Choosing Our Program

Getting Started

Our team of Case Management professionals and Nursing staff provide the majority of plan development and coordination of services. These well-trained teams complete all of the necessary documents to ensure your loved one’s continuation of care, including the IPC (Individual Plan of Care), ICAP (Inventory for Client and Agency Planning), IDRC (Intellectual Disability/Related Condition), IPP (Individual Program Plan) and several others that are required to be updated/completed and reviewed on a regular basis.

Before being accepted into our program and starting the process, families and guardians must meet certain pre-eligibility requirements.

  1. The potential resident must have a Determination of Intellectual Disability. This is usually performed around the ages of 3 to 6 and may have been arranged by the school system. The local authority can also schedule testing for you.
  2. Contact the Local Authority for your county to “sign” up for the HCS Interest List. The HCS “slot” list is 8-13 years long.
  3. The Local Authority can help you obtain other benefits WHILE WAITING for your HCS slot, including CLASS, Texas Home Living, or immediate ICF (6 bed group home) placement if available.

We’re Here to Help

We understand that the process to find the right place for your loved one to live and grow can be difficult, stressful, and complex. Once we have confirmed your loved one is eligible for the HCS or ICF program, there are three steps we use to help you make the decision on whether or not our program is right for your family member: a phone inquiry and initial meeting, a scheduled tour, and a one-on-one Q&A session. Please use the information below to see how our process works in more detail.

The Steps

Phone Inquiry & Meet and Greet

We are prohibited from taking this first step; you must call us for that initial inquiry, according to the rules that govern us. However, call us anytime with any question. We will never place any pressure on you or use “sales” tactics. We understand the enormous stress any family member experiences in making such a critical decision about choosing a provider agency to care for your loved one. Our goal in the initial conversation is to provide information and answer your questions. We want to be an informational resource for you. We may have some questions, too. Ultimately, we know that you have many options and we know that you are looking for an agency that is the right fit for you and your loved one. Our number one promise is to be completely honest and straightforward in providing information and answering your questions.

The best advice we can give you at this stage is to not be afraid to call…we will guide you gently through the process, and will never make you feel intimidated or pressured. We only want you to become as knowledgeable as possible, and we will help you get there. You may be surprised to find out that the process isn’t as daunting as it seems. You may also be surprised to find out that there are immediate options for you – even group home options – regardless of where your loved one is on the HCS interest list. And furthermore, choosing an alternative option can be temporary and not force your loved one to lose his/her place on the interest list; an individual can receive services from one program while he/she waits for another. And we have immediate options for you.

The initial telephone conversation will help you determine and/or learn:

  • What we have available to meet the unique needs of your loved one.
  • What our immediate plans are to increase our capacity if we don’t have exactly what you need now.
  • Any questions you didn’t realize you needed to ask because you’re new to the system.
  • What to do if you are just getting started and truly don’t know where to turn, etc.

In addition, we can learn the following about you and your loved one:

  • Your biggest concerns, especially if you are considering a transfer from another program in order to improve a situation.
  • Where to direct you if you don’t have a slot and are starting at the beginning.

Schedule First In-Person Meeting

We then will invite you to come meet us in person to speak you to a face to face and share more specific and detailed information about your biggest concerns, as your loved one’s needs, hopes, and dreams. An initial in person meeting will likely occur at our office, but we are just as happy to meet you at your home, if you prefer. This discussion is intended to be informal and relaxed, but information packed. It gives us the opportunity to introduce some of the members of our professional team that works together to share expertise, knowledge, and skills from different professional backgrounds to positively impact the overall success of the people we serve.

