(a) Participants, or their representatives, if applicable, may, at the State's option, use their service budgets to pay for items that increase a participant's independence or substitute (such as a microwave oven or an accessibility ramp) for human assistance, to the extent that expenditures would otherwise be made for the human assistance.

(b) The services, supports and items that are purchased with a service budget must be linked to an assessed participant need or goal established in the service plan.