- Complete Application
- Submit application to Director affiliated with services you would like to access. The Director will be able to let you know if any vacancies are available or ask you if you would like to add your name to the waiting list. Upon vacancy or learning of a vacancy, our staff work hard to find an individual to fill the spot.
- Director will provide information on “next steps” (Ex. Additional information needed, visits, etc.)
Sign up for a Reach Out Tour. The tour provides you insight into a group home and the operations of the LAC. We offer standard tours on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at noon and will schedule tours for groups at other times as well.
Reach Unlimited is a 501c3, not for profit organization. Unfortunately we are already challenged to raise funds to cover the gap between Medicaid funding and the true cost of delivering services which amounts to nearly $1,000,000 per year and cannot offer free services. Contact the Harris Center (713-370-7000 or www.theharriscenter.org) to inquire about emergency funding or other options.
Contact the Harris Center (or your case coordinator from the Harris Center 713- 370-7000 or www.theharriscenter.org) to inquire about other providers that have openings. You can always submit an application with Reach and when something comes available, we will contact you to see if you are still interested.
Each group home member pays for Room and Board with part of their Social Security Distribution. The funding from Medicaid and Medicaid Waiver pays for the staff support for the individual and various other services. Medical expenses are covered with Medicaid and any other supplemental insurance an individual may have. Members / advocates may elect for Reach Unlimited to become the representative payee for the member (in which case Reach is responsible for maintaining Medicaid eligibility) or someone else may be the representative payee who then submits Room and Board payments to Reach each month.
YES. Maintaining Medicaid eligibility is paramount to maintaining service eligibility. Fortunately, there are a few options for depositing funds that are not counted in Medicaid asset ceiling assessment each month.
- Purchase a pre-need funeral plan that is irrevocable (that is key). Many times payments for the plan can be made over months /years which provides option for keeping assets down while providing a support for the individual
- Special Needs Trust- A trust outlined for the sole benefit of the individual. Must be drafted by an attorney but once established it remains in place and monies in a Special Needs Trust are not counted in asset ceiling assessments.
- Texas ABLE Account- an account for the benefit of the individual where up to $17,000 per year may be deposited that will not be counted as an asset. Additional benefits include tax free growth up to $100,000 and the ability to have a debit card linked to the account for expenditures for the individual. To learn more or open a Texas ABLE Account go to www.texasable.org
That is a difficult question to answer. At times we will go months or even a year without an opening in one of the group homes and other times have five openings within two months! It is key for our fiscal health to maintain full capacity at the group homes so we as soon as we find out there is going to be an opening, we get busy to get the spot filled with the right person. Due to each individual’s needs, it is not a linear waiting list. If an opening comes up in a female home and the first four individuals on our list are male, we will skip the males and contact the family of the female. We also try to match people by interest, energy level, etc. We want everyone to be happy, healthy, and comfortable in their home so we try to match individuals so that the members in that home have similar desires/activity levels.
No. It is a great idea to put in an application now and get on the list. If we call you about an opening coming up and you are not ready at that time, just ask us to keep them on the list. You are not committing to anything by filling out an application and getting on the list.
No. We schedule individuals based on their needs/preferences. We combine alternate schedules to maintain size control in classrooms (EX. In a particular group we may have two individuals with complimentary schedules with one attending Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the other attending Tuesday and Thursday thus together they count as one full time equivalent.)
The Supported Employment program and contract work opportunities for our members are supported through the LAC program. Contact LAC Director Juan Clopton (jclopton@reachunlimited.org or 281-213-8323×304) to share your ideas.