Who deserves to be housed? A study of the effect of legislation on the tenants and managers of public housing for the elderly

This study had two aims for understanding the impact that legislative decisions and policy actions have had on the mixing of elderly and non-elderly persons with disabilities within the same publicly funded housing sites. The first aim was to develop an understanding of how legislation is used to address social policy problems and the second study aim was to explore the impact of legislative changes both on those who are charged with interpreting legislation and carrying out policy directives and those who are dependent upon the implementation of a policy or program. Examined within an historical framework of housing policy decisions, the study offers policy makers an opportunity to understand better how changing the rules affects the fives of both the individuals dependent upon a resource and those who have responsibility for managing the resource.;Multiple sources of data were used to support this research, including a review of relevant literature and legislation (with implications for publicly funded housing for the elderly), in-depth interviews, and a survey of public housing authorities. Research methods combined both qualitative and quantitative techniques.;The study findings reveal not only tremendous role-conflict for public housing managers but significant conflict and unlimited ambiguity both within and between individual pieces of legislation. Contributing to the considerable body of knowledge concerning public policy implementation and the role of "street level bureaucrats," this study demonstrates the importance of weighing the trade-offs between rule adherence, human need, and the use of legislation as a means of redress.