FUNDERS - INTRODUCTION

Young boy in wheelchair Some Texans with mental cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities choose to live alone, with their families, in community-based group homes - which range from large to small - or in state mental retardation facilities. Choice is an important aspect of the planning process. Individuals make choices about where they want to live, what they want to learn, where they want to work, what they do for fun and more.

According to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services ("DADS"):

Non-Medicaid funded mental retardation services funded by DADS for eligible persons are accessed through the local Mental Retardation Authority.

To be eligible for DADS-funded mental retardation services, an individual must be part of DADS's mental retardation priority population, as established by Texas law. As Texas' population continues to grow, the number of people requiring mental retardation services increases - sometimes faster than the state can expand services. Therefore, services and supports are provided for those individuals who need them the most - those individuals with the greatest severity of mental retardation. Specifically, this population is comprised of people meeting one or more of the following descriptions:

· Mental retardation as defined by Section 591.003 (13), Title 7, Texas Health and Safety Code Section;

· Autism as defined in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM);

· Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) as defined in the current edition of the DSM;

· Eligibility for Early Childhood Intervention Services (with the requirement that DADS memorandum dollars may not be used by the Local Authority (LA) to pay for the same services purchased through the LA's memorandum with the Early Childhood Intervention Council).

· Eligibility of OBRA '87 mandated services for mental retardation or a related condition as defined in 42 Code of Federal regulations 453.1009.

Eligibility is determined regarding diagnostic eligibility by the community center based on criteria stated in the DADS rule.

 

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