Early Education & Inclusion Support

Eligibility Under the Lanterman Act: Far Northern Regional Center Services after age 3 in Plumas County

Can my child continue with Far Northern Regional Center after turning 3?

Prior to age three, children diagnosed with, or who are at risk for, developmental delays or developmental disabilities can receive early intervention services from Regional Centers. This is known as Early Start or Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). At age three, Early Start services end.

Some children will be eligible for continued Regional Center services under two different categories.

1) Provisional eligibility: your child has significant limitations in two areas of life activities.

Provisional eligibility supports your child through ages 3 and 4 (until they turn 5).

2) Lanterman eligibility: your child has a diagnosed developmental disability and substantial difficulty in at least 3 areas of functioning. Lanterman eligibility supports your child throughout their life.

What is the Lanterman Act?

In addition to having the same rights as other Californians, The Lanterman Act is the California law that gives people with developmental disabilities the right to services and supports they need to live independent and normal lives. The Act says it is important for each person to get the services and supports that meet their needs and choices. The California Regional Center system was established by the state to support individuals with developmental disabilities. The Far Northern Regional Center, which serves Plumas County, assists people of all ages with intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, and related conditions. It provides intake, assessment, diagnosis, and ongoing service coordination.

Who qualifies for Lanterman services through Far Northern Regional Center?

eligibility

If your child has received Early Start services, the Far Northern Regional Center must assess them 90 days before their 3rd birthday to determine if they have a developmental disability that qualifies them for lifelong regional center services under the Lanterman Act. If they do not qualify under the Lanterman Act, the center will evaluate your child for provisional eligibility.
To qualify for provisional eligibility, your child must be 3 or 4 years old. They must also exhibit significant developmental delays in at least two of the following five areas of major life activities: self-care, receptive and expressive, language, learning, mobility, or self-direction. Provisional eligibility allows qualifying 3- or 4-year-olds to access full regional center services until they turn 5.
Provisional eligibility is transferable between all 21 regional centers in California, meaning your child will retain their eligibility if you move within the state.
The regional center must reassess your child for continued eligibility under the Lanterman Act at least 90 days before their 5th birthday. If the assessment determines that your child does not have a developmental disability, their eligibility and services will end. However, you have the right to appeal by requesting a fair hearing.

To be eligible for Regional Center services under the Lanterman Act, a child must have a diagnosed developmental disability and substantial disability that begins before age 18 and is expected to continue indefinitely.
Eligible disabilities include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, intellectual disability, and other conditions closely related to intellectual disability or that require similar treatment.
However, a diagnosis alone is insufficient for eligibility; the child’s disability must be “substantial.”
A “substantial” disability is one in which the person has impairments (defined in comparison to the expectations for a typical person of the same age) in at least three of the following areas:

In order to qualify for services under the Lanterman Act, the regional center will do an assessment. You and your family are encouraged to take part in the assessment. If your child is found eligible for services an Individual Program Plan (IPP) meeting must be held within 60 days of the assessment. If the regional center finds you ineligible for services and you disagree, you have the right to appeal by requesting a fair hearing.

How will your child benefit from Lanterman Services?

Regional Centers fund many services but the scope of services under the Lanterman Act is significantly different from what is provided through Early Start.

*Parents usually pay the basic cost for standard activities like dance classes, Scouts, or summer camps, just like any other family. However, if a child needs extra help or special support to join these group activities alongside their peers, the Regional Center can fund those specific extra services.

Other services include:

Assessment & Diagnosis

Individualized planning supports

Providing a Home and Community Based Services waiver for the Developmentally Disabled (HCBS-DD) whose primary goal is to support individuals with developmental disabilities in living at home or in community settings rather than in residential facilities. It allows for certain Medi-Cal rules to be waived, which can be beneficial for children whose parents' income is above typical Medi-Cal eligibility limits.

Counseling

Directly providing supports and services that are not covered through other sources. Regional Centers also help coordinate and access services that are funded through other programs. For example, they may: Help people understand which resources are available in the community. Help people apply for services in the community.

Self-determination programs, which give people a budget that they can use to purchase the services and supports they need to live independently and exercise greater autonomy.

Helping Your Child Communicate
Regional Centers must help you get services for communication and independent living.

They can fund or find:

Special tools: Equipment and training to help your child communicate. Communication devices range from simple picture boards to advanced speech-generating computers and tablet/ipad & apps that help people express themselves.
Personal helpers: Assistants to help your child talk or use devices.
Therapy: Speech