Welcome to the newest podcast on the Texas Hill Country Podcast Network, Beyond the Label. This podcast is the story of the Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers, or the Hill Country MHDD Centers). Today, the Hill Country MHDD Centers is one of 39 agencies that delivers mental health and developmental disability services in communities across Texas. Hill Country MHDD Centers has 22 locations, including 15 mental health clinics, serving a population of approximately 816,000 within a 22,714 square mile area. The members are Kelsi Wilmot (Director of Community Development), Tyler Townsend (Communication Specialist), and Wanda Ferguson (Lead Family Partner).
They introduce Hill Country MHDD’s new podcast, intended to help audiences learn about staff, lived experience, and agency programs. Ferguson explains the Family Partner role, emphasizing advocacy for caregivers, collaboration with schools and juvenile justice, and skills-based supports such as the nurturing program to help families accommodate a child’s needs while maintaining structure and boundaries. She shares personal motivation connected to her son Ryan’s mental health challenges and death in 2016, and provides examples of helping families avoid juvenile detention, address safety risks, and stabilize at home. The team describes the YES Waiver as a wraparound, grant-funded service designed to keep children in their homes and reduce hospitalizations or residential placements, and notes that services are optional and Medicaid-billable.
Key highlights:
- Why This Podcast
- What Family Partners Do
- Parenting Tools and Real Stories
- YES Waiver Explained
- New Programs and Facilities
- Getting Enrolled
Resources: