Dignity and respect
People are heard before decisions are made about them. Preferences, privacy, culture, and daily choices are honored in every home and service plan.
Families / Advocacy
Every person deserves a home, people they can trust, and a life lived with dignity.
Care & Connections Academy advocates for dignity, independence, safety, and quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities—and for a stronger, more responsible system of care across Texas.
For families
Confidence in a crisis starts here.
Families deserve clear questions, practical guidance, and a trusted place to begin when support feels uncertain.
Our commitments
Four things we will always speak up for.
Advocacy becomes meaningful when it shows up in the everyday details of a person’s life.
Independence and choice
Good support grows what a person can do for themselves. We advocate for services that build skills and protect self-determination.
Safety and protection
Safety is built long before an incident happens: prepared staff, sound systems, clear documentation, and concerns raised early.
Belonging in the community
Living in a neighborhood is not the same as being part of one. We push for real participation, friendship, work, worship, and chosen relationships.
Advocacy that shows up in the work
Not only in words.
We believe the strongest protection an individual can have is a provider who is prepared, organized, ethical, and committed to excellence.
Educating providers
We teach families, individuals, and HCS providers not only what compliance requires, but why it matters.
Preparing before day one
We walk owners through certification, systems, and responsibilities before they serve an individual.
Developing quality housing
We work to create appropriate, well-kept, community-based homes where residents are welcome.
Building partnerships
We connect families and providers with landlords, employers, congregations, and local organizations.
Raising the standard
We hold providers to a professional standard because every weak agency costs a real person their stability.
Standing with families
We help families understand what good support should look like, what questions to ask, and where to turn.
Why preparation is advocacy
The quality of a person’s life is decided long before the survey team arrives.
It is decided by who was hired, how they were trained, whether the home was ready, and whether the owner understood the responsibility they took on.
That is why our advocacy starts with preparation—with providers who are professional, organized, ethical, and committed to excellence from the very first day of certification.
What we ask of every provider
See the person before the paperwork.
01 See yourself as a trusted partner in someone’s life, not only as a business.
02 Know the rule and the reason behind it.
03 Build the systems before you need them.
04 Train staff to support, not to supervise.
05 Measure success by how the people you serve are actually living.
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At the heart of my work are people. It is about ensuring that every individual who needs support has a place to call home, people they can trust, and meaningful opportunities to live with dignity, purpose, and hope.
Lucy Richards, NBCT
Founder, Care & Connections Academy
Get involved
Ways to stand with this work.
Providers and agencies
Bring training, mentorship, and compliance support to your team—and hold your organization to a standard the people you serve can feel.
Start a conversation ↗Property owners and developers
Help expand the supply of safe, appropriate, community-based housing for individuals waiting for a place to call home.
Share an opportunity ↗Families and community partners
Ask questions, share opportunities, and open doors—employment, worship, recreation, and friendship begin with an invitation.
Connect with us ↗Office: P O Box 143 Bardwell, TX 75101
Call 214-444-4361
Email:[email protected]
Site: www.careacad.com/home