Regional Center 101
Regional Centers are a statewide network of local agencies that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities as defined by California law.
Clients are assigned to their local Regional Center by zip code.
Each Regional Center operates independently, so services offered (as well as eligibility criteria for specific services) may vary slightly, but all Regional Centers are governed by the same set of statutes and regulations.
What services do Regional Centers provide?
Are there any other services Regional Center might provide?
Who is eligible for Regional Center services?
How does Regional Center funding work?
Regional Center is the “payer of last resort,” which means that they will only pay for a service if no other agency is responsible for providing that service.
Regional Center refers to other potential funding sources as “generic resources,” and families must prove that they’ve exhausted all generic resources before Regional Center will agree to fund a service.
- These “generic resources” include things like private insurance, California Children’s Services (CCS), Medi-Cal, and Local Education Agencies (LEA; usually the school district).
Before it approves funding, Regional Center will require you to provide written denials from private insurance (and sometimes from Medi-Cal) for the specific services you’re trying to access.