State Independent Living Council warns housing, workforce and case‑management gaps push people with disabilities into nursing homes

Mel Levitan, executive director of the Idaho State Independent Living Council, told the Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee that shortages of accessible housing, a lack of direct support professionals and limited case‑management services are contributing to younger people entering nursing homes and to people remaining institutionalized longer than necessary.

The council — a volunteer body that coordinates with Idaho’s three regional centers for independent living and state agencies — presented findings from its statewide needs assessment and its current three‑year state plan, and highlighted concerns raised in a Department of Justice report dated Jan. 16, 2025. Levitan said the average annual cost figures in the DOJ report show that home and community‑based services (HCBS) typically cost less than $20,000 per year, while a nursing home stay averages about $85,800 annually, underscoring both fiscal and community impacts.

Levitan framed the council’s…