(a) An employer or DR may budget employer support services and start-up expenses, through the services that are delivered by one or more employees in the CDS option.
  (1) Employer support services:
    (A) include:
      (i) employment-related expenses, as described in subsection (d) of this section;
      (ii) employer-related expenses, as described in subsection (e) of this section; and
      (iii) support consultation services, as described in subsection (f) of this section when available in the individual's program; and
    (B) exclude non-allowable expenditures listed in Appendix XI, Allowable and Non-Allowable Expenditures, in the Consumer Directed Services Handbook available at http://www.dads.state.tx.us.
  (2) Start-up expenses must be:
    (A) budgeted for purchases projected before the delivery of services through the CDS option; and
    (B) accrued from the budgeted unit rate for services scheduled for delivery through the CDS option within the first three months of initiation of the CDS option.
(b) An employer or DR:
  (1) may budget up to 10 percent of the amount available, after the FMSA portion is calculated, in those services delivered by one or more employees;
  (2) must not budget more than $600 annually or more than $50 per month if less than 12 months remain in the service plan for employer support services, including:
    (A) employment-related expenses; and
    (B) employer-related expenses;
  (3) must not budget more than the remaining amount of the 10 percent maximum for support consultation services; and
  (4) may budget any remaining amount in the affected program service for employee compensation.
(c) An employer or DR must, for funds remaining in employer support services, budget the remaining funds to:
  (1) employee compensation (wages and benefits); or
  (2) with approval of the individual's service planning team, support consultation services in accordance with subsection (f) of this section and Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Support Consultation Services and Support Advisor Responsibilities).
(d) An employer or DR may budget allowable, necessary, and reasonable employment-related services, goods, or items, including:
  (1) recruiting expenses;
  (2) obtaining a criminal history report from the Texas Department of Public Safety, except for the report of an applicant or employee who is:
    (A) only providing CFC PAS/HAB; or
    (B) providing support consultation to an individual who is receiving only CFC PAS/HAB through the CDS option;
  (3) purchased employee job-specific training;
  (4) cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training;
  (5) first-aid training;
  (6) supplies required for an employee or provider of the service to perform a task, if not available through the individual's program or other source and the purchase is allowable through the individual's program;
  (7) non-taxable employee benefits; and
  (8) services, goods, and items specifically approved by the individual's program as an employer support service or included as allowable expenditures in Appendix XI, Allowable and Non-Allowable Expenditures, in the Consumer Directed Services Handbook available at http://www.dads.state.tx.us/handbooks/CDS/appendix/XI/index.htm.
(e) An employer or DR may budget employer-related services, goods, or items required to meet employer responsibilities, including:
  (1) basic office equipment, which may include a basic fax machine for the purpose of submitting documents to the FMSA;
  (2) mailing costs;
  (3) expenses related to making copies;
  (4) file folders and envelopes; and
  (5) services, goods, and items specifically approved by the individual's program as an employer support service or included as allowable expenditures in Appendix XI, Allowable and Non-Allowable Expenditures, in the Consumer Directed Services Handbook.
(f) If support consultation services are approved by the individual's service planning team, the employer or DR must budget the service within the spending limits in subsection (b) of this section for employer support services and obtain approval of the budget from the FMSA before implementation of the service.
(g) An employer or DR must, before requesting additional funds available for support consultation:
  (1) provide the individual's case manager or service coordinator with justification for the specific services requested through support consultation;
  (2) verify with the case manager or service coordinator the availability of non-program resources for the requested service; and
  (3) obtain approval from the individual's service planning team for additional funds for support consultation in accordance with subsection (h) of this section.
(h) If the service planning team approves additional funds for support consultation, the team must reallocate funds within the individual's service plan without increasing the total cost of the individual's service plan.

Source Note: The provisions of this §41.507 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 10352; amended to be effective March 20, 2016, 41 TexReg 1925