Funding for social recreation and other essential Regional Center services is finally back! In 2009, the Department of Developmental Services was tasked with reducing their budget by 10%, resulting in deep budget cuts and the alteration or suspension of vital Regional Center services, including funding for summer camps, swimming, horseback riding, art and dance classes, and more. In 2021, AB 136 was passed, restoring access to several of these programs to Regional Center clients as of June 30, 2021.
We spoke with Chris Arroyo, the regional manager of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) to get the inside scoop!
After Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the 2021–2022 state budget, $19 million was added to the general fund to restore access to the following services:
To receive social-rec funding from Regional Center, your child's Individualized Program Plan (IPP) needs to contain goals that would be supported by social-rec programs. Arroyo tells us that writing goals for your child’s IPP will involve:
For example, if your child participates in a Saturday recreation program where the group meets weekly, their goal might be to learn conversational turn-taking. By participating in the activity, your child can learn conversational skills by practicing with their peers and observing them.
Arroyo also shared some great tips for preparing for an IPP meeting. Bring documentation to show where your child’s needs are, but avoid approaching goals from a deficit-based perspective. Instead, rely on person-centered planning (PCP). What kind of life does your child want to build? A person-centered plan focuses on the whole person and their desires, interests, preferences, and dreams. Person-centered planning begins with a person’s vision of themselves in the future, and it brings together the various people and organizations involved in their life now to help bring that vision to reality.
Social skills are essential to creating a quality life because they help individuals interface with others while working and build fulfilling friendships with others. Arroyo says, “Sometimes friendships just make the difference between everything.”
There are several resources you can use to align your child’s goals with the services they want to use. In addition to Undivided's guide to IPP goals, check out:
IPP goals can also help determine the appropriate amount of service time your child receives; however, Arroyo says clients typically receive between two and four social-rec hours per month. Policies will vary among Regional Centers.
Download Regional Center’s brochure on what services it commonly funds for children ages 3–18 here (go here for Spanish).
Arroyo says that every Regional Center must post a list of its vendors. Users should look for the “transparency portal” on their Regional Center’s website. If you can’t find it immediately, you can use the search bar.
If your Regional Center doesn’t offer a specific service or program, you can:
Visit the Director of Community Services at your Regional Center to request they develop more vendors in areas you’ve noticed a shortage, and ask about funding announcements and whether they are helping to create these programs.
Attend a meeting with the board of directors if you feel there have been unnecessary delays or the process is taking too long. Ask the board to make a motion for the Executive Director to prioritize establishing these programs. Arroyo suggests attending the meeting as a group if you are aware of other families affected by the issue. By doing so, you can show the board that it is not an individual issue but a systemic one.
If you're an Undivided member, look for our step-by-step guide to requesting social-rec services from Regional Center.
Arroyo tells us the Regional Center may be able to supplement the services offered by the school district. However, because Regional Centers are payers of last resort, you will need to:
Show that the school’s offer of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) is providing fewer minutes of service than recommended based on your child’s evaluation. For example, if it is recommended that your child receives two hours of speech therapy, but the school is only offering a half hour of service.
Show that you tried to utilize generic sources such as Medi-Cal to obtain the service, but they did not respond or you were denied. Arroyo suggests sending a letter to the provider if they do not respond, including dates you attempted to contact them, as the letter can be used as proof of implied denial.
After collecting the appropriate documentation regarding the school’s offer of FAPE and your attempts to go through generic providers, you can present the information to your Regional Center and request those services through them.
According to DDS, the Home and Community-Based Service (HCBS) requires that individuals receive services “in the most integrated settings of their choosing.”
Many Regional Centers are still in transition to full compliance. As part of the process, Regional Centers may work with some vendors, such as summer camps, to become fully integrated so that they can continue offering services to Regional Center clients.
Self-Determination Programs (SDP), however, are required to be compliant now because the program was created after the rules went into effect.
According to Arroyo, families will likely need approval to add social recreation services to their budget unless they are shifting around less than 10% of the total.
If you aren’t currently using SDP, you can request an IPP meeting to access these services.
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