Texas Community Integration Collaborative

A demonstration of the Community Placement Process in a Texas State School, Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded/Related Conditions (ICF/MR) Program, and Nursing Facility; the Texas Community Integration Collaborative is designed to assist people of all ages living in state schools, ICF/MR programs, and nursing homes in moving into the community. This project is a partnership effort of the three developmental disabilities programs in the state: Advocacy, Incorporated, the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, and the Texas Center for Disability Studies. Each of these programs brings unique resources to the Collaborative, and each is committed to increasing access to community support services in Texas for people with disabilities to move from facilities to the community.

The Texas Community Integration Collaborative is working with the state agencies, primarily the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, authorized to provide services to people residing in state schools, ICF/MR programs and nursing homes. In addition, the Collaborative is working with the Mental Retardation Authorities serving the state schools and in the local area of the ICF/MR programs. The Collaborative seeks opportunities to work with community programs in the area of the nursing facilities, including Area Agencies on Aging, independent living centers, and others that could be involved in community service delivery.

The purpose of the Collaborative is to make community living a reality for those individuals who wish to live outside an institution. To achieve this outcome, the Collaborative must change the process by which people living in institutions are notified about, recommended for, and provided with community support services.

Training conducted by Collaborative staff assists individuals in institutions and their families and guardians to understand their choices and options about where to live, and assists in the identification and development of community resources needed for people to live successfully in the community with the services and supports they choose. The Collaborative works with families with children who live in state schools, ICF/MR programs, and nursing homes.

Changes to this process include increasing the membership of the Individual Treatment Team (IDT) and/or other professional team meetings, increasing the knowledge and use of principles of self-determination and person-centered planning processes by those involved in placement decisions, and developing model procedures and processes to identify and refer individuals who want to live in the community.

Additionally, the Collaborative evaluates different processes used to identify, recommend, and move individuals into the community with the needed services and supports. This analysis facilitated the development of a process to assist more individuals in moving into the community from state schools, ICF/MR programs, and nursing facilities.

The Collaborative targets only those individuals living in the identified programs who express a desire to live in the community. If the individuals have a legal guardian, the consent to participate must be given in writing by the guardian. If a legal guardian does not provide consent to participate, the resident will not be a part of any training, technical assistance, or discussion of community options by the project staff.

The Texas Center for Disability Studies provides training and technical assistance to facility, staff, and community service providers to enhance the development of community resources. Training topics include self-determination, fundamentals of person centered planning, mediation skills, individual rights, and creative options for providing community services and supports. Following the completion of the training curriculum, the community volunteers are directly supervised by the Collaborative staff, and receive a certificate of completion following a period of supervision.

Special consideration for children residing in institutions is made. Permanency planning should be available for all children in facilities in Texas, and training and technical assistance is conducted to ensure this option is available to children and their families. The Collaborative is guided by the belief that all children have the right to grow up in a nurturing family, with the services and supports needed by the family.

Local disability organizations are included in this collaboration to identify advocates and family members from the local communities who serve as community volunteers. The Collaborative trains community volunteers on individual rights, creative options for providing community services and supports, fundamentals of person-centered planning and self-determination, and mediation skills. Following training, community volunteers provide support and assistance to individuals residing in institutions who want to live in the community. Their role includes information dissemination, identification and development of community resources, including community services and support options; and participation in person-centered planning.

For further information, contact Shelley Dumas