil rights law that doesn’t allow for discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including schools, transportation, jobs, and all private and public open to the general public. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.
3. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY: A term that refers to a significant and chronic disability that is attributable to a mental or physical impairment that begins before an individual reaches’ adulthood. These disabilities include but are not limited to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, epilepsy, autism, and other disabilities closely related to or requiring similar treatment.
4. DISABILITY: A term that is part of human diversity, like any other aspect of a person’s identity, such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion. Disability does not change the right of individuals with disabilities to live independently or in a community, enjoy self-determination, make choices, be included in and belong in society, and experience inclusion in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational areas of society.
5. HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES (HCBS) SETTINGS RULE: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fund services for people with disabilities that aren’t within an institution or facility and are defined as home and community-based services (HCBS) programs. These include residential supports, employment programs, community services, and other programs funded by CMS to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The HCBS settings rule was passed in 2014 to ensure programs delivered are actually being done so in a community based, non-institutional way. Sometimes referred to as “the settings rule”, it outlined requirements for programs to not segregate or isolate people with disabilities, support full choices and control among those served, and ensure people with disabilities have access to the broader community beyond disability-specific settings. States have to create plans to ensure all their HCBS programs are compliant with the new rules by 2022. 
6. INCLUSION: A term that represents people with disabilities are free of physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers that hamper an individual’s ability to have full participation in society. This involves getting fair treatment from others (nondiscrimination), making products, communications, and a physical environment that provides Access, Choice and Care (see Together We Can Do More Report) that is usable by as many people as possible. This also includes modifying items, procedures, or systems to enable a person with a disability to use them to the maximum extent possible (reasonable accommodations), eliminating the belief that people with disabilities are unhealthy or less capable of doing things (stigma, stereotypes).  
7. IDENTITY FIRST LANGUAGE: A term that refers to someone as a disabled person versus a person with a disability, or an autistic person, versus a person with autism. When speaking to or about individuals, always use the language they personally use and prefer (see Person First Language).
8. MEDICAID: A primary funding source for in-home supportive services or other health, services, medical needs, or care needs of individuals with disabilities.  Medicaid is an “entitlement”. That means if someone is found to be eligible for Medicaid, then that person must receive Medicaid services. An important Medicaid waiver is the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver which provides opportunities for Medicaid beneficiaries to receive services in their own home or community rather than institutions or other isolated settings. (CMS)
9. OLMSTEAD: A Supreme Court ruling where Olmstead v. LC, commonly referenced as “Olmstead,” a 1999 United States Supreme Court ruling where the segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ruling included two statements on the dangers of institutional living: 1) “institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable of or unworthy of participating in community life” and 2) “confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.”
10. PERSON FIRST LANGUAGE: A term that refers to someone as a person with a disability versus a disabled person, or a person with autism, versus an autistic person. When speaking to or about individuals, always use the language they personally use and prefer (see Identity First Language).
11. SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI): A federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes). It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income by providing cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. It is a $763 per month benefit. 

California Specific Disability Terms

1. CALIFORNIA STATE COUNCIL ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (SCDD): An independent state agency established by state and federal law to ensure that people with developmental disabilities and their families receive the services and supports they need.

2. DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES (DDS): An agency through which the State of California provides supports and services to individuals with developmental disabilities. These disabilities include intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and related conditions. Services are provided through state-operated developmental centers and community facilities, and contracts with 21 nonprofit regional centers. 

3. INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES (ILS): Services funded through regional centers and other direct services providers that facilitate independent living for individuals with disabilities. 

4. THE LANTERMAN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES ACT: A California law that gives individuals with disabilities the right to services and supports that enable them to live independent lives. The act declares that persons with developmental disabilities have the same legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed to all other people by state and federal laws and charges the regional center system with the advocacy for and protection of these rights.

5. REGIONAL CENTER SYSTEM: A nonprofit private corporation that contracts with the Department of Developmental Services to provide or coordinate services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. They have offices throughout California to provide local resources to help find and access supports available to individuals and their families. 

6. THE SELF DETERMINATION PROGRAM: A program that provides each regional center client and their family more control over selecting their services and supports. Participants may pick their services and pick which providers deliver these services while staying within their annual budget. 

7. SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICES (SLS): A broad range of services available to adults with developmental disabilities who, through the Individual Program Plan (IPP) process, choose to live in homes or apartments they themselves lease or occupy in the community. To be eligible for SLS, an individual must lease or occupy their own home or apartment.

