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Floor Packet Page No. 195                                                   

	
Amend CSHB 1 in Article II of the bill by striking Rider 31 
(Page II-70) following the appropriations to the Texas Department 
of Human Services and substitute:
	Community Care Assessment Tool.  Out of funds appropriated 
above, the Department of Human Services shall develop a new 
functional needs assessment tool for eligibility for community care 
programs for aged and disabled clients, which takes into 
consideration any other evaluation/assessment tools utilized by 
other state agencies and other states.  The tool shall take into 
consideration innovations in technology with assistive devices.  
The assessment tool shall be evaluated for validity by an 
independent third party as an assessment tool for ensuring that 
clients with the greatest functional needs are identified for 
services.  The assessment tool shall ensure that a client's family 
resources, monetary, community resources and otherwise, are taken 
into consideration in the calculation of hours of assistance 
needed.  The scoring instrument will be used in conjunction with 
program services to ensure that clients with scores identifying the 
greatest financial and functional needs receive services.  It is 
the intent of the Legislature that the department provide a status 
report on progress in developing the tool on the Legislative Budget 
Board and the Governor by January 1, 2004 and that the tool be fully 
implemented by September 1, 2004.