Miami-Dade Home Safety Resources for Older Adults & Family Caregivers
Local programs, practical caregiver tools, home-repair resources and emergency-planning information to help families make an older adult’s home safer.
Whether you are trying to prevent another fall, make a bathroom easier to use, prepare a home before hospital discharge, find help with repairs, plan for hurricane season or figure out who to call first, start with the situation in front of you.
What do you need help with?
Make the home safer
Start with the everyday places where problems often show up first — bathrooms, stairs, entrances, walking paths, bedrooms, lighting and areas where an older adult transfers, turns or reaches for support.
Find help paying for repairs or modifications
Miami-Dade County and local organizations offer several programs that may help qualifying homeowners with home repairs, accessibility improvements, weatherization or other home modifications.
Prepare for hurricanes and power outages
For an older adult, emergency planning may also mean preparing medications, mobility equipment, electrically powered medical devices, transportation, caregiver communication and a safe place to go if remaining at home is no longer workable.
Find professional help for the home
If the work has moved beyond a family DIY project, take time to verify contractor credentials, understand which permitting authority applies to the home and get project details in writing.
Not sure where to start? Start with the Alliance for Aging.
The Alliance for Aging operates the Aging and Disability Resource Center serving Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
For caregivers who know help is needed but are not sure which program to call, the ADRC can be a useful first stop for information about aging services, community programs, long-term-care supports and available local resources.
The Elder Helpline can help families understand which options may be worth investigating based on the older adult’s situation.
Elder Helpline
Call the Elder Helpline at 305-670-4357 Or call toll-free 1-800-96-ELDERTap a number to call on a mobile phone.
Visit Alliance for Aging (opens in a new tab)Community Care for the Elderly
The Community Care for the Elderly program may provide community-based services to eligible adults age 60 and older who are functionally impaired. Depending on assessed needs and available services, support can include case management, homemaker assistance, transportation, personal care, specialized equipment and home improvement.
Eligibility is determined through assessment. Contact the Alliance for Aging ADRC to learn more.
Help Paying for Home Safety Changes in Miami-Dade
Home modifications can range from a relatively small safety change to a major repair. Miami-Dade families have several places worth investigating before assuming the entire cost must be paid privately.
Older Adults Home Modification Grant Program
Miami-Dade County lists an Older Adults Home Modification Grant Program designed to help qualifying older adults make changes that support safer aging at home.
The program is intended to improve safety and accessibility and reduce fall risk for qualifying older adults.
An older adult needs targeted safety or accessibility modifications but cost is a barrier.
SHIP Home Rehabilitation & Emergency Repair
Miami-Dade participates in Florida’s State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, program.
SHIP funding can support approved local strategies that include rehabilitation and emergency repairs for eligible households.
The home needs repairs affecting its condition, safety or continued use by the homeowner.
Home Rehabilitation Assistance
Miami-Dade home-rehabilitation resources may help eligible owner-occupants address significant housing problems, including repairs related to health, safety or code conditions.
Examples identified in County information include roofing, plumbing, electrical work and associated repairs.
The problem is larger than a single grab bar or small accessibility modification.
MDEAT Rehabilitation Assistance Program
The Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust Rehabilitation Assistance Program may provide forgivable rehabilitation assistance to qualifying low-to-moderate-income homeowners who need necessary home repairs.
A qualifying homeowner has substantial repair needs and needs a larger source of rehabilitation assistance.
Weatherization Assistance Program
Miami-Dade’s Weatherization Assistance Program helps qualifying low-income households improve household energy efficiency.
Depending on program rules and home assessment, work may involve insulation, weather-stripping, ventilation, certain doors or windows, water heating, refrigeration, heating or cooling systems.
For an older adult in South Florida, reliable cooling can also be an important part of remaining safely at home.
Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade
Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade is a nonprofit organization providing home repairs and modifications to eligible homeowners through programs such as Safe at Home.
Work may address health, safety and accessibility needs such as roofing, plumbing, electrical repairs and bathroom accessibility modifications.
Services depend on eligibility, funding and organizational capacity. Applying does not guarantee assistance.
Local repair programs can change.
Programs may open or close applications, develop waiting lists, receive new funding or restrict assistance to certain household or property circumstances. Always confirm current intake before relying on assistance.
Before You Hire Someone to Modify the Home
A contractor may be working in a familiar family home, but the project should still be treated like a professional construction project.
