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Revision 25-2; Effective Sept. 24, 2025
These words and terms have the following meanings when used in this handbook unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
A
Ability to pay – The determination that a person can contribute financially toward the cost of independent living services (ILS).
Accessible format – An alternative way to provide 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.
Act – The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
Adjusted income – The dollar amount that is equal to a household’s annual gross income minus allowable deductions.
Allotment – Funds HHSC distributes to a service provider to provide services under the ILS Standards.
Allowable deductions – Certain unreimbursed household expenses that are subtracted from a household’s annual gross income to calculate the adjusted income.
Attendant care – A personal assistance service provided to help a person with significant disabilities perform essential personal tasks, such as bathing, communicating, cooking, dressing, eating, homemaking, toileting and transportation.
B
Blind – A condition of having no more than 20/200 visual acuity in the better eye with correcting lenses or having visual acuity more than 20/200 but with a field of vision in which the widest diameter subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
C
Center for Independent Living (CIL) – A private nonprofit agency for people with significant disabilities regardless of age or income that:
- is not residential
- is consumer-controlled
- is community-based
- takes a cross-disability approach
- is designed and operated within a local community by people with disabilities
- provides an array of ILS, including independent living core services defined in 29 United States Code (USC) Section 705(17)
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;
- health insurance, third-party payers or other private sources; or
- the employee benefits that are available to the person and are commensurate in quality and nature to the services the person would otherwise receive from service providers.
Complaint - An allegation of a violation of these standards or a service provider’s policies and procedures related to these standards.
Confidential information – Any communication or record including oral, written, electronically stored or transmitted, or any other form of communication or record provided to or made available to the service provider or that the service provider may create, receive, maintain, use, disclose or have access to on behalf of HHSC that consists of or includes any or all the following:
- case-related information
- protected health information in any form, including electronic protected health information or unsecured protected health information
- sensitive personal information defined by Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 521
- federal tax information
- personally identifiable information
- Social Security Administration data, including Medicaid information
- all privileged work products
- all information designated as confidential under the constitution and laws of the State of Texas and of the United States, including the Texas Health and Safety Code and the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 552
Consumer – See Person.
Consumer choice – The ability for a person to be able to set their own independent living goals and to decline any services recommended by the CILs or qualified vendors. Refer to 6.7, Comparable Benefits and Insurance.
Consumer participation – The financial contribution a person may be required to pay to receive ILS.
Consumer participation system – The system that determines and collects the financial contribution a person may be required to pay to receive ILS.
F
Federal poverty level guidelines – The poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 USC Section 9902(2).
Fee – A percentage of the full cost for a purchased service that a person pays. The percentage is based on the HHSC fee schedule, and the fee does not exceed the maximum amount prescribed.
H
HHSC – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
I
Independent living plan (ILP) – A written plan in which the person and their service provider have collaboratively identified the services needed to achieve the person’s goal of living independently.
N
Nonprofit – An agency, organization or institution owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations whose net earnings do not and cannot lawfully benefit a private shareholder or entity.
NVRA – The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 is a federal law that requires states to offer voter registration services to a person who applies for services.
P
Person – Someone who has requested, applied for or is receiving purchased services through the ILS Program. Previously referred to as consumer in older versions of the standards, was changed to reflect person-centered language. Any references to consumer refer to groups of people, such as consumer participation or consumer satisfaction survey, or the word originally used in the Act.
Private – An agency, organization or institution that is not under federal or public supervision or control.
R
Representative – Anyone chosen by a person served in the ILS program, including their parent, guardian, other family member or advocate. If a court has appointed a guardian or representative, that person is the representative. Unless documentation is provided that shows otherwise, a parent or court-appointed guardian is presumed to be the representative for a minor who is:
- younger than 18 years old; and
- not emancipated or married.
Rural – Any population or territory with fewer than 2,500 people, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
S
Service provider – A center for independent living, nonprofit organization, organization, or other person contracted or subcontracted to provide ILS.
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.
Significant disability – A severe physical, mental, cognitive or sensory impairment that substantially limits a person’s ability to function independently in the family or community, where the delivery of IL services would improve the ability to function, continue functioning or move toward functioning independently in the family, community or in an employment setting.
Sliding fee scale – The fee scale HHSC uses to determine the maximum financial contribution a person may be required to pay to receive ILS. The scale is based on the federal poverty level guidelines.
Support services – Accommodations provided to a person to help them at an ILS-related appointment with the service provider or vendor. Examples include translators, interpreters, braille, large print and transportation. Consumer participation may not be collected for support services.
Transition services – Services that:
- facilitate the transition of people with significant disabilities from nursing homes and other institutions to home and community-based residences, with the requisite supports and services;
- help people with significant disabilities who are at risk of entering institutions so they may remain in the community; and
- facilitate the transition of youth with significant disabilities, who were eligible for individualized education programs under section 614(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1414(d), and who have completed their secondary education or otherwise left school to postsecondary life.
V
Vendor – A person or organization a service provider contracts with to deliver services or provide goods to people who have applied and been determined eligible to receive services.
W
Waived independent living plan – A written plan which the service provider identifies for the person, the services that are needed to achieve the person’s goal of living independently. The service provider writes the plan because the person has signed a waiver giving up the person’s right to participate in the development of such a written plan.