A regional center is a nonprofit agency in California that coordinates services for people with developmental disabilities. There are 21 regional centers across the state, each serving a specific geographic area. Together they support roughly 500,000 individuals, funded through a system that totals $19 billion in the 2025-26 budget. If you or a family member has a developmental disability, a regional center is likely your main point of contact for getting help.
How Regional Centers Work
Regional centers exist because of a California law called the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act. This law entitles people with developmental disabilities to a wide range of services and supports, and regional centers are the agencies responsible for making that happen. They assess whether someone qualifies, assign a service coordinator (sometimes called a case manager), and either fund services directly or connect people to other programs that can help.
Regional centers are not state agencies themselves. They’re private, nonprofit organizations that contract with the California Department of Developmental Services. Each one covers a defined area of the state, so which center you work with depends on where you live.
Who Qualifies for Services
To be eligible, you need a developmental disability that began before age 18, is expected to continue indefinitely, and creates a substantial limitation in your daily life. The qualifying conditions include intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, and other disabling conditions defined in California law.
The key word is “substantial.” Having a diagnosis alone isn’t enough. The disability needs to significantly affect your ability to function in areas like self-care, communication, learning, mobility, or independent living. Eligibility is determined through an assessment process, not just a doctor’s note.
The Intake and Assessment Timeline
Anyone can request services from a regional center, whether that’s a parent, a doctor, a teacher, or the individual themselves. Once you make that request, the regional center has 15 working days to complete an initial intake, which includes deciding whether a full assessment is needed.
If assessment is needed, the center has 120 calendar days from intake to complete it and determine eligibility. That timeline shortens to 60 days in urgent situations, such as when a delay could put someone’s health or safety at risk, cause significant setbacks in development, or lead to placement in a more restrictive living situation.
The Individual Program Plan
Once you’re found eligible, the most important document in your relationship with the regional center is your Individual Program Plan, or IPP. This is a written plan you create with a planning team that typically includes your service coordinator, yourself (or your family if you’re a minor), and anyone else you want involved.
The IPP covers what’s happening in your life, what matters to you, and what goals you’re working toward. It then lists the specific services and supports your team agrees will help you reach those goals. It’s meant to be person-centered, meaning your priorities drive the plan rather than the other way around. Your service coordinator is required to meet with you in person at least once every 12 months, but you can request an IPP meeting whenever your needs or goals change.
Types of Services Available
Regional centers fund or coordinate a broad range of services depending on what each person needs. Some of the most common include:
- Respite care: Temporary relief for family members or caregivers, either in the home or at an outside location, so they can take a break from daily caregiving responsibilities.
- Behavioral services: Support from professionals who address behavioral challenges, train family members in behavioral strategies, and provide crisis intervention when someone is in acute distress.
- Supported living: Help for people who live on their own but need assistance, sometimes up to 24 hours a day, with daily tasks and decision-making.
- Employment programs: Day programs, group employment services, and individualized job support designed to help adults find and keep work at various levels of independence.
Regional centers don’t always pay for services directly. In many cases, they first look to other funding sources like Medi-Cal or private insurance. The center’s role is to make sure you’re connected to whatever support exists, filling gaps with its own funding when no other source covers what you need.
Early Start for Infants and Toddlers
Regional centers also run California’s Early Start program, which serves infants and toddlers from birth to age three who have developmental delays or are at risk of developing a disability. This program was established in 1993 under federal law and is designed to catch developmental issues early, when intervention is most effective.
Family Resource Centers partner with regional centers and local education agencies to help families understand early intervention and navigate the system. Parents have specific rights under Early Start, including access to records, periodic reviews of their child’s plan, and confidentiality protections. The plan used for young children is called an Individual Family Service Plan and focuses on both the child’s needs and the family’s concerns.
Transitioning to Adult Services
One of the more complicated moments in the regional center system happens when a young person ages out of the school system. If you’re between 18 and 22 and still in school, your district typically handles transition services. But once you leave school, whether through graduation, a certificate of completion, or simply choosing not to return, the regional center becomes responsible for funding the disability-related services you need.
This can include day programs, vocational training, and independent living skills training. The process isn’t always smooth. Some regional centers readily serve adults in this age range who have left school, while others may push you to return to your school district first. If you’re in this situation, requesting an IPP meeting to discuss your adult service needs is the right starting point. If you received a high school diploma, your school district is no longer obligated to provide special education services, and the regional center takes over.
The Self-Determination Program
California also offers a Self-Determination Program as an alternative to the traditional service model. Under this option, you get an individual budget based on your assessed needs, then you decide how to spend it. You can hire your own support workers, choose service providers who aren’t part of the regional center’s usual network, and negotiate unique arrangements with local businesses or community resources.
You work with a Financial Management Services provider who handles payments on your behalf, but the decisions about which services to buy, how often to use them, and who provides them are yours. You keep all the same rights you’d have under the traditional model, including the ability to appeal decisions and request fair hearings. The Self-Determination Program appeals to people who want more direct control over their care, though it also requires more active involvement in managing your services and budget.