-
Check Miami-Dade contractor records
Miami-Dade County provides an online Contractor Inquiry and Complaint Search for contractor records.
-
Check Florida licensing
For contractors regulated by the State of Florida, use the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation license search.
-
Put the project in writing
Make sure the written agreement clearly identifies the work being performed, materials, costs, payment schedule, responsibilities and other agreed project details.
Permits: First Determine Where the Home Is Located
Unincorporated Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County handles permitting for properties within its permitting jurisdiction.
Inside a Municipality
Cities and municipalities within Miami-Dade generally have their own building officials and permitting processes.
That means a home in Miami, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Homestead, North Miami or another municipality may need to work with that city rather than Miami-Dade County for local permitting.
Permit requirements depend on the actual project. Caregiver Compass™ does not determine whether a particular ramp, bathroom modification, doorway change, electrical project or other improvement requires a permit. Confirm requirements with the building authority responsible for the property before work begins.
Miami-Dade Permitting Information (opens in a new tab)Hurricane & Emergency Planning for an Older Adult
A hurricane plan for an older adult needs to account for more than shutters and bottled water. Think about the care that has to keep working if transportation changes, electricity is interrupted or an evacuation becomes necessary.
- Medications
- Refrigerated medications
- Mobility equipment
- Medical equipment
- Power
- Transportation
- Caregiver communication
- Pets
- Evacuation
- Important records
Emergency & Evacuation Assistance Program
Miami-Dade’s Emergency & Evacuation Assistance Program, or EEAP, is designed for residents who may need specialized help during an evacuation or other emergency.
This can include residents who need specialized transportation or medical support and people who rely on life-sustaining medical equipment that depends on electricity.
Families should investigate the program before hurricane warnings begin.
Know the Home’s Storm Surge Planning Zone
Miami-Dade uses Storm Surge Planning Zones A through E.
These zones help emergency officials make evacuation decisions based on projected storm surge and are not the same thing as a property’s flood zone.
Miami-Dade Alerts
Miami-Dade Alerts can send emergency information about hurricanes, tropical storms and other public-safety threats.
Does Medical Equipment Depend on Electricity?
Power planning deserves its own conversation when an older adult relies on electrically powered medical equipment.
Florida Power & Light offers a Medically Essential Service program for residential customers whose electric service is considered medically essential and whose qualifying medical condition is certified by a Florida-licensed physician.
The program may provide additional notices and assistance-related information.
Enrollment does not guarantee uninterrupted electricity or priority restoration after a storm. Families still need backup equipment, backup power and an evacuation plan if the home cannot safely support the person during an outage.
Getting Around Miami-Dade
Special Transportation Service
Miami-Dade’s Special Transportation Service is its ADA complementary paratransit program for residents whose disability prevents them from independently using accessible fixed-route public transportation.
Eligibility must be established through the program.
Golden Passport
Permanent Miami-Dade residents age 65 and older, along with certain Social Security beneficiaries, may qualify for a Golden Passport EASY Card for free Miami-Dade Transit service.
Confirm current eligibility and application requirements directly with Miami-Dade Transit.
Planning a ride to a doctor’s appointment?
Use the Medical Appointment Transportation PlannerYour City May Have Additional Home-Repair Help
County programs are not always the only source of assistance.
Some Miami-Dade municipalities, community redevelopment agencies and locally funded programs periodically offer rehabilitation, emergency-repair, accessibility or housing-assistance programs of their own.
If the older adult lives within a city rather than unincorporated Miami-Dade, it may be worth checking the city’s housing, community-development or building department in addition to the county resources above.
Availability can change considerably from year to year.
Start With the Home, Not the Project
Before deciding what to buy or who to hire, take a fresh look at how the older adult actually moves through the home.
Aging Parent Home Safety Walkthrough
Walk through entrances, hallways, bathrooms, bedrooms, stairs and everyday living areas from the older adult’s point of view.
Fall Prevention Home Checklist
Look for common conditions that may make a familiar home more difficult to move through safely.
Home Safety After a Hospital Stay
A hospital discharge can change mobility, equipment needs, sleeping arrangements and how someone uses the home almost overnight.
Check whether the route from the car to the door, sleeping area, bathroom and essential living spaces will work before the person arrives home.
Severe Weather Planning
Organize medications, equipment, communication, transportation and backup plans before bad weather turns them into urgent problems.
Power Outage Planning
Plan for devices, medication refrigeration, charging, lighting, cooling, mobility support and caregiver communication before the electricity goes out.
