Regional Center & Accessing Services
This is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of what there is to know about accessing services through the regional centers.
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The Lanterman Act is a huge piece of legislation that created the regional centers by, in short, requiring that funding for services be made available to persons with developmental disabilities to live work, recreate, and socialize in the community vs institutionalized settings.
There are currently 21 Regional Centers in the State of California. These non-profit agencies are contracted by the California Department of Developmental Services per the Lanterman act, to provide state funding and access to services to developmentally disabled individuals and their families.
There is no financial means test to be eligible, but there can be fees for some services depending on the financial means of the family/individual.
The “reason for being” for the regional center(s) is to provide the services and supports to allow children with developmental disabilities to remain with their families and receive the services they need to develop as well as possible and for adults to achieve the highest level of independence as possible to achieve their personal goals.
In order to access services through the regional centers a person must first be found eligible to be a regional center consumer. This eligibility determination is based on diagnosis and functional deficits.
In order to access services/funding from the regional center four things must happen:
1. The service must directly relate to the consumer reaching an IPP goal.
2. They must ‘qualify’ for the service per the purchasing policy for that service (although this is somewhat flexible in some situations).
3. There must be objective/documented disability related need for the service – usually by a professional who knows the consumer.
4. There must be no other, “generic” resource that can/should pay for the service. This has to be used/exhausted first or meticulously documented that it is not available (a “denial” letter may be needed).
There are two funding programs within the regional center system – the traditional system and the Self Determination Program /SDP. But it all starts and is anchored in the traditional system.
- All consumers start in the traditional system.
- Regional centers do not provide direct services, except for intake diagnosis and assessment of eligibility and case management (planning, accessing, referrals, coordination and monitoring the funded services and supports).
- For traditional system services, the regional centers identify and contract with, or “vendor”, and fund community services to meet the identified disability related need.
- In the Self Determination Program (SDP) traditional system services are still the basis of the budget used by participants, and goods and services accessed with that funding must be allowed by regulation.
- SDP participants are able to purchase services to meet their needs in more flexible ways and outside the ‘vendor” system.
Services are supposed to be individualized. But in reality the regional centers fund services in the traditional system though a “vendorization” or contract system. They vendor community agencies and service providers and they in turn develop their programs based on the numbers, they have to be able to serve a large number of clients to do well as a business. So, navigating the available services in the traditional system can sometimes be limiting for some consumers.
Regional centers are considered to be the “payer” of last resort, and so must pursue all possible sources of funding before accessing Regional Center funds. For example, generic agencies such as school districts, private insurance, Medi-Cal, IHSS, and Department of Rehab.
There must be no duplication of services funded by the regional center or generic resources.
ALL services/funding are driven by the IPP document goals so make sure this is robust and just the way your student wants it. The content will technically be your decision if your child is under 18 but you should involve them as much as possible. It will be your child’s decision once they reach 18 and you can give input as a “consultant” or advocate. Whatever you want the consumer or participant to have access to there must be a goal that would allow for services to be funding to reach that goal.
There is so much more to know about accessing services through the regional centers, and often this is based on the unique circumstances for each consumer. And there is a strategy involved. Things like diagnosis, previous services, age, unique needs, specific life circumstances, goals, available generic resources, justifying documentation available, knowledge of the laws and policies, and ability to advocate are just a few of the factors that go into what services can be accessed through the regional centers.