(a) The service provider agency must maintain a continuous
and adequate network of qualified individual service providers and
must allow for choice whenever possible.
(b) The service provider agency must ensure the continuous
availability of trained and qualified individual service providers
to provide the IHSS on a designated resident's plan of care.
(c) The service provider agency must ensure that individual
service providers are not the LAR of the designated resident and are
not related to the designated resident in anything less than a third
degree by blood or second degree by marriage.
(d) The service provider agency must comply with applicable
laws and rules to ensure that:
(1) its operations meet necessary requirements; and
(2) individual service providers possess legally necessary
licenses, certifications, registrations, or other credentials and
are in good standing with the appropriate professional agency before
performing any function or delivering services.
(e) The service provider agency must conduct initial
and periodic training that ensures individual service providers are
trained and qualified to deliver services as required by the current
needs of the designated resident for whom they deliver services.
(f) The service provider agency must:
(1) prevent conflicts of interest between provider
personnel and a designated resident;
(2) prevent abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a designated
resident;
(3) prevent the restriction of rights of the designated
resident; and
(4) implement and maintain personnel practices that
safeguard a designated resident against infectious and communicable
diseases.
(g) The service provider agency must ensure that an
individual service provider of independent living skills training
or day habilitation:
(1) is at least 18 years of age; and
(2) has one of the following:
(A) a high school diploma or a certificate recognized
by a state as the equivalent of a high school diploma; or
(B) documentation of a proficiency evaluation of experience
and competence to perform the job tasks that includes:
(i) a written competency-based assessment of the ability
to document service delivery and observations of a designated resident
to be served; and
(ii) at least three written personal references from
individuals not related by blood or marriage to the individual service
provider that indicate the individual service provider can provide
a safe, healthy environment for a designated resident being served.
(h) The service provider agency must ensure that an
individual service provider of employment assistance or supported
employment:
(1) is at least 18 years of age; and
(2) has one of the following:
(A) a bachelor's degree in rehabilitation, business,
marketing, or a related human services field, and at least six months
of paid or unpaid experience providing services for people with disabilities;
(B) an associate degree in rehabilitation, business,
marketing, or a related human services field, and at least one year
of paid or unpaid experience providing services for people with disabilities;
or
(C) a high school diploma or a certificate recognized
by a state as the equivalent of a high school diploma, and at least
two years of paid or unpaid experience providing services for people
with disabilities.
(i) The service provider agency must ensure that experience
required is evidenced by a written statement from an individual who:
(1) paid for the service or supervised the provision
of the service, for paid experience; and
(2) has personal knowledge of the experience, for unpaid
experience.
(j) The service provider agency must ensure that an
individual who provides transportation:
(1) has a valid driver's license; and
(2) transports designated residents in a vehicle insured
in accordance with state law.
(k) The service provider agency must ensure that an
individual service provider of behavioral support:
(1) is licensed as a psychologist in accordance with
Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 501;
(2) is licensed as a psychological associate in accordance
with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 501;
(3) has been issued a provisional license to practice
psychology in accordance with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 501;
(4) is licensed as a behavior analyst in accordance
with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 506;
(5) is licensed as a clinical social worker in accordance
with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 505; or
(6) is licensed as a professional counselor in accordance
with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 503.
|