How Texas Home and Community-Based Services Are Giving Me Back My Life (8:20 minutes)

For fifteen years the lives of Karen Silos and her husband have been consumed by the needs of two sons born with significant disabilities. After nine years on the waiting list for Texas Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCS), her family finally received funding in January, 2007. Three months later she tells about the huge improvement she is seeing in the abilities of her remaining son, and the improved quality of life for everyone in her family as a direct result of HCS services.

Heart of the Matter (13 minutes)

As of September, 2006 there were over 70,000 Texas with disabilities waiting for community-based services through what is referred to as "Medicaid Waivers". An alternative to institutional care, Medicaid Waivers cost less than nursing homes or state school placements but there is a shortage of available "slots" and the wait for services can be very long. On Valentine's Day 2007 The Arc of Texas sponsored a rally called The Heart of the Matter to plead with legislators to end the waiting lists for community services.