During this sit-down, we will answer any questions you may have and will cover some important subjects related to your loved one’s needs and how we might be able to meet those needs, including but not limited to:

  • Specific needs, including medical concerns and behavioral issues.
  • What’s important to your loved one?
  • What’s most important to you?
  • The LON (Level of Need) rating provided by the Local Authority. This helps us determine the services needed to ensure a healthy life and any supports the new resident can utilize to overcome or ease difficulties.
  • What level of involvement does the family envision for themselves, such as attending medical appointments, managing finances, etc? We provide all of these services, but families typically have varying wishes for their own involvement.
  • How we handle issues and concerns.
  • Family dynamics; the role of each family member, both in the past and in the future.
  • For families looking for a new provider (e.g., transfer), a more detailed discussion about the concerns that lead to the consideration of a different provider.
  • What needs are met by the service’s funding (HCS), by Medicaid/Medicare, by us (the program agency), and by the family.
  • More in depth discussion of residential options and what we have available, including how our different homes are staffed, the overnight needs of your loved one, etc.

We also might be able to help with issues that the family might not realize they could get such help from us, such as:

  • Obtaining guardianship for the first time
  • Guardianship renewal issues
  • Setting up a special needs trust
  • Any special equipment or home modifications your loved one needs, but hasn’t yet received
  • Any special services you believe your loved one needs, but hasn’t yet received or is presently receiving and you want it to continue
  • The practitioners your loved one is using (physicians, dentist, specialized therapists, etc.)
  • Possible employment options, or continuation of a current job
  • Many other questions, issues, needs that might come up, depending on the unique concerns of the family

Other important considerations include:

  • Guardianship status
  • Representative payee
  • Special visitation concerns
  • Upcoming trips and vacations
  • What specific issues the family wishes to be called for

Residential Site Tour

Tours of our homes are intended for you and your loved one to physically see our homes (and the neighborhoods), but more importantly, to meet and interact with other residents, potential housemates and the staff. Our goal is for you and your loved one to have a sense of what it feels like, especially with regard to the other people with whom your loved one will be living if you choose us. For that reason, we strongly prefer for you to visit in the evening when everyone is there, and not during the day when the house is empty because the residents are at their day programs or jobs. However, home tours can occur on the same day as the first meeting…we can meet at our office first, and then head out to visit some homes.

Our intention is to step back and let you ask the questions. Feel free to speak in private with a staff or resident, and ask any question you wish. We encourage families to ask staff to open a refrigerator, ask to see a bedroom, look in the garage, check out the menu book, ask a resident what recent activities he or she participated in, look in bathrooms, open a kitchen cabinet, or show you the pantry. We are completely transparent and want you to walk away with a very real sense of what living will be like. We will not interfere or try to sell it to you. If you like what you see, it will be based on your own impressions without our influence.

Tours of our homes can occur in one or two steps, you may choose to visit first without your loved one to see if you have a good impression and then bring them back for a second tour to see if he or she likes it.

Once we are done with the meeting and tour(s), we will continue to be available to you to answer your questions at any time. We suspect you will think of things you forgot to ask as soon as you leave, but not to worry. We understand that making a choice is a process that takes time and we will be available to answer your questions and serve as a resource (even if you are not leaning toward choosing us), for as long as you wish.

Your Decision

Once the guardian and resident are comfortable with us as their choice, the guardian contacts the Local Authority Service Coordinator handling their case to let them know they’d like to use our company.

The Service Coordinator will contact us to get all the paperwork started. While the paperwork is processed, we immediately get to work to get everything ready at the home for the new resident. From furniture to needed supplies, adaptive aids, required ramps, or handrails, down to even the smaller details like decorations and room colors, we aim to make move-in day comfortable and exciting for the resident. We help coordinate with the local authority and the guardian to ensure all the paperwork is completed for move-in day.

If the parent, guardian, or resident feel that our program isn’t a match for them, we certainly will be glad to help them to continue the search for an HCS provider. We can help by recommending other HCS providers we feel may be more in line with their loved one’s needs and goals.

Get Started

Common FAQs

We know that the process of finding your loved one’s home can be stressful and difficult, making assistance welcome and necessary. We’ve come up with common questions you may have along with detailed answers to help you better understand how our programs and companies can assist you and your family.

View All FAQs
Scroll to Top