Self-Determination is a voluntary service delivery system offered by the California Regional Center system to most individuals served by Regional Centers as of July 2021.

No. Self-Determination is voluntary. Traditional Regional Center Services remain available, and it is your choice which service delivery system to be part of.

Prior to July 2021, self-determination was only open to a select number of people via a lottery system. However, it is now open to most people served by Regional Centers. Individuals are eligible for Self-Determination if they are Lanterman Act eligible for ongoing services. This means that it’s not only individuals who are three or older! If a child is under the age of 3, they may still be eligible for Self-Determination services if they have already been found eligible for ongoing services. This might happen if they were born with Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy, for example.

People who are eligible for Self-Determination have to live in the community. The community can mean living with family, living independently (like in Supported Living), or even living in a Community Care Facility (“group home”), Foster Home Agency (“FHA”), or Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS) foster home. Where they can’t live is a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) or Intermediate Care Facility (ICF),  which are usually funded by Medi-Cal, or an institution (like a developmental center or institution for mental disease), unless there is a plan for them to move into the community within 90 days. The reason for this is that the Self-Determination Program is a waiver through the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the purpose of these waivers is to keep people in the least restrictive environment. If they already live in a restrictive environment, the services won’t help avoid that.

As mentioned before, Self-Determination is a choice, and the participant or their legal guardian needs to make that choice to receive these services. It’s not a “forever” choice though – one thing that’s important to know is that you can try Self-Determination, and if it doesn’t work out, you can return to traditional services. However, you can’t go back and forth as you please; there is a process and a time period.

Self-Determination provides more flexibility in service delivery, but it’s not a free-for-all. The laws, and even some policies, still apply. Self-Determination participation and services are only allowed when the service will meet IPP goals and when generic resources are not available; just like in traditional services, IHSS will still be the primary payer for personal care, the school district will still have to provide educational services, and typical parental responsibility will still apply. In addition, there are other requirements for services, like age differentiations, that can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

One of the beautiful and flexible things about Self-Determination is that people are no longer held to vendored providers, or those who have a contract with the Regional Center; they can use vendored providers, as long as they meet some requirements that are looked at individually, but they don’t have to. There is one exception; every participant must use a vendored Financial Management Service provider who will manage the money, pay providers, and make sure tax and employment laws are followed. Participants and families won’t have access to the money directly, and the law doesn’t allow participants or family members to make purchases and be reimbursed; everything has to be paid directly through the FMS. You can read more about the availability of and different models offered by Financial Management Services here: Visit DDS FMS Information Site.

Finally, but still quite importantly, before they do anything else, participants must attend the mandatory orientation that explains the program in detail. There is no obligation to move forward with Self-Determination after orientation, so you have nothing to lose!

The Self-Determination Program is a choice, and the participant or their legal guardian needs to make that choice to receive these services. It’s not a “forever” choice though – one thing that’s important to know is that you can try Self-Determination, and if it doesn’t work out, you can return to traditional services. However, you can’t go back and forth as you please; there is a process and a time period.

In general, a participant or legal representative will need to do the following:

1. Attend an orientation via their local Regional Center or the State Council for Developmental Disabilities
2. Complete a Person-Centered Plan (not mandatory, but highly recommended)
3. Complete a new Individual Program Plan for Self-Determination services
4. Receive a budget that shows how much funding can be utilized for services for a period of one year
5. Develop a spending plan that shows how the funding will be utilized to meet Individual Program Plan and Person-Centered Plan goals
6. Secure a Financial Management Service (FMS) to manage the funds
7. Assure that everything is in place: signed spending plan that the Financial Management Service has access to, onboarding with Financial Management Service completed for staff and other providers
8. Begin Self-Determination services at the beginning of a month.

This depends on specific circumstances related to individual cases and different Regional Centers and cannot be guaranteed. However, in general, it will take at least three to eight months from the time the Person-Centered Plan is completed to transition into the Self-Determination Program. It may take longer if there are disagreements with the Regional Center about services or if assessments need to be completed. It might also take longer if, for example,  a Financial Management Service has a waitlist.

Most Self-Determination Program transitional services (Person-Centered Planning and assistance with budget, spending plan, etc.) are paid for by the Regional Center, and the participant should not have any out-of-pocket expenses related to that. Assistance from an Independent Facilitator once the participant is in the Self-Determination Program is paid for by the Financial Management Service (FMS) out of the participant’s budget. The budget can not be increased to cover the cost of an Independent Facilitator.

Navigating the Regional Center system can be daunting, and the fairly new Self-Determination Program is no exception. An Independent Facilitator will be your advocate, helping you get the services you need, helping you understand the budget, and developing a spending plan.

Services are based on individual need, and not all services are available to all participants or families. The specific services available to you or your loved one will be discussed during the Person-Centered Planning process, the Individual Program Plan meeting,  and the spending plan processes. As in traditional services, the Regional Center is the “payer of last resort,” and all generic (non-Regional Center funded) resources must be utilized before the Regional Center will consider funding a service.

A participant or family member interested in the Self-Determination Program will not be charged for the initial consultation meeting. However, for Person-Centered Planning specifically, if the participant or family chooses to move forward with Future Is Now Facilitation’s services, they may notice that the consultation is included on the invoice submitted to the Regional Center. This is because this initial meeting serves as a “pre-planning meeting,” an important component of the Person-Centered Planning process. It is included to show the entire process and scope of the Person-Centered Planning process.