The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) Ability to pay--The determination that the consumer
is able to contribute financially toward the cost of independent living
services.
(2) Accessible format--An alternative way of providing
to people with disabilities the same information, functionality, and
services provided to people without disabilities. Examples of accessible
formats include braille, ASCII text, large print, American Sign Language,
and recorded audio.
(3) Act--The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
(4) Adjusted income--The dollar amount that is equal
to a household's annual gross income, minus allowable deductions.
(5) Allotment--Funds distributed to a service provider
by DARS to provider services under this chapter.
(6) Allowable deductions--Certain unreimbursed household
expenses that are subtracted from a household's annual gross income
to calculate the adjusted income.
(7) Attendant care--A personal assistance service provided
to help an individual with significant disabilities perform essential
personal tasks, such as bathing, communicating, cooking, dressing,
eating, homemaking, toileting, and transportation.
(8) Blind--A condition of having no more than 20/200
visual acuity in the better eye with correcting lenses or having
visual acuity greater than 20/200 but with a field of vision in which
the widest diameter subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
(9) Center for Independent Living (CIL)--A private
nonprofit agency for individuals with significant disabilities (regardless
of age or income) that is not residential, is consumer-controlled,
is community-based, takes a cross-disability approach, and:
(A) is designed and operated within a local community
by individuals with disabilities; and
(B) provides an array of independent living services,
including, at a minimum, independent living core services as they
are defined in 29 U.S.C. §705(17).
(10) Client Assistance Program (CAP)--A federally
funded program that provides information, assistance, and advocacy
for people with disabilities who are seeking or receiving services
from programs funded under the Act. The program is implemented by
Disability Rights Texas (DRTx), a legal services organization whose
mission is to protect the human, service, and legal rights of persons
with disabilities in Texas.
(11) Comparable services or benefits--Services and
benefits that are provided or paid for, in whole or part, by other
federal, state, or local public programs; by health insurance, third-party
payers, or other private sources; or by the employee benefits that
are available to the consumer and are commensurate in quality and
nature to the services that the consumer would otherwise receive
from service providers.
(12) Consumer--An individual who has applied for or
is receiving the independent living services that are referred to
under this chapter.
(13) Consumer participation--The financial contribution
that a consumer may be required to pay for receiving independent living
services.
(14) Consumer participation system--The system for
determining and collecting the financial contribution that a consumer
may be required to pay for receiving independent living services.
(15) Consumer representative--Any person chosen by
a consumer, including the consumer's parent, guardian, other family
member, or advocate. If a court has appointed a guardian or representative,
that person is the consumer's representative. Unless documentation
is provided showing otherwise, a parent or court-appointed guardian
is presumed to be the consumer representative for a minor who is:
(A) younger than 18 years old; and
(B) not emancipated; or
(C) married.
(16) DARS--The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services.
(17) Federal poverty level guidelines--The poverty
guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United
States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority
of 42 USC §9902(2).
(18) Fee--A percentage of the full cost for a purchased
service that a consumer pays. The percentage is based on the DARS
fee schedule and the fee does not exceed the maximum amount prescribed.
(19) Independent living plan--A written plan in which
the consumer and service provider have collaboratively identified
the services that are needed to achieve the consumer's goal of living
independently.
(20) Nonprofit--An agency, organization, or institution
that is owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations
whose net earnings do not and cannot lawfully benefit a private shareholder
or entity.
(21) Private--An agency, organization, or institution
that is not under federal or public supervision or control.
(22) Service provider--A center for independent living,
nonprofit organization, organization, or other person contracted or
subcontracted to provide independent living services.
(23) Severe visual impairment--A condition of having
a visual acuity with best correction of 20/70 or less in the better
eye, a visual field of 30 degrees or less in the better eye, or having
a combination of both.
(24) Significant disability--A severe physical, mental,
cognitive, or sensory impairment that substantially limits an individual's
ability to function independently in the family or community.
(25) Sliding fee scale--The fee scale DARS uses to
determine the maximum financial contribution that a consumer may be
required to pay for receiving independent living services. The scale
is based on the federal poverty level guidelines.
(26) Transition services--Services that:
(A) facilitate the transition of individuals with significant
disabilities from nursing homes and other institutions to home and
community-based residences, with the requisite supports and services;
(B) provide assistance to individuals with significant
disabilities who are at risk of entering institutions so that the
individuals may remain in the community; and
(C) facilitate the transition of youth who are individuals
with significant disabilities, who were eligible for individualized
education programs under section 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)), and who have completed their secondary
education or otherwise left school, to postsecondary life.
(27) Waived independent living plan--A written plan
in which the service provider identifies on the behalf of the consumer
the services that are needed to achieve the consumer's goal of living
independently. The service provider writes the plan because the consumer
has signed a waiver giving up the consumer's right to participate
in the development of such a written plan.
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