Increase Funding for People with Disabilities Moving from Institutions to Texas Communities

Goal: The Texas Health and Human Services system will ensure that people with disabilities currently in Texas institutions have assistance with transitioning or relocating to community living arrangements.

Problem: Of the Texas agencies serving people with disabilities, only the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) has established a program to assist in the transition of individuals with disabilities from institutions to community-based programs. Individuals with disabilities in Texas who receive services and supports from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and services through the Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR) programs do not have the same level of relocation assistance that is available through DADS Money Follows the Person relocation contracts.

Recommendation: The Texas Legislature needs to commit to transition/relocation assistance for individuals with disabilities and the aging who wish to relocate from ICFs-MR, State Mental Illness Facilities, nursing facilities and hospitals to inclusive community settings. The Legislature should allocate $3,000,000 per year to all Texas health and human service agencies for this assistance.

Background/Justification: A commitment to re-balancing the long-term care system in Texas has been made as a result of the Texas Promoting Independence Advisory Committee recommendations, the Texas Legislature and the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) administration. This recommendation would fulfill this commitment.

• Relocation services contracts between Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) and community-based organizations have contributed to successful relocations of individuals with disabilities from nursing facilities to community-based programs.
• No other State agency under the HHSC has begun to achieve this level of commitment, and no similar commitment is underway in the ICF-MR system for individuals with intellectual, developmental and cognitive disabilities.
• Over 80,000 Texans with disabilities are on Medicaid Waiver Program interest lists, and over 15,600 individuals with disabilities have relocated to Texas communities since 2001, showing clear evidence that the choice is to live in communities, not institutions.
• Relocation assistance services provide individuals with disabilities who reside in institutions with intensive service coordination, including assessment of needs and goals for community living, assistance in securing affordable and accessible housing, and accessing community supports on an ongoing basis.