Specific Medicaid Waivers Information

Persons of any age with a disability that originated before the age of 22 and affects daily living functionality. Individuals with Intellectual Disability (formerly called mental retardation) may be eligible, but this waiver is not intended to serve those with a primary diagnosis of intellectual disability. An autism diagnosis will qualify a child to be placed on the list. Services provided include attendant care & respite care, among others. Board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) are approved providers of behavior support services.

This waiver program has a very long “interest list”, so you are wise to sign your child up as early as possible.

CLASS Program Services

• Adaptive aids and medical supplies Case management
• Consumer Directed Services (CDS) option Habilitation
• Minor home modifications Nursing services Occupational therapy Physical therapy
• Prescription drugs, if not covered through Medicare Behavioral services
• Respite care Specialized therapies Speech pathology

Telephone number for information and to place a name on the waiting/interest list for CLASS: (877) 438-5658

This is a Medicaid Waiver program and qualification for the service is based on the child’s income, not the parent’s income

Up until a few years ago the providers of CLASS services were contracted through Attendant care companies called the DSA (Direct Service Agency). The attendant care company was completely responsible for the service providers – the hiring, training, and firing. These attendant care providers can still be utilized in the CLASS system but families have the additional option to become their own company. This is called Consumer Directed Services (CDS) and allows the family the freedom to hire and fire the people working with their child. The family is responsible for training and for faxing in the employee time sheets but the CLASS Direct Service Agency does all the employee paperwork for state and federal taxes and writes the paychecks. A substantial number of attendant care hours are provided to people on the CLASS program, making it a worthwhile interest list to be on. A substantial amount of respite hours are also provided.

If you are already on the waiting list, you can call and check your position on the list. If not on the list, call and sign up soon. Don’t be discouraged by the long list. Getting your child’s name on the list is one of the best ways to send the message to the state that the need is there and more funding needs to be allotted to these services.

Make an effort to sign up on the CLASS and HCS/TxHmL lists. Please note that you will need to call two different agencies to sign up. A call to your local IDD authority will not sign you up for both lists but the IDD center can often provide you with the contact information for CLASS. Be sure that you receive confirmation letters that you are on these lists. Also, be careful to notify both lists of your contact information if you move.