This bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to maintain an inventory of postsecondary educational programs and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; post the inventory to the Board's website; and submit it for inclusion in the Texas Education Agency's transition and employment guide.
Topic(s): School-Based Prep, Systems Coordination
This bill establishes a Pilot Program to Test Person-Centered Managed Care Strategies and Improvements, which is designed (in part) to promote customized, integrated and competitive employment for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Managed care organizations participating in the pilot must deliver employment assistance and supported employment, among other services.
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This bill creates an Advisory Council on Postsecondary Education for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), which includes a parent or guardian of a person with IDD. If further requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in coordination with the Advisory Council, to periodically review the policies and practices that increase access to higher education opportunities for people with IDD and distribute educational outreach materials to increase awareness regarding postsecondary opportunities for people with IDD. This includes identifying, evaluating and developing recommendations to address barriers to accessing higher education for people with IDD who are or have been in the foster care system.
Topic(s): Family Engagement, School-Based Prep, Systems Coordination
This bill directs the Health and Human Services Commission, in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission, to conduct a study regarding occupational training programs for individuals with intellectual disabilities, in order to determine regions where training programs should be improved or expanded and develop strategies for placing trained individuals with intellectual disabilities into fulfilling jobs.
This bill requires the Texas Workforce Commission to:
1. Conduct a program to provide vocational rehabilitation services to eligible individuals with disabilities, which may entail cooperating with other agencies to study problems in providing vocational rehabilitation and developing necessary facilities and services;
2. Establish a specialized training program that covers supports for individuals with disabilities and require it for certain employees (including vocational rehabilitation transition specialists and transition counselors); and
3. Collaborate with the Texas Education Agency to develop a mechanism to identify the areas of the state with the greatest needs for transition services for students with disabilities.
This bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to collect and study data on the participation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at public institutions of higher education.
Topic(s): School-Based Prep
This bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to collect and study data on the participation of people with intellectual disabilities in workforce education programs. It further instructs the Board to work with junior college districts to develop and recommend minimum reporting language related to the amount of money expended on programs focused on the participation, retention and graduation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
This bill requires community rehabilitation programs to develop a plan to increase the wages paid to its workers with disabilities to the federal minimum wage, and to provide referrals to benefits counselors so that workers understand the impacts this may have on their eligibility for state and federal benefits.
This program helps individuals with mental illness find jobs that pay competitive wages in an integrated setting. Services are provided by local mental health and behavioral health authorities across the state.
Operating Entity: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program enables individuals with disabilities, service providers and others to learn about, access, and acquire assistive technology needed for education, employment, and community living. Services include device demonstrations, reutilization, loans, and financing.
Operating Entity: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Center for Disability Studies, The Texas Technology Access Program (TTAP)
Entity Type: College / University
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program seeks to improve transition to adulthood outcomes and academic success for children with significant developmental disabilities and complex communication needs through interdisciplinary practice. The program trains Master’s level personnel from three related services (Speech Language Pathology, Social Work, and Applied Behavior Analysis) to provide services to children transitioning from the public schools to adulthood.
Operating Entity: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Center for Disability Studies
Entity Type: College / University
BCVDDP provides a range of services to youth with vision impairments and their families, including confidence-building activities, caregiver support and training, training to increase a child's independence and ability to participate in vocational related activities, and more.
Operating Entity: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
The Business Enterprise Program helps people who are blind become food service or vending operators.
Operating Entity: Texas Workforce Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
CAP helps individuals who experience problems when applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation or independent living services. This includes advising and informing individuals of their rights and providing advocacy services.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Texas
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program offers individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities training that emphasizes skills and knowledge required for a particular job function (such as customer service, janitorial or sorting clothes) or a trade (such as landscaping).
Operating Entity: Community HealthCore
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
Employment Specialists help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities find and maintain competitive integrated employment in the Austin community. Services include supported employment, job placement, work experience, job skills training, and more.