Affordable Housing Terms and Language

1. AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A type of housing that is generally considered affordable if the household pays 30% or less of their gross income (before taxes are taken out) towards rent/mortgage payments. 
2. AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI): Income thresholds that are set relative to the area median income, eg, 20% AMI, 50%, 80% AMI—to identify household eligibility in income-restricted housing units. AMI is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution–half of the families in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median. 
3. BALANCE SHEET: A document that shows project-based loans, financial resources, or future financial resources that are connected to one particular project, that represent how the project is financially feasible.
4. BELOW MARKET RATE (BMR): Single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, or apartments that are sold at below market-rate prices to income-qualified families or individuals.
5. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (CDC): An entrepreneurial nonprofit institution that combines public and private resources to aid in the development of affordable homes in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. 
6. DENSITY: A level of concentration (high or low) of buildings, including their total volume, within a given area. Often expressed as a ratio, i.e. homes per acre.
7. DISPLACEMENT: A direct or physical displacement occurs when existing homes are torn down to make room for new buildings and tenants are forced to leave their homes and neighborhood. Indirect or economic displacement occurs when new development causes rents to increase, forcing people to move when they can’t afford the higher rents. 
8. EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME (ELI): A person or household with income below 30% of Area Median Income, adjusted for household size. 
9. FAIR MARKET RENT (FMR): A rental rate set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), that represents the estimated monthly rent for a modest apartment. FMRs determine the eligibility of rental housing units for the Section 8 program and serve as the payment standard used to calculate subsidies under the Rental Voucher program. 
10. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER / SECTION 8 PROGRAM: A federal rent-subsidy program under Section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act, which issues rent vouchers to eligible households. The voucher payment subsidizes the difference between the gross rent and the tenant’s contribution of 30% of adjusted income, (or 10% of gross income, whichever is greater). Recent Bay Area media stories have covered the discrimination that Section 8 voucher holders have faced while searching for housing. 
11. HOUSING IMPACT FEE: A per square foot fee charged to market-rate housing to build affordable homes. The fees are based on the idea that every person who moves into a market-rate home has a need for services typically provided by employees who need affordable housing. 
12. INFILL DEVELOPMENT: A strategy for accommodating growth through greater density and efficiency in land use development within existing urban boundaries. 
13. LAND VALUE RECAPTURE: A portion of the increased property value in the form of public benefits like affordable housing, instead of profits going completely to landowners. 
14. LOW INCOME: A person or household with gross household income below 60% Area Median Income, or 80% Area Median Income (depending on program eligibility requirements) adjusted according to household size. 
15. MARKET-RATE HOUSING: A type of housing built by for-profit developers with private capital for people above 120% Area Median Income, adjusted for household size. 
16. MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT: A mixed-use development might include retail space on the ground floor, offices on the middle floor, condominiums on the top floors, and a garage on the lower level. This plan is integrated and combines multiple revenue sources.
17. MODERATE INCOME: A person or household with gross household income between 80% and 120% of Area Median Income, adjusted for household size. This housing, also called Work Force Housing, is typically built by for-profit developers in exchange for incentives offered by local jurisdictions (density bonuses, etc.).
18. NIMBY (NOT IN MY BACK YARD): A neighborhood group that opposes low-income homes built near their own homes. 
19. PUBLIC BENEFITS ZONING: A set of policies that require developers to provide public benefits, such as affordable housing, especially in areas where the public sector has invested in transportation and infrastructure, or where regulations have been modified to provide more benefits to developers. 
20. PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES: Local government agencies that are authorized to manage housing for very low and extremely low-income households, either as public housing, through Section 8 vouchers, or with other types of affordable housing. Generally, households pay no more than 30% of their income for rent and the remainder is subsidized by the Federal government through HUD. 
21. RENT STABILIZATION: A set of policies and laws that prevent landlords from charging tenants large rent increases. Under California law, there is no limit on how much a landlord can charge a new tenant, but once the tenant moves in, future rent increases can be regulated. In California, rent stabilization does not apply to new apartments built after 1995 and it does not apply to single-family homes. 
22. SEVERE HOUSING COST BURDEN: A household that spends 50% or more of it’s income on housing costs. 
23. TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD): A type of mixed-use housing development close to public transit such as BART, frequent bus lines, etc. TOD is usually within 1/4 to 1/2 mile of a transit station or major bus line. 
24. VERY LOW-INCOME (VLI): A person or household whose gross household income does not exceed 50% of Area Median Income, adjusted for household size. 

California Specific Housing Terms

1. DENSITY BONUS: A percentage increase in the number of homes allowed for a particular site, beyond the maximum allowed per local zoning ordinances used to benefit the developer to include affordable homes. In California, the State Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code 65915), enacted in 1979, requires cities and counties to offer density bonuses, incentives and waivers to housing developments that include a certain percentage of homes affordable to low- or very low-income households.
2. INCLUSIONARY ZONING: A requirement that developers of new housing include a certain percentage of below-market-rate homes. Inclusionary Zoning is local law and each city that passes this law decides how many units must be affordable, and what price is considered affordable. Often developers can pay the city an “in-lieu fee” instead of including affordable units, which allows the city to use the money to build new affordable homes. 
3. MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROGRAM (MHP): A program that grants state funds, administered by California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to lower development costs. 
4. PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT AREAS (PDAS): An area designated by cities and approved by the Association of Bay Area Government, as places where new growth (housing, jobs) should be concentrated. PDAs must meet certain requirements, including location close to transit. PDAs are supposed to be “complete communities” with housing, shopping, and services accessible by bike and walking and homes for a range of economic levels. 
5. REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT (RHNA): An assessment by the  Association of Bay Area Government (ABAG) that produces regional, sub-regional and local targets for the amount and type of homes needed over a seven-year period, based on new growth. RHNA takes into account anticipated housing demand generated by employment growth and population increase, however, is not enforceable, which has led to the Bay Area vastly under-producing housing for lower-income individuals and families. RHNA also does not take into account prior unmet housing needs, which leads to the Bay Area falling farther and farther into a housing deficit.
6. SB-35: A 2017 California law that intends to address housing affordability by expediting approvals for certain new housing projects in jurisdictions that are not meeting their housing needs. Each region’s housing need is determined every five to eight years through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. Once the need is determined, cities and counties must show that they have zoned enough land for housing to accommodate families and individuals at all income levels. 

