Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) An
employer or DR may budget employer support services and start-up expenses,
through the services that are delivered by one or more employees in the CDS
option.
(1) Employer support services:
(A) include:
(i) employment-related expenses, as described
in subsection (d) of this section;
(ii) employer-related expenses, as described
in subsection (e) of this section; and
(iii) support consultation services, as
described in subsection (f) of this section when available in the individual's
program; and
(B) exclude
non-allowable expenditures listed in Appendix XI, Allowable and Non-Allowable
Expenditures, in the
Consumer Directed Services Handbook
available at http://www.dads.state.tx.us.
(2) Start-up expenses must be:
(A) budgeted for purchases projected before
the delivery of services through the CDS option; and
(B) accrued from the budgeted unit rate for
services scheduled for delivery through the CDS option within the first three
months of initiation of the CDS option.
(b) An employer or DR:
(1) may budget up to 10 percent of the amount
available, after the FMSA portion is calculated, in those services delivered by
one or more employees;
(2) must not
budget more than $600 annually or more than $50 per month if less than 12
months remain in the service plan for employer support services, including:
(A) employment-related expenses;
and
(B) employer-related
expenses;
(3) must not
budget more than the remaining amount of the 10 percent maximum for support
consultation services; and
(4) may
budget any remaining amount in the affected program service for employee
compensation.
(c) An
employer or DR must, for funds remaining in employer support services, budget
the remaining funds to:
(1) employee
compensation (wages and benefits); or
(2) with approval of the individual's service
planning team, support consultation services in accordance with subsection (f)
of this section and Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Support
Consultation Services and Support Advisor Responsibilities).
(d) An employer or DR may budget
allowable, necessary, and reasonable employment-related services, goods, or
items, including:
(2) obtaining a criminal
history report from the Texas Department of Public Safety, except for the
report of an applicant or employee who is:
(A)
only providing CFC PAS/HAB; or
(B)
providing support consultation to an individual who is receiving only CFC
PAS/HAB through the CDS option;
(3) purchased employee job-specific
training;
(4) cardio-pulmonary
resuscitation training;
(6) supplies
required for an employee or provider of the service to perform a task, if not
available through the individual's program or other source and the purchase is
allowable through the individual's program;
(7) non-taxable employee benefits;
and
(8) services, goods, and items
specifically approved by the individual's program as an employer support
service or included as allowable expenditures in Appendix XI, Allowable and
Non-Allowable Expenditures, in the
Consumer Directed Services
Handbook available at
http://www.dads.state.tx.us/handbooks/CDS/appendix/XI/index.htm.
(e) An employer or DR may budget
employer-related services, goods, or items required to meet employer
responsibilities, including:
(1) basic office
equipment, which may include a basic fax machine for the purpose of submitting
documents to the FMSA ;
(3) expenses related to
making copies;
(4) file folders and
envelopes; and
(5) services, goods,
and items specifically approved by the individual's program as an employer
support service or included as allowable expenditures in Appendix XI, Allowable
and Non-Allowable Expenditures, in the
Consumer Directed Services
Handbook.(f) If
support consultation services are approved by the individual's service planning
team, the employer or DR must budget the service within the spending limits in
subsection (b) of this section for employer support services and obtain
approval of the budget from the FMSA before implementation of the
service.
(g) An employer or DR
must, before requesting additional funds available for support consultation:
(1) provide the individual's case manager or
service coordinator with justification for the specific services requested
through support consultation;
(2)
verify with the case manager or service coordinator the availability of
non-program resources for the requested service; and
(3) obtain approval from the individual's
service planning team for additional funds for support consultation in
accordance with subsection (h) of this section.
(h) If the service planning team approves
additional funds for support consultation, the team must reallocate funds
within the individual's service plan without increasing the total cost of the
individual's service plan.
