For case managers and service coordinators

Where things stand

Hometown isn't open for enrollment yet. As of this writing, we are completing our enrollment and contracts with HHSC, the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) and the managed care organizations, and until that is done a family can't name Hometown as their FMSA on Form 1584. Families referred now join our waitlist, and we call each of them when enrollment opens for their program. This page will say so as soon as that changes.

What we do for a family you refer

Hometown is a Financial Management Services Agency, acting as the CDS employer's vendor fiscal/employer agent under section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code. For each employer, we:

• hold the employer orientation, in English or Spanish, at home or by video;
• obtain a federal employer identification number where needed and register as the employer's agent with the IRS and the Texas Workforce Commission;
• build the budget with the employer in HHSC's workbook and approve it in writing before services start;
• run the criminal history and registry checks before hire, and the exclusion list checks every month;
• process timesheets and EVV records, pay attendants at least twice a month, and withhold, deposit and file the payroll taxes;
• send the employer regular reports on what has been spent and what remains; and
• help the employer with their Electronic Visit Verification duties and with the paperwork for each new attendant.

What stays with you, and with the family

You authorize the services and the budget, explain the CDS option on Form 1581, approve the employer's backup plan, and revise the service plan when anything changes. The employer hires, trains, schedules and supervises the attendants. We don't approve services or budgets, and we don't provide, arrange or supervise care, so a referral to Hometown never changes who makes those decisions.

How to refer a family

With the family's permission, email hello@hometownhelps.com with the family's first name, a phone number, their preferred language and their program. Please leave out diagnoses and other health details: we don't need them to call, and email isn't the place for them. Alternatively, give the family this site's address, and they can join the waitlist themselves in English or Spanish.

We call the family at the time they choose, explain CDS in plain language, and help them decide whether it fits. The choice of FMSA always stays with the family, and we offer nothing in return for a referral.