Kronbeck says that the first step is to look at your child’s Individualized Program Plan (IPP). Regional Center will only fund programs that help meet your child’s goals, so if you want to receive extra services over the summer (like respite care or summer camp funding), make sure to update the IPP goals first.
You can structure the IPP goals to support the services you want to ask for, such as a goal about learning water safety if you want to support swim classes.
What if you’re not sure what services you should ask for? Kronbeck says, "Think about what your concerns are for your child, and write those out and think about what goals you would like to see your child achieve to address those concerns, or goals that your child has for what they want their life to look like. If your child has specific interests and wants to go into those interests in the future, that would be something to include too."
Check out this clip where Kronbeck explains how to evaluate your child’s needs, your own needs, and your available resources when deciding what to request from Regional Center:
Now that Regional Centers have restored social-recreational funding, you may be able to request that Regional Center assist with paying for local programs such as summer camps and classes. Social-rec also includes non-medical therapy, which Kronbeck says would be activities like "art therapy and music therapy and equestrian therapy, as distinguished from hippotherapy that is provided by a licensed physical therapist."
In order for Regional Center to provide funding, the program will need to be vendored. You can request a list of established vendors from your service coordinator, or you can approach a program and ask that they go through the vendorization process.
Kronbeck cautions that if you're looking at local neighborhood programs that Regional Center considers generic resources, like Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA camps, and Parks and Recreation camps, "Even if you can get them to sign up as a vendor, you run into the parent responsibility issue. You would be expected to pay the registration fees for those programs if you had a typically developing child as well, and so they may say that the registration fee itself is parent responsibility. But if your child needs services or supports in order to access those community generic programs, that's where the Regional Center can potentially step in and provide those services and supports that a typically developing child wouldn't need. However, there's a compelling argument if you have low income, and attending one of those camps is the only way that your child could meet the goals articulated in the IPP, you could request funding for the registration fee."
As far as limits on how much social-rec funding is available to each Regional Center client, here's what Kronbeck reports:
Step one is to request if the camp or program itself will provide a 1:1 aide as a reasonable accommodation. Kronbeck says that if the program responds that "it's not reasonable for them because it would be an excessive financial hardship to have to hire an additional person to provide that service, that's when you would go to the Regional Center. It's entirely based on needs and their IPP and whether or not they're going to be safe and supported and able to access the setting."
If the camp or class your child will attend is not very familiar with accommodating kids with disabilities, an inclusion aide can help facilitate socialization and full participation. Kronbeck says that your Regional Center may already have service standards for providing an inclusion aide. This is different from a 1:1 behavioral aide, however.
Check out this clip for Kronbeck's overview of what to expect:
Start as soon as possible! It could take a while to get approval for the services you’re requesting, so begin the process now.
Kronbeck says, "You can make a request in writing or request an IPP meeting. Some Regional Centers are a little bit more formal, and they want all requests to be made in the context of an IPP. With other Regional Centers, you can email your service coordinator and make this request in writing. And then they'll bring it to the funding committee, if that's how they operate, but it's just kind of depends on your Regional Center and how they approach that process. If you're already calling an IPP to address the goals, this would also be an opportunity to request additional services."
If the Regional Center says, "We don't do that," or otherwise refuses your request, Kronbeck says, "The first thing you want to ask is, 'Can you send me a copy of the service standards to show that?' Sometimes they'll be able to, and sometimes they won't because it's not in the service standards. So that's my recommendation to anybody who gets told no, over the phone or verbally, is ask for a copy of that policy in writing." If the Regional Center still denies your request, Kronbeck recommends filing an appeal to resolve the issue.
Thank you to Lisa Concoff Kronbeck for always keeping us updated on Regional Center and other public benefits in California! You can catch the full recording and transcript of our event here.
To learn more about helping your child get the supports they need, be sure to attend our next live event to ask your questions in the chat and hear from our experts and fellow parents! Keep an eye on our Facebook page to learn more about upcoming events, and join our private Facebook group to keep the discussion going.
