California is fortunate to have a unique system that provides services and supports to people with developmental disabilities. Â There are many different legislative statutes that govern service delivery and may be difficult to navigate for individuals and families who are new to California or to the regional center system.
Below are some frequently asked questions about the regional center system. Â If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact RCOC at info@rcocdd.com.
What is the California Department of Developmental Services?
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is a department within the California Health and Human Services Agency dedicated to providing services and supports to people with developmental disabilities.
Some services are provided through state-operated developmental centers and community facilities. However, the overwhelming majority of Californians with developmental disabilities are served in their communities by private, nonprofit regional centers such as the Regional Center of Orange County.
Additional information about the Department, its contractual relationship with regional centers, and the laws and regulations that govern the developmental services system can be found on their website.
What are regional centers?
Regional centers are private, independent non-profit corporations – each one covering a different geographic area – contracted by the State of California through the Department of Developmental Services to coordinate lifelong services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families.  Regional centers also help support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families by identifying local resources and other community-based services to best fit the individual’s needs.
Established more than 40 years ago by the landmark Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, the regional center system links those with developmental disabilities with services and supports they need to live safely and with dignity in the community.  There are currently 21 regional centers in California with RCOC serving over 20,000 people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Who is eligible for services through the regional centers?
The California Legislature crafted the specific criteria that determine whether or not a person is eligible for Regional Center services. Being diagnosed with a developmental disability is not, solely, enough to qualify. The following is from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) website:
- Lanterman Act services — To be eligible for services, a person must have a disability that begins before the person’s 18th birthday, be expected to continue indefinitely, and present a substantial disability as defined in SECTION 4512 of the CALIFORNIA WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE. Eligibility is established through diagnosis and assessment performed by regional centers.
- Early Start services – Infants and toddlers (age 0 to 36 months) who are at risk of having developmental disabilities or who have a developmental delay may also qualify for services. The criteria for determining the eligibility of infants and toddlers is specified in SECTION 95014 of the CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE. In addition, individuals at risk of having a child with a developmental disability may be eligible for genetic diagnosis, counseling, and other prevention services. For information about these services, see Early Start.
What is a developmental disability?
A developmental disability is defined as a disability that is attributable to any of the following conditions:
- Intellectual disability
- Cerebral palsy
- Epilepsy
- Autism
- Disabling conditions found to be closely related to intellectual/cognitive disability or to require treatment similar to that required for individuals with intellectual disabilities
(This definition does not include any handicapping condition that is solely psychiatric, solely a learning disability or solely physical in nature.)Â
In addition to the above, the disability must:
- Originate before age 18
- Be likely to continue indefinitely
- Constitute a “substantial disability” for the individual as defined by Title 17, Section 54001 of the California Code of Regulations.  Additional details regarding how a substantial disability is defined can be found in ARCA’s Clinical Recommendations for Defining Substantial Disability.
How does a person apply for services through RCOC?
To inquire about applying for services, simply call RCOC’s Intake and Assessment Department at (714) 796-5354 or send an email to intake@rcocdd.com.  RCOC’s intake staff will assist you by walking through the application/referral and work with you to see what information RCOC will need you to submit to begin the intake process.
Parents, guardians, and conservators, or an adult with a developmental disability that was diagnosed before age 18 may initiate the application process. A professional, such as a pediatrician, or other interested party may also do so, but only with permission from the individual or family.
What is Assessment?
Assessment is the term used to describe the process for determining whether a person is eligible for services through the regional center and conducted by the RCOC’s Intake and Assessment Department staff.  This process involves regional center professional staff obtaining information from the client, the client’s parents and other family members, advocates, and service providers.  The goal is to gain as much information as possible to assist families in understanding the nature of their situation and to determine whether a person meets the standards for eligibility that the state sets for services to be funded by regional centers.
If the person is eligible for services, the information gained during an assessment is used to help in developing an Individual Program Plan (IPP).
What is an Individual Program Plan (IPP) and what is an IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan)?
Based on hopes and dreams for the future as well as an assessment of the person’s needs, preferences, and life choices, the INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM PLAN (or IPP) states specific objectives to develop competencies and achieve personal goals in all aspects of the person’s life, including community participation, housing, work, school and leisure time.
When children with developmental disabilities live with their families, the plan is called an INDIVIDUAL FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (or IFSP) and includes a special section describing those services and supports necessary to maintain the child at home.
In all cases, the person with a developmental disability, parents, the service coordinator, and a wide circle of relatives and friends are engaged members of the Planning Team that creates the plan using person-centered planning.
What is service coordination?
Service coordination is another term for “case management.” This service is provided by an employee of the regional center who often has a background in social work. Service coordination is the first and most fundamental of the services that individuals and families receive through regional centers. It is the means through which needs are identified, and specific resources for meeting those needs explored and accessed – all with the goal of ensuring that the person with disabilities receives the necessary supports to live safely and with dignity in the community.
What are “generic resources,” and why do regional centers refer people to them?
Some supports and services are provided to the individuals RCOC serves by public agencies mandated to serve the general public, or through community organizations – these are often referred to as “generic resources.” One example would be the public schools, which are required to provide educational services to all children, including those with developmental disabilities. Another example would be Medi-Cal (called CalOptima in Orange County) and Medicare, which provide healthcare to the poor and elderly, including many of those regional centers serve.
The Lanterman Act names regional centers the “payor of last resort” and specifically mandates them to exhaust all other possible sources of funding and needed services – including generic resources and private medical insurance — before it spends regional center dollars to purchase services on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families.
What is the cost for services?
There is no charge for assessment services or for service coordination provided to those served by the regional center. There is also no charge for most of the other services and supports individuals and families receive. However, certain services are subject to Family Cost Participation, which is a sliding scale based on a family’s ability to pay. Also, parents of children under 18 whose adjusted gross family income is at or above 400% of the federal poverty level, are assessed an Annual Family Program Fee of $150 or $200, depending on their income.
How does the regional center decide what services it will and will not pay for?
The Lanterman Act and related laws passed by the California Legislature determine what regional centers can and cannot pay for on behalf of those it serves. In general, regional centers can only purchase services and supports that are necessary to achieve the goals in the person’s Individual Program Plan (IPP) and they are prohibited from funding experimental therapies.
In addition, regional center boards of directors create policies called Purchase of Service (POS) Guidelines that service coordinators follow when authorizing service requests.