CLASS Waiver in Texas: Home Care for Individuals with Related Conditions

The CLASS Waiver — Community Living Assistance and Support Services — serves a
specific population in Texas that’s often overlooked in home care conversations:
individuals with a “related condition.” If your loved one has a condition closely related to
an intellectual disability that results in significant functional limitations, CLASS may fund
home care services and allow a family member to be hired as a paid caregiver through
Consumer Directed Services.

There’s a catch, and it’s significant: CLASS has a waitlist. But understanding the
program now, applying early, and exploring interim options is far better than discovering
CLASS when your family is in crisis.

What CLASS Covers

CLASS provides a comprehensive range of home and community-based services:
personal attendant care (bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, mobility), habilitation
services that help the individual develop and maintain daily living skills, respite care for
family caregivers, adaptive aids and medical supplies, minor home modifications, and
professional therapies (occupational, physical, speech).

CDS is available under CLASS, meaning the individual (or their representative) can hire a
family member as their paid attendant. The same employer/attendant rules apply: the
employer and attendant must be different people, and spouses cannot serve as paid
attendants.

Who Qualifies

CLASS serves individuals who have a “related condition” — defined as a condition that is
closely related to an intellectual disability, originated before age 22, is expected to
continue indefinitely, and results in substantial functional limitations in three or more
major life activities (self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for
independent living, economic self-sufficiency).

Examples of related conditions include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and other
developmental conditions that significantly limit daily functioning. The individual must
also be a Texas resident, Medicaid-eligible, and able to live safely in a home or
community setting with appropriate supports.

Eligibility is determined through HHSC, not through the STAR+PLUS MCOs. The
assessment process is specific to CLASS and evaluates both the diagnosis and the
functional limitations.

The Waitlist Reality

CLASS has historically maintained a significant waitlist in Texas — families may wait
months or years for a slot. In our experience, Dallas-area families are often surprised by
the wait and frustrated by the lack of interim options.

Our recommendation: apply for CLASS now, even if the waitlist is long, so your family’s
place in line is established. Then explore STAR+PLUS HCBS as a more immediately
accessible option. STAR+PLUS doesn’t typically have a waitlist and offers CDS for paid
family caregiving. It covers personal attendant services and homemaker support — not
the full CLASS habilitation package, but enough to get a family caregiver on payroll while
you wait for a CLASS slot.

When a CLASS slot opens, the family can transition to CLASS for the broader service
package while maintaining the CDS arrangement.

What We See in Practice

Dallas families navigating CLASS often feel caught between two realities: their loved one
clearly qualifies for comprehensive services, but the waitlist means those services
aren’t immediately available. The families who manage this best are the ones who
pursue parallel pathways — CLASS for the long game, STAR+PLUS for immediate relief.

CareChoice helps Dallas families with both tracks, ensuring the family caregiver is
getting paid now through whichever program is accessible first.

Start with CareChoice → Contact our Dallas team

Written by Sophia Aloia, Content & SEO Manager | CareChoice

Related: Get Paid to Care for Family in TX → | STAR+PLUS in Dallas →