RESOLVING ISSUES WITH REGIONAL CENTERS:
Advocacy Guides for
Responding to Service Denials

The guides below can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their supporters better understand their rights, navigate the regional center system, and prepare when they receive a denial of services.

Fifth Category Eligibility for Regional Center Services >>

In California, Regional Centers provide services and supports to people with developmental disabilities under a law called the Lanterman Act. To get these services, a person must have a qualifying developmental disability. The law lists five types: (1) intellectual disability; (2) cerebral palsy; (3) epilepsy; (4) autism; and (5) a “Fifth Category”, which covers conditions that are closely related to intellectual disability, or that require treatment similar to what people with intellectual disability need. The Fifth Category matters because some people do not fit neatly into the other four categories but still need the same kind of help as people with intellectual disability. For example, a person may have serious thinking, learning and everyday-life problems even if their IQ score is a little above the usual cutoff. Understanding the basic rules can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their supporters respond when a Regional Center says no.

Educational Services and Exhaustion of Generic Resources >>

One of the most common reasons regional centers deny services is because they argue the school district should pay first. This is known as the “generic resource” issue.

Regional centers often argue that schools are responsible for:
a. Tutoring
b. Behavioral supports
c. Speech therapy
d. Classroom supports
e. Transition services
f. Educational placements

These disputes often arise when families believe:
• The school’s services are insufficient
• The school’s services are not actually being implemented
• The school’s services do not meet the child’s disability-related needs

In summary: The key question is usually whether the family truly exhausted what the school district could provide and whether the school’s offer is actually comparable to what the person needs.

Cost Effectiveness of Regional Center Services >>

Regional centers often consider whether a requested service is cost-effective. Cost-effective does not mean cheapest, and it does not mean the regional center can deny a needed service simply because it costs money. The better question is whether the requested service is reasonably connected to the person’s disability-related needs and IPP goals, whether it actually meets the need, whether less costly options would also meet the need, and whether other funding sources have been explored when they are legally responsible for the service. People are more likely to win their cases when their requests includes specific information about the service they want, the provider, the cost, why the service is needed, and why available alternatives are inadequate.

Respite Services >>

Respite gives family caregivers temporary relief from the ongoing responsibility of caring for a regional center consumer. Respite may allow a caregiver to rest, attend appointments, care for other family members, run necessary errands, or address other needs while the person is safely supported. The number of respite hours should be decided through the individualized IPP process. There is no statewide maximum number of respite hours. Regional centers may use purchase-of-service guidelines, but those guidelines cannot operate as automatic caps and cannot replace an individualized review of the family’s actual needs. This practice guide aims to help you advocate for yourself in front of the regional center and secure the amount of respite you really need.

Parental Responsibility and Regional Center Services >>

When you ask the regional center to pay for a service, they may say no by claiming it is your “parental responsibility.” In the regional center system, this means they believe the requested service is part of the typical care, supervision, transportation, or financial support that any parent is ordinarily expected to provide for a child without disabilities. However, you can challenge these denials. If your child’s needs go far beyond what is typical, or if the service is uniquely tied to their developmental disability and you have exhausted all other options, the regional center may be required to help.

Social Recreational Services >>

Regional center service disputes often involve a few common rules, and those rules can overlap. A service denial may involve questions about IPP goals and disability-related need, whether another system is supported to provide the service first, cost-effectiveness, parental responsibility, or other limits on regional center funding. This guide focuses on social recreation and explains what the service is, why people request it, and how those common rules tend to come up in disputes about social recreation.

For a denial of a new service or support, the person appealing has to prove that the requested service is needed and should be funded. For a reduction, change, or termination of an existing service, the regional center is the one trying to change the current services, so the regional center usually has to prove that the service should be reduced, changed, or stopped.

Social Recreation describes services that support individuals with disabilities in building friendships, improving social skills, and integrating into the wider community. Some examples of these activities include a minecraft camp, group singing lessons, or joining a community soccer team.

In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)..
..and Exhaustion of Generic Resources >>

In-Home Supportive Services, or IHSS, is a California program that provides in-home help with daily activities for eligible people who are aged, blind, or disabled. Because IHSS is a generic resource, regional centers often require people to apply for and use IHSS before the regional center will fund overlapping services such as personal assistance, supervision, or some forms of in-home support. But having IHSS does not mean a regional center should automatically deny a request for services. The key question is whether IHSS actually covers the specific need. A regional center should not rely on IHSS to deny a service if the person is not eligible for IHSS, IHSS does not cover the task, the authorized IHSS hours are not enough, or the requested regional center service is different from what IHSS provides.

This information was developed by SIDDLAPP & Disability Rights California.