Finance Terms and Language

1. ASSET: A business finance term that is anything that has value—for housing, this is the building—and since it is owned by the business it’s considered an asset.

2. BALANCE SHEET: A financial statement that provides a snapshot of what an organization/company owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by others.

3. CASH FLOW: Cash flows represent the projected rents received from all units of development minus the expected vacancy rate. Every business needs cash to operate, including housing projects.

4. CONSTRUCTION FINANCING: A low-cost construction loan(s) can reduce interest costs by hundreds or thousands of dollars per unit. In rental projects, typically one-third of the equity is advanced for construction, further reducing interest carry costs. Grant financing is less commonly used, mainly for the construction of public housing, housing for the elderly and homeless or home repairs for the poor.
5. INTEREST RATE: A market interest rate is the percentage of principal charged by the lender for the use of its money. Reduced interest rates are administered by a government agency or by a government grant to a lending bank, on a loan taken out.
6. LIEN: A creditor’s possession of property, belonging to another person, until a debt owed by that person is discharged. 
7. LOAN-TO-VALUE: A ratio of the fair market value of an asset compared to the amount of the loan that will fund it. This is another important number for lenders who need to know if the value of the asset will cover the loan repayment if your business fails to pay.
8. LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT (LIHTC): A program for nonprofit and for-profit developers to promote the construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing by allowing the project owner tax credits of 40 to 90 percent of the value of residential rental property over ten years if the owner agrees to keep rents and tenant incomes below certain levels.
9. PRE-DEVELOPMENT FINANCING: A list of grants and low-cost loans frequently funding early, high-risk expenses such as option fees or site engineering—particularly for nonprofit sponsors that do not have their own pools of venture capital.
10. PROFORMA: A set of calculations, generally in excel, that estimates the total cost to develop a housing project, the subsidies it can receive, and the rents that will be paid by tenants. It gives the best picture of whether a project can be built at all because if construction and other upfront costs cannot be financed (or paid in advance), a project will never be built.
11. RENT SUBSIDIES AND OPERATING SUBSIDIES: A subsidy that makes it possible to build affordable housing by providing an amount of money, usually by the government or a public body, that makes it possible for residents to live affordably. 
12. STATE BONDS: A type of bond that is purchased to assist developers of multifamily rental housing units to acquire land and construct new units or purchase and rehabilitate existing units. This tax-exempt bond lowers the interest rate paid by the developers.

Acronyms

• ADA:  Americans With Disabilities Act
• AMI: Area Median Income
• CMS:  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• DDS: Department of Developmental Services
• ELI: Extremely Low-Income
• HCBS: Home & Community Based Services
• LIHTC: Low Income Housing Tax Credit
• NIMBY: Not In My Backyard
• SSI: Supplemental Security Income
• VLI: Very Low-Income  
• YIMBY: Yes In My Backyard

Words We Use at The Kelsey

• DISABILITY-FORWARD: We center on the perspective of people with disabilities and the recognition of designing spaces, policies, and programs for disability access and inclusion to advance opportunities for everyone. Disability-forward recognizes disability as an identity that is valued and visible, and creates spaces where people of all identities are seen, welcomed, and supported. The Kelsey advances inclusion and creates access not to solve or dilute disability, but to include and embrace it.
• INCLUSION CONCIERGE: The Kelsey’s signature Inclusion Concierge™️ in a test market for application and adaptation to additional housing communities throughout the Bay Area. They are the community builder for all residents and coordinate supports and services for people with disabilities.
• INCLUSION HOUR: Inclusion Hours are one way we do that, by bringing together people with and without disabilities of all backgrounds, incomes, and identities to build community and connect. They’ll be regularly scheduled programs in all our communities once operational, and they happen both in person and virtually. All events include live captioning; ASL or other specific access accommodations are provided on request.

Conclusion

Sources

1. “Making it Pencil: The Math Behind Housing Development” UC Berkeley Terner Center
2. “Financing Mechanisms for Affordable Housing” Enterprise Community
3. “Qualified Residential Rental Program (QRRP)” California Debt Limit Allocation Committee
4. “Accessing Home and Community-Based Services: A Guide for Self-Advocates” Autistic Self Advocacy Network
5. “Getting and Advocating for Community-Based Housing” Autistic Self Advocacy Network
6. “Affordable Housing Glossary” Nonprofit Housing
7. “Together We Can Do More Report” The Kelsey