What is a LIDDA in Texas?

What is a LIDDA?

A LIDDA is a Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority. HHSC describes LIDDAs as the point of entry for publicly funded intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) programs in Texas. Each LIDDA serves a set local area.

If a family in Texas wants IDD services, the LIDDA is usually the first call. HHSC tells people to contact their LIDDA for information about services and supports, including a list of providers in their area.

LIDDAs provide or contract to provide a range of services themselves. They also connect people to Medicaid programs run by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

What does a LIDDA do?

A LIDDA handles intake, eligibility, interest lists, enrollment, and service coordination for people with IDD. It also provides, or contracts for, state-funded services such as crisis support, respite, and community support, though not every service is offered in every area.

HHSC lists these core LIDDA roles across its provider pages, handbooks, and its August 2025 overview of IDD services.

• Determines whether a person has an intellectual disability (the DID assessment)
• Provides or contracts for state-funded (general revenue) IDD services
• Manages the HCS and TxHmL interest lists for its local area and makes enrollment offers
• Enrolls eligible people in HCS, TxHmL, and the ICF/IID program
• Provides service coordination through LIDDA staff called service coordinators
• Leads person-centered planning and, in HCS, the person-directed plan (PDP)
• Does permanency planning for people under 22 in certain residential settings
• Gives people living in state supported living centers information about community living options at least once a year

How does the LIDDA decide who is eligible?

For many IDD services, the LIDDA uses a determination of intellectual disability (DID). A DID is an assessment by a qualified professional that uses standardized tests to measure IQ and adaptive behavior. It usually includes an interview with the person or their legally authorized representative (LAR).

For state-funded services, HHSC says a person in the LIDDA area must meet one of four conditions: a diagnosis of intellectual disability that began before age 18, a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, being a nursing facility resident eligible for IDD specialized services, or being eligible for early childhood intervention.

Crisis services and eligibility assessments are available without a diagnosis. For the Medicaid waivers, eligibility also depends on a level of care set through the Intellectual Disability/Related Condition Assessment (ID/RC, HHSC Form 8578).

How do interest lists and enrollment work through the LIDDA?

HHSC keeps waiver interest lists in its Community Services Interest List (CSIL) system, and each LIDDA manages the HCS and TxHmL lists for its area. To be added, the person, their LAR, or someone actively involved calls the HHSC hotline at 877-438-5658.

According to the LIDDA handbook, the person who has been on the list longest is served first. When funding opens, HHSC releases the person and authorizes the LIDDA to make an enrollment offer. LIDDAs must also contact people on their lists during each term of their HHSC contract to confirm interest and update contact details.

Once a person accepts an HCS or TxHmL offer, the LIDDA checks Medicaid eligibility and confirms the person is not in another waiver that cannot be combined. It explains enrollment requirements and timelines. LIDDAs do not enroll people in CLASS or DBMD.

The lists are long. HHSC told the Texas House in May 2026, using August 2025 figures based on January 2026 reports, that 128,111 people were on the HCS interest list and 116,551 on the TxHmL list. Some individuals are on more than one list.

People still on the list as of Aug. 31, 2025, had waited 8.4 years on average for HCS and 7.6 years for TxHmL. People removed from the list in fiscal year 2025, for any reason, had waited 16.7 years for HCS and 14.6 years for TxHmL.

HCS slot releases are paused. HHSC announced on May 19, 2026, that it "will not release interest list reduction slots for the HCS program starting in May 2026," because biennial appropriations for HCS are insufficient to support more slot releases, based on data as of March 2026. HHSC says it will provide updates and has not given a date to resume.

What does a LIDDA service coordinator do in HCS?

The service coordinator is the LIDDA staff member who helps an individual get medical, social, educational, and other services. In HCS, the service coordinator leads the person-directed plan, monitors how services are going, and raises concerns with the provider.

The HCS handbook says the service coordinator checks whether the individual is making progress toward the outcomes in the PDP, whether the provider is delivering HCS services, whether HCS and non-HCS services fit together, and whether the individual is safe where they live and spend time.

If monitoring turns up a concern, the service coordinator tells the provider through a method the LIDDA and provider agree on.

Who writes the PDP and the IPC in HCS?

The LIDDA service coordinator convenes the meeting and develops the person-directed plan (PDP) on HHSC Forms 8665-ID and 8665. The LIDDA completes the initial Individual Plan of Care (IPC, Form 3608) before enrollment. After that, the HCS provider completes IPC renewals and revisions.

For an enrollment PDP, the service coordinator justifies both the need and the amount for each HCS service. For renewals and updates, the service coordinator justifies the need, and the provider justifies the amount in its Implementation Plan (HHSC Form 2125).

Every HCS service on the IPC must be supported by the PDP. The IPC is valid for 365 days, called the IPC year. At renewal, the service coordinator still completes the parts of the IPC for consumer directed services and non-HCS services.

How do HCS providers work with the LIDDA?

HCS providers work with the LIDDA service coordinator all year. The provider may be invited to the PDP planning meeting, builds its Implementation Plan from the PDP, and must send the service coordinator certain notices and copies on a deadline.

The service coordinator asks the individual or LAR for permission to invite the HCS provider to the planning meeting. After a new PDP, the provider creates or revises the Implementation Plan to match.

The HCS handbook sets clear deadlines. If a provider delivers a service in an emergency, it must tell the service coordinator within one business day and note that the IPC must be revised. Within three calendar days after it sends a renewal or lapsed ID/RC assessment, the provider must give the service coordinator a paper copy of the signed and dated assessment.

Sereniq helps HCS providers keep this paperwork straight. It stores the finished PDP from the LIDDA and reads it once with AI into goals, services, and contacts that a person reviews and confirms. From those rows it drafts the IPC (Form 3608) and the Implementation Plan (Form 2125), and it keeps the ID/RC on Form 8578. Sereniq does not fill in Form 8665, and the IPC is still entered in the TMHP LTC Online Portal.

How do I find my LIDDA?

Use the HHSC LIDDA directory at resources.hhs.texas.gov/directories/lidda. Search by county or ZIP code to see the LIDDA that serves that area, with its intake phone number, crisis line, address, and website.

HHSC suggests visiting with your LIDDA representative in person if you have questions after reading about services. The LIDDA can also help you talk with people who receive services and their families.