Operating Entity: The Arc - Capital Area
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This job readiness program utilizes technology in schools and community centers to provide training to students with disabilities ages 14 to 24 to prepare them for future employment. The program introduces students to job search engines and the online job application process, and offers hands-on experience with technology students might find in the workplace.
Operating Entity: Easterseals - Central Texas
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program offers two types of employment services to individuals with disabilities. The first is Employment Assistance, which helps people find competitive, integrated employment. The second is Supported Employment which helps people maintain their current employment.
Operating Entity: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program provides a range of independent living services to people with disabilities at Centers for Independent Living across the state. Services include help connecting to local services, assistance with job searches, local transit skills training, assistive technology help, peer mentoring support, assistance with school-to-career transitions, self-advocacy help, and more.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program helps individuals with disabilities, family members, and community members improve their self-advocacy and leadership skills and learn more about disability issues. Topics include Inclusive Education & Communities, Employment First, Self Determination and Self Advocacy, and Social Security & Work Incentives.
Operating Entity: Family to Family Network
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Family Engagement, Youth Development & Leadership
The PACT Project serves Texas parents of children and youth with disabilities ages 0-26. Services include one-on-one consultation on disability rights, webinars on a variety of educational topics, online resources and publications, and more.
Operating Entity: Partners Resource Network
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Family Engagement
This program supports Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in 12 southern states. Services include one-to-one consultations, trainings and webinars, peer-to-peer mentoring, site visits, non-profit management tools, and more.
Operating Entity: Parent to Parent of Georgia
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
The TxP2P Pathways to Adulthood program assists families in planning for life after high school for their children with disabilities, and provides support, information, and tools for carrying out this plan. Youth with disabilities and their parents/guardians can also call the program office and receive emotional support with issues like decision making around guardianship, applying for SSI, and managing school services.
Operating Entity: Texas Parent to Parent
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Family Engagement
These programs offer students with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to take college classes, engage in career development and independent living activities, and participate in the social life of a college campus.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program for students with significant disabilities that includes classroom instruction, career exploration, and internship rotations. It is a collaboration between local businesses, state agencies, local school systems, and other entities, and is offered at several locations.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program provides in-house opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to earn a paycheck. Participants create fused glass products, and are guided by instructors and volunteers.
Operating Entity: Reach Unlimited
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
Topic(s): Career Prep & Work-Based Learning
This program enables eligible individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-exempt account that may be used for qualified disability expenses while keeping their eligibility for federally-funded, means-tested public benefits. Eligible expenses include education, employment training and support, and assistive technology.
Operating Entity: Texas Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides consultation and information for those receiving disability benefits, who need help understanding eligibility and the impact work may have on their benefits.
Operating Entity: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This program provides individuals, families, and providers with resources to help build skills that will enhance the employability of individuals with disabilities. The project’s goal is to provide up-to-date access to free and for-fee resources to teach these skills.
Operating Entity: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program helps individuals with disabilities who are receiving Social Security Disability benefits make informed choices about work and make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Topic(s): Connecting Activities
This small group program trains young adults with autism in industry-standard skills necessary for employment. The program focuses on technical skills such as programming and soft skills such as leadership and teamwork. The program also aims to strengthen the networks of young adults with disabilities by creating cohorts of like-minded and supportive individuals.
Operating Entity: nonPareil Institute
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This webpage provides resources for people who experience anxiety, stress and emotional/behavioral changes due to the pandemic
Operating Entity: Texas Department of Health and Human Services
Topic(s): Mental Health
This webpage provides numerous instructional support resources. These resources include virtual post-secondary transition services, links to receive assistive technology, disability-specific information, and information regarding telehealth services.
Operating Entity: Texas Education Agency
Topic(s): Assistive Technology, Distance Learning, Transition
This webpage contains a variety of resources for parents of students with disabilities while distance learning. The resources include items such as coping with changed routines and fun at home learning activities.
Operating Entity: Texas Education Agency
Topic(s): Family Engagement
The Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities uses Long-COVID information from the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
Operating Entity: The Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities
Topic(s): Long-COVID