Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) A program
provider must ensure that a service provider of employment assistance or a
service provider of supported employment meets the qualifications described in
§
260.203(g) of
this chapter (relating to Qualifications of Program Provider Staff).
(b) Before including employment assistance on
an individual's IPC, a program provider must ensure and maintain documentation
in the individual's record that employment assistance is not available to the
individual under a program funded under §110 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 or under a program funded under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C.
§
1401 et seq.).
(c) A program provider must ensure that
employment assistance:
(1) consists of a
service provider performing the following activities:
(A) identifying an individual's employment
preferences, job skills, and requirements for a work setting and work
conditions;
(B) locating
prospective employers offering employment compatible with an individual's
identified preferences, skills, and requirements;
(C) contacting a prospective employer on
behalf of an individual and negotiating the individual's employment;
(D) transporting the individual to help the
individual locate competitive employment in the community; and
(E) participating in service planning team
meetings;
(2) is provided
in accordance with the individual's IPC and with Appendix C of the DBMD waiver
application approved by CMS and available on the HHSC website;
(3) is not provided to an individual with the
individual present at the same time that one of the following services is
provided:
(B) transportation provided as a residential
habilitation activity;
(C)
supported employment;
(4) does not include
using Medicaid funds paid by HHSC to a program provider for incentive payments,
subsidies, or unrelated vocational training expenses, such as:
(A) paying an employer:
(i) to encourage the employer to hire an
individual; or
(ii) for
supervision, training, support, or adaptations for an individual that the
employer typically makes available to other workers without disabilities
filling similar positions in the business; or
(B) paying the individual:
(i) as an incentive to participate in
employment assistance activities; or
(ii) for expenses associated with the
start-up costs or operating expenses of an individual's
business.
(d) Before including supported employment on
an individual's IPC, a program provider must ensure and maintain documentation
in the individual's record that supported employment is not available to the
individual under a program funded under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C.
§
1401 et seq.).
(e) A program provider must ensure that
supported employment:
(1) consists of a
service provider performing the following activities:
(A) making employment adaptations,
supervising, and providing training related to an individual's assessed
needs;
(B) transporting the
individual to support the individual to be self-employed, work from home, or
perform in a work setting; and
(C)
participating in service planning team meetings;
(2) is provided in accordance with the
individual's IPC and with Appendix C of the DBMD waiver application approved by
CMS and available on the HHSC website;
(3) is not provided to an individual with the
individual present at the same time that one of the following services are
provided:
(B) transportation provided as a residential
habilitation activity;
(C)
employment assistance;
(4) does not include:
(A) sheltered work or other similar types of
vocational services furnished in specialized facilities; or
(B) using Medicaid funds paid by HHSC to a
program provider for incentive payments, subsidies, or unrelated vocational
training expenses, such as:
(i) paying an
employer:
(I) to encourage the employer to
hire an individual; or
(II) to
supervise, train, support, or make adaptations for an individual that the
employer typically makes available to other workers without disabilities
filling similar positions in the business; or
(ii) paying the individual:
(I) as an incentive to participate in
supported employment activities; or
(II) for expenses associated with the
start-up costs or operating expenses of an individual's
business.
(f) Employment readiness:
(1) is assistance that prepares an individual
to participate in employment;
(2)
provides the following person-centered activities:
(A) teaching generalized habilitative skills
necessary to prepare an individual to participate in employment;
(B) training in the use of adaptive equipment
necessary to obtain and retain employment skills; and
(C) achieving generalized vocational goals
consistent with the outcomes identified in an individual's
IPP;
(3) is not job-task
oriented;
(4) includes activities
for which an individual is compensated in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations;
(5) provides personal
assistance for an individual who cannot manage personal care needs during
employment readiness activities; and
(6) includes:
(A) transportation between an individual's
place of residence and an employment readiness location;
(B) transportation from one employment
readiness location to another employment readiness location; and
(C) securing transportation as described in
paragraph (6)(A) or (6)(B) of this subsection.
(g) A program provider may provide employment
readiness to an individual only if the individual's service planning team does
not expect the individual to be competitively employed within one year after
the date employment readiness begins.
(h) A program provider may not provide
employment readiness to an individual who is:
(1) receiving supported employment;
or
(2) engaged in competitive
employment.
(i) Before
employment readiness is included on an individual's enrollment IPC, renewal
IPC, or revised IPC, a program provider must ensure:
(1) an HHS Employment First Discovery Tool is
completed in accordance with §
284.105 of this title (relating to
Uniform Process) and supports the provision of employment readiness to the
individual; and
(2) documentation
is maintained in the individual's record that employment readiness is not
available to the individual under a program funded under §110 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or a program funded under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. §
1401 et
seq.).
