Guidepost for Real Life
Check out the new Guidepost for Real Life. The story of how one family created a network of support without goverment assistance.
View and download the
Guidepost for Real Life:.
Real Life and Microboards
A New and Innovative Program from The Arc of Texas
A fundamental change is occurring in the way people think about the service-delivery system for people with disabilities. Pockets of trendsetters across the nation are moving their thinking away from asking what government can provide, to discovering what people can do for one another on a community level.
Too many Texans with disabilities sit on waiting lists for Medicaid Waiver services. That’s why The Arc of Texas engages in legislative advocacy to protect and expand the rights of people with disabilities. But legislative change can be slow. What can people with disabilities and their families do right now to begin living a better life in the community? This was the question. In 2006, The Arc of Texas responded by launching Real Life, an innovative initiative to assist people with disabilities in community living. Real Life seeks to empower families and promote community-based solutions.
Real Life and The Arc of Texas are helping families and individuals establish microboards and devising other innovative ways to enhance community supports. A microboard is a small group of committed family and friends who have joined together with a person with a disability
to create a non-profit organization. Together, this small group of people addresses the person’s life-planning and support needs in the
spirit of self-determination, using a Person-Centered Plan.
To learn more,
view the video.
What is a microboard?
A microboard is a non-profit organization that consists of 5-7 committed family members, friends or acquaintances who serve as a small “board of directors” that support an individual with disabilities and help him fulfill his self-directed dreams and goals.
How does a microboard support a person’s dreams?
- Manages services such as home supervision, transportation, medical care, etc.
- Builds bridges between the individual, family, and community
- Affords flexibility & self-determination to individuals
- Introduces the individual to new social opportunities
- Finds ways for the individual to contribute to the community
- May apply to be the individual's Medicaid Waiver Program provider and direct funding to support their dreams.
How is a microboard structured?
- Microboards hold meetings at regular intervals
- Microboards may be financed by Medicaid Waiver Program funds and serve as a provider for their family member/ friend with a disability
- Technical support and training are available from The Arc of Texas Real Life staff.
The Arc of Texas would like to thank the sponsors who have made the Real Life program possible:
The Real Life program received a grant from the Foundation For the Challenged inclusive of a corporate donation from Scioto Properties
to establish a grant-making fund for Real Life participants. The purpose of the fund is to assist Real Life participants’ transitions into community
living. The Arc of Texas thanks the generosity of these two organizations as contributing partners with The Arc of Texas Real Life Program.
For more information about Real Life and microboards, contact Lisa Rivers at The Arc of Texas at
lrivers@thearcoftexas.org or 800-252-9729 or 512-454-6694.
You can help build The Arc by making a secure, online contribution at
http://www.thearcoftexas.org.
Click on the blue
"Make a Donation" button. Thank you for supporting the work of The Arc of Texas.
