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Regional Centers
Section 4501 of the Lanterman Act State The State of Californian accepts a responsibility for persons with developmental disabilities and an obligation to them which it must discharge.
The bill also States In order for the State to carry out many of its responsibilities as established in the division, the state shall contract with a ppropriate agencies to provide fixed points of contact in the community for person with developmental disabilities and their families, to end that such persons may have access to the facilities and services best suited to them through their lifetime. It is the intent of the division that the network of Regional Centers for persons with developmental disabilities and their families be accessible to every family in need of regional center services.
There are twenty-one Regional Centers in California. They provide services to 186,000 Californians with developmental disabilities. Regional Centers are non-profit organizations that contract with the State Department of Developmental Services.
The formation of the Regional Centers were born from bill AB691 which states:
In order to provide fixed points of referral in the community for the mentally retarded and their families; establish ongoing points of contact with the mentally retarded and their families so that they may have a place of entry for services and return as the need may appear; provide a link between the mentally retarded and sources in the community; including State departments, to the end that the mentally retarded and their families may have access to the facilities best suited to them throughout the life of the retarded person; and offer alternatives to state hospital placement, it is the intent of this article that a network of regional diagnostic; counseling, and service centers for mentally retarded persons and their families, easily accessible to every family, be established throughout the state.
Services that are provided include: Information and referral; assessment and diagnosis; counseling; lifelong individualized planning and service coordination; purchase of necessary services included in the individual program plan; assistance in finding and using community and other resources; advocacy for the protection of legal, civil and service rights; early intervention services for at-risk infants and their families; genetic counseling; family support; planning, placement, and monitoring for 24-hour out-of-home care; training and educational opportunities for individual families and community education about developmental disabilities.
How is eligibility defined?
The term developmental disability refers to a severe and chronic disability that is attributable to a mental or physical impairment. To qualify for services through the Regional Center, the disability must begin before the 18th birthday. The disability must be expected to continue indefinitely and present a substantial disability and the following conditions must be present:
Mental retardation
Cerebral Palsy
Epilepsy
Autism
A disabling condition closely related to mental retardation or requiring similar treatment.
For more information on the Regional Centers, the following web site is helpful:
www.arcanet.org/services.htm
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