Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Individualized
skills and socialization is a TxHmL Program service described in this
section.
(b) On-site and off-site
individualized skills and socialization:
(1)
provide person-centered activities related to:
(A) acquiring, retaining, or improving
self-help skills and adaptive skills necessary to live successfully in the
community and participate in home and community life; and
(B) gaining or maintaining independence,
socialization, community participation, current or future volunteer goals, or
employment goals consistent with achieving the outcomes identified in an
individual's PDP;
(2)
support the individual's pursuit and achievement of employment through school,
vocational rehabilitation, the TxHmL Program service of employment assistance,
or the TxHmL Program service of supported employment;
(3) provide personal assistance for an
individual who cannot manage personal care needs during an individualized
skills and socialization activity;
(4) as determined by an assessment conducted
by a registered nurse, provide assistance with medications and the performance
of tasks delegated by a registered nurse in accordance with state law and
rules, unless a physician has delegated the task as a medical act under Texas
Occupations Code Chapter 157, as documented by the physician; and
(5) do not include activities in which an
individual:
(A) produces marketable goods;
and
(B) is paid below minimum wage
for producing the goods in accordance with Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act.
(c) On-site individualized skills and
socialization:
(1) is provided in a building
or a portion of a building that is owned or leased by an individualized skills
and socialization provider;
(2)
includes transportation of an individual from one on-site individualized skills
and socialization location to another on-site individualized skills and
socialization location;
(3)
promotes an individual's development of skills and behavior that support
independence and personal choice; and
(4) is not provided in:
(A) a setting in which an individual must not
reside, as set forth in the rules governing the TxHmL Program; or
(B) the residence of an individual or another
person.
(d) An
individualized skills and socialization provider must ensure that
individualized skills and socialization is not provided in a setting that is
presumed to have the qualities of an institution. A setting is presumed to have
the qualities of an institution if the setting:
(1) is located in a building in which a state
supported living center or a certified intermediate care facility for
individuals with an intellectual disability or related conditions (ICF/IID)
operated by a local intellectual and developmental disability authority (LIDDA)
is located but is distinct from the state supported living center or the
certified ICF/IID operated by a LIDDA;
(2) is located in a building that is on the
grounds of or immediately adjacent to a state supported living center or a
certified ICF/IID operated by a LIDDA;
(3) is located in a building in which a
licensed private ICF/IID, a hospital, a nursing facility, or other institution
is located but is distinct from the ICF/IID, hospital, nursing facility, or
other institution;
(4) is located
in a building that is on the grounds of or immediately adjacent to a hospital,
a nursing facility, or other institution except for a licensed private ICF/IID;
or
(5) has the effect of isolating
individuals from the broader community of persons not receiving Medicaid
HCBS.
(e) An
individualized skills and socialization provider may provide individualized
skills and socialization to an individual in a setting that is presumed to have
the qualities of an institution as described in subsection (d) of this section,
if CMS determines through a heightened scrutiny review that the setting:
(1) does not have the qualities of an
institution; and
(2) does have the
qualities of home and community-based settings.
(f) The setting in which on-site
individualized skills and socialization is provided must:
(1) allow an individual to:
(A) control the individual's schedule and
activities related to on-site individualized skills and
socialization;
(B) have access to
the individual's food at any time; and
(C) have visitors of the individual's
choosing at any time; and
(2) be physically accessible and free of
hazards to an individual.
(g) If an individualized skills and
socialization provider becomes aware that a modification to a requirement
described in subsection (f)(1) of this section is needed based on a specific
assessed need of an individual, the individualized skills and socialization
provider must inform the individual's program provider of the needed
modification.
(1) The program provider must:
(A) notify the service coordinator of the
needed modification; and
(B)
provide the service coordinator the information described in paragraph (2)(A)
of this subsection as requested by the service coordinator.
(2) A service coordinator must, if
notified by the program provider of a needed modification, convene a service
planning team meeting to update the individual's PDP to include the following:
(A) a description of the specific and
individualized assessed need that justifies the modification;
(B) a description of the positive
interventions and supports that were tried but did not work;
(C) a description of the less intrusive
methods of meeting the need that were tried but did not work;
(D) a description of the condition that is
directly proportionate to the specific assessed need;
(E) a description of how data will be
routinely collected and reviewed to measure the ongoing effectiveness of the
modification;
(F) the established
time limits for periodic reviews to determine if the modification is still
necessary or can be terminated;
(G)
the individual's or LAR's signature evidencing informed consent to the
modification; and
(H) the program
provider's assurance that the modification will cause no harm to the
individual.
(3) After the
service planning team updates the PDP as required by paragraph (2) of this
subsection, the individualized skills and socialization provider may implement
the modifications.
(h)
Off-site individualized skills and socialization:
(1) provides activities that:
(A) integrate an individual into the
community; and
(B) promote the
individual's development of skills and behavior that support independence and
personal choice;
(2) is
provided in a community setting chosen by the individual from among available
community setting options;
(3)
includes transportation of an individual from an on-site individualized skills
and socialization location to an off-site individualized skills and
socialization location and between off-site individualized skills and
socialization locations; and
(4) is
not provided in:
(A) a building in which
on-site individualized skills and socialization is provided;
(B) a setting in which an individual must not
reside, as set forth in the rules governing the TxHmL Program, unless:
(i) the off-site individualized skills and
socialization activity is a volunteer activity performed by an individual in
such a setting; or
(ii) off-site
individualized skills and socialization is provided in an event open to the
public; or
(C) the
residence of an individual or another person, unless the off-site
individualized skills and socialization activity is a volunteer activity
performed by an individual in the residence.
(i) An individualized skills and
socialization provider or the program provider is not responsible for the cost,
if any, of an individual to participate in an off-site activity.