FUNDERS - COMMUNITY LIVING AND SUPPORT SERVICES (CLASS)
According to the Texas
Department of Aging and Disability Services ("DADS"),
the Community Living Assistance and Supports Services ("CLASS")
program provides home- and community-based services to people with related
conditions as a cost-effective alternative to placement in an intermediate
care facility. (A related condition is a disability, other than mental
retardation, that originated before age 22 and that affects the ability
to function in daily life.)
The focus of CLASS is on the participant and how program services improve
the quality of his/her life. The fundamental framework for delivering
services to program participants is based on tailoring services to their
individual needs and circumstances. An array of Medicaid-reimbursable
services authorized under the waiver compliments other Medicaid services,
generic services, and other family and community supports to enable
participants to live and work in the community with a degree of freedom
and choice.
CLASS services include:
- case management,
- habilitation,
- respite care,
- nursing services,
- psychological services,
- physical therapy,
- occupational therapy,
- speech pathology,
- adaptive aids/supplies, and
- minor home modifications.
To be eligible for CLASS, the applicant/participant must meet the
following criteria.
- Age — There is no age limit, but the disability must have
begun prior to age 22.
- Income/Resources — The participant must be
o SSI eligible,
o eligible for Medicaid benefits under a federally mandated protective
status,
o a disabled child who would be eligible for Medicaid if institutionalized
and if parental income is not deemed to the child,
o a member of a family who receives full Medicaid benefits as a result
of qualifying for TANF, or
o a child who is eligible for Medicaid because he is placed in foster
care under state conservatorship (not to exceed Level II foster care
payment).
- ICF-MR/RC Level of Care — The participant must meet criteria
for this level of care for people with related conditions.
- Individual Service Plan (ISP) — DADS must approve the participant's
individual service plan for waiver services developed by an interdisciplinary
team (IDT).
- Residency — The participant must reside in the contracted
providers geographic catchment area. Medicaid recipients residing
in a nursing facility who are determined eligible for community care
before discharge may be able to bypass the CLASS interest list.
- Demonstrated need for on-going CLASS habitation services based
on the needs assessment and service plan developed by the IDT.
Individuals who are inpatients of hospitals, Intermediate Care Facilities
for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR), Nusing Facilities (NF), or institutions
for mental diseases may not be enrolled in CLASS.
For more information, please see the Department of Aging and Disability
Services (DADS) Community Care of Aged and Disable Handbook at
http://www.dads.state.tx.us/handbooks/ccad/5000/5123.htm
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