If you are transitioning to SDP, Regional Center will pay $1,000 toward an Independent Facilitator to develop your child's person-centered plan (PCP). Then, Regional Center will pay for up to 40 hours of continued support for the transition to SDP, paid hourly at a specific rate depending on the Regional Center. Those 40 hours can be split between the Independent Facilitator and financial management services, but they must first be approved by the Regional Center.
Going forward, you can write support from your IF into your child’s budget and spending plan, typically billed hourly. An IF can help with IPP meetings, working with your FMS, scheduling monthly check-in meetings with you to follow up, etc.
The California SDP network has a list of IFs you can contact to see if they are a good fit for you. The site has filters available so that you can choose which geographic regions they serve, any special ages, or skill sets that you prefer an IF to have. You can also reach out to the Local Self-Determination Advisory Committee run by your Regional Center, where you’ll be able to meet the people involved with SDP in your community, including IFs. Some families have found an IF through the California Self-Determination Program Forum Facebook group.
If your preferred Independent Facilitator has a lengthy waiting list, you can put yourself on the list and continue looking. The amount of time spent on a waitlist will vary depending on the IF.
If you can’t find anyone who has experience with your particular Regional Center, then make sure the IF has experience with SDP in general and is not brand new.
Note that there are no established regulations for what IFs must provide for clients; some only provide help for the initial transition to SDP without ongoing support. Families who are looking to hire an Independent Facilitator need to do their research and make an educated decision based on their needs.
Undivided members have access to our step-by-step guide to enrolling in SDP as well as our list of recommended Independent Facilitators with insights about their availability. If you’re looking for an IF who is vendored with a specific Regional Center, you can always ask our Research team about putting together a report for you.
When you interview people, get a good feeling for who they are and how they interact to see if they will fit with you. We recommend making sure to get clear answers to these questions when interviewing a potential IF:
Before getting started with an IF, you may want to have the answers to these questions in writing to make sure you’re clear on what services they offer. A good IF will be upfront about their experience with your Regional Center, their fee, how many hours they anticipate billing you for each month, and what kind of support they can offer.
You may want to ask what kind of clients they serve and in what areas; if your IF’s other clients are similar to your child, then they are likely to know great providers.
Disability Voices United has a good list of more questions to ask IFs.
During the transition process to Self-Determination, you should work in a collaborative manner with your Independent Facilitator. As your child's person-centered plan is built, your Independent Facilitator should get to know your child and family along with any unmet needs your child has. They should give suggestions for how to build your child's budget, and with your feedback, you create the budget together.
Your IF should also know what your Regional Center typically provides, so you can talk to them about ideas for what to include in the spending plan. A good IF will tell you about opportunities that other clients have utilized; for example, they might send you information about conferences that can be billed under parent training.
If your IF suggests narrowing down your requests, talk with them about each service and why or why not they recommend requesting it. Ask if there is a strategy around why not requesting something now. For example, if you’re trying to get creative like using a vendor to provide coaching and it’s denied, then that vendor might get “burned” and denied.
Although you are welcome to work with two Independent Facilitators if that suits your family's needs, two children in the Self-Determination Program can both have the same IF. Working with just one IF may be easier.
Your decision might be influenced by the IF's rates for services, but you can change IFs at any point.
How can you know if your Independent Facilitator is not working out? First, make sure to get familiar with the expectations of what an IF does, and see if your IF meets them. It's important to understand that the first year and even second year can be tough and bumpy.
You should be able to see if your IF is a good fit personality-wise. Are they asking questions about your PCP? Do they understand your Regional Center? Do they understand SDP? How much bulk of the work are you doing? They should be doing a lot during the transition from traditional Regional Center services to SDP. You'll want to definitely interview more than one IF to help you decide if you should switch IFs.
It's important to know that some IFs have waitlists, and some require you to sign a contract, so you need to know the responsibilities and potential delays that come with making a change.
Depending on the contract you signed with your IF and any balance owed for services, it should be as easy as letting your IF know that you will no longer need their services and ask for an invoice for any pending charges.
Because an IF is a Regional Center service that is typically billed on the rear end, there should be no lapse in services, but you can ask your new IF if they are already set up with your FMS. If you have enough funds in code 340, you should be able to start using the new IF services right away. You can ask your new IF about the details just in case.
Note that if you want to change Independent Facilitators during the initial transition to SDP, there is a set amount of hours that any IF can provide. If the first IF used most of those hours, there may not be enough left to pay for the second IF. You might be able to obtain an exception where the Regional Center will pay extra, but it is case-by-case and no guarantee.
It is a good idea to let your Regional Center service coordinator and FMS know that you have switched IFs just in case they include your IF in any communication.
If you would like to become an Independent Facilitator, the first step is to contact the Regional Center in your catchment area about any trainings. Autism Society of LA has different trainings, as does the Guidelight Group. Once you complete training, it's helpful to contact other IFs who may be willing to mentor you. If you don't know any IFs already, you could ask your Regional Center if they have a list of IFs for a good place to start.
You should have some background in financial planning. Then, you can see if you can build a client base.
You may feel comfortable and confident managing your child's case after they switch to the Self-Determination Program. However, it is not recommended until you have experience navigating the system.
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