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Author(s)
Anne Roux, Kyle Chvasta, Dylan Cooper, Conner Carlton, Mi-Yeet Wong, Lindsay Shea
Published Online: February 2026
Topics
Housing services and supports
Type
In-depth Report
Data Source
Linked Medicaid claims and HUD data
# Pages
22
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In 2014, a total of 1,642 Philadelphians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) received housing assistance from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program. In 2016, this number declined by 15% to 1,395.
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Most Philadelphians with IDD who lived in HUD-assisted households were children, predominantly Black or African American boys aged 6–12.
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Over three-fourths of HUD-assisted households with a person with IDD had extremely low incomes (below 30% of the local area median income, as defined by HUD for that year, according to the number of household members).
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A little less than half of Philadelphians with IDD who lived in HUD-assisted households used the Housing Choice Voucher program for rent assistance, and another third lived in public housing.
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This report examined how Philadelphia households that included people with IDD used HUD assistance during 2014-2016.
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We defined IDD as individuals with autism spectrum disorder (autism), intellectual disability (ID), or both.
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We provided counts and characteristics of people with autism and/or intellectual disability who were enrolled in Medicaid and using HUD assistance.
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We used this information to determine recommendations for better meeting housing assistance needs within this group.
Authors
Anne Roux, Kyle Chvasta, Dylan Cooper, Conner Carlton, Mi-Yeet Wong, Lindsay Shea
Data Analysis
Wei-Lin Lee
Graphic Design
Chisa Merriweather
This report was produced by the Philadelphia Autism Project, in conjunction with the Policy Impact Project. Both projects are housed at the Policy and Analytics Center in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University.
©2026 Drexel University and the authors. All rights reserved. The publication may be copied and disseminated without change in part or whole if appropriate acknowledgement and citation is given.