Richland/Lexington Disabilities and Special Needs Board

Services Provided Include:

Early Intervention

Early Intervention is a family-focused service for infants and toddlers (to age three).

An early interventionist teaches families practical knowledge about their child's development. The interventionist also helps the family develop an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) to help reach your family's goals for your child, your child's developmental milestones, and access community resources.

Early intervention is a service of BabyNet, the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control's early intervention network for children with disabilities. Families may be referred to our agency by BabyNet, or they may call our agency and we will link them to this resource network.

Service Coordination

Service Coordination is the entry point into the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SC DDSN) service delivery system.  Service Coordinators work with families and/or care givers to determine eligibility and assess needs.  Service Coordinators provide consumers with information about person-centered planning and facilitation.  A plan of support developed for each person receiving services. Service Coordinators work with individuals and their families to assess available community resources and develop circles of support.  Your Service Coordinator will help to guide you through the Service Delivery System.  Service Coordinators are "resource experts." Service Coordinators serve as advocates for individuals with disabilities and special needs. 

CTH I (Community Training Home I)

A CTH I is a community-based, individualized residential option in a homelike environment.  Homes are licensed or certified.  Caregivers who are specially trained provide supports to eligible consumers.  Everyone needs at least one family.  Some people with disabilities have more than one - their own, and a family they live with in a community Training Home.

Respite

Respite provides short-term care to people with disabilities to relieve family stress or help families resolve a crisis.

Respite may be provided on an hourly, daily or weekly basis to meet family needs. Through a variety of service options, families can choose the one that best fits their needs.

Respite provides support in the form of :  Licensed Care givers, Family Arranged Care givers, Homemaker Services, Companion Services, Nursing, and Personal Care Aid Services.

Family Support

Stipends help families afford the cost of caring for an individual in their home when all other resources have been exhausted. Stipends provide financial support related to specialized needs. 

Medicaid Waivers

In October 1991, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SC DDSN) received approval to offer the Home and Community Based Medicaid waiver (HCBW) as an option to institutional care for people with mental retardation or related disabilities.  This option allows individuals with mental retardation or related disabilities to choose to receive care at home rather than in an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR).  Although the individual may choose to receive care at home, he/she must require the degree of care that would be provided ion the ICF/MR.  In other words, individuals choosing this option must meet ICF/MR level of care.

SC DDSN also administers a Medicaid waiver for individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries.  In order for an individual to be eligible for these waiver services, he/she must be eligible for SC DDSN services, age 0-60, meet the Level of Care criteria for an ICF/MR or Nursing Facility , and be Medicaid eligible. 

A variety of specialized support services are available to people with disabilities through Medicaid waiver programs. Services include personal care assistance; modifications which allow a person access to their home; adaptive equipment; and equipment or services to address health, safety and security. 

For more information about the Medicaid Waivers click on the following links:

Mental Retardation/Related Disabilities Medicaid Waiver

Head and Spinal Cord Injuries Medicaid Waiver

BEAP  (the Back-up Emergency Attendant Care Project)

Specialized support and personal care assistance are available through the Head and Spinal Cord Injury Waiver (HASCI) to students with physical disabilities attending the University of South Carolina's Columbia campus.  Supports are also available to HASCI waiver participants living in their own homes.

The BEAPs are provided with resources and training to help them live with independence.   

(These USC students are provided enhanced supports to students through the Head and Spinal Cord Injury (HASCI) Medicaid Waiver. Prospective students must meet HASCI Waiver requirements and admission criteria of The University of South Carolina.)

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Date late edited: Thursday, January 24, 2008