Free Caregiver Compass™ Home Safety Printables
Sometimes it is easier to see the next step when the plan is on paper.
Home Safety Checklist
A room-by-room starting point for identifying areas that deserve a closer look.
Bathroom Safety Checklist
Use the bathroom checklist to look more closely at the tub or shower, toilet, flooring, lighting, transfers and the places where support may be needed.
Home Modification Planning Worksheets
For families who have moved from “something needs to change” to planning an actual project, Caregiver Compass™ includes worksheets for organizing modification priorities, bathroom changes, entrances, doorways, thresholds and larger aging-in-place projects.
Contractor & Estimate Planning Tools
Use planning tools to organize contractor questions, compare estimates and prepare for home-modification conversations.
Need Professional Help With Home Modifications?
Some home-safety problems can be handled with small household changes. Others need an experienced professional.
Caregiver Connect™ helps Miami-Dade families request additional information from our home-modification PREFERRED PROVIDER professional serving the area where the work will be performed.
North Miami-Dade
Representative communities
Aventura, Sunny Isles, North Miami Beach, North Miami, Miami Gardens, Hialeah, Miami Lakes
Central Miami-Dade
Representative communities
Miami Beach, Downtown Miami, Brickell, Little Havana, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Westchester, Pinecrest
South & West Miami-Dade
Representative communities
Doral, Sweetwater, Kendall, West Kendall, Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Homestead, Florida City
Caregiver Connect™ uses the older adult’s home ZIP code where the work will be performed to determine the appropriate Miami-Dade service territory.
Caregiver Connect™ does not replace a family’s own review of a contractor, project, permit requirements, contract terms or suitability for a particular job.
Request Caregiver Connect™ Preferred Provider Professional HelpMiami-Dade Home Safety FAQs
Where can I start if I do not know which Miami-Dade aging program I need?
The Alliance for Aging’s Aging and Disability Resource Center is a useful first contact. Its Elder Helpline provides information and referrals for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers and can help families understand available local programs and services.
Does Miami-Dade have assistance for home modifications for older adults?
Miami-Dade currently lists an Older Adults Home Modification Grant Program intended to provide qualifying older adults with safety and accessibility modifications. Other housing and rehabilitation programs may also help with certain repairs. Eligibility, available work, funding and application status vary, so confirm current details directly with the program.
Can Miami-Dade programs help pay for larger home repairs?
Potentially. Miami-Dade participates in SHIP and maintains other housing-rehabilitation resources that may support eligible repairs. MDEAT and nonprofit organizations such as Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade are also worth investigating. Each has separate requirements and funding limitations.
How do I check whether a contractor is licensed?
Miami-Dade provides a Contractor Inquiry and Complaint Search for county contractor records. Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation also provides a statewide license search for professions and contractors regulated by DBPR. Checking a license is one part of contractor due diligence and is not a guarantee of project quality.
Do I need a permit for a home modification in Miami-Dade?
It depends on the project and the property’s jurisdiction. Miami-Dade County handles permitting for properties within its jurisdiction, while incorporated municipalities generally have their own building officials and permitting processes. Confirm requirements for the actual property and proposed work with the appropriate building authority.
How can I prepare for evacuating an older adult who needs extra help?
Miami-Dade’s Emergency & Evacuation Assistance Program is designed for residents who may need specialized evacuation or emergency assistance. Families should investigate and register before an emergency occurs rather than waiting for an evacuation order.
What if an older adult depends on electric-powered medical equipment?
FPL’s Medically Essential Service may provide additional notices and resources for qualifying customers with physician-certified electricity-dependent medical needs. It does not guarantee uninterrupted service or priority restoration, so families still need a workable backup-power and evacuation plan.
Does Miami-Dade offer transportation for residents with disabilities?
Miami-Dade operates Special Transportation Service, its ADA complementary paratransit program, for eligible residents whose disabilities prevent independent use of accessible fixed-route public transportation. Eligibility and application requirements apply.
Can the city where my parent lives have programs different from Miami-Dade County programs?
Yes. Individual municipalities and local community-development organizations may offer separate home-repair or housing-assistance programs. Because local funding changes, check with the municipality where the property is located for current options.
Keep Going With Caregiver Compass™
A safer home is only one part of caregiving. Caregiver Compass™ brings together practical guides, checklists and tools for hospital discharge, medications, home safety, transportation, nutrition, doctor visits and the other situations families are trying to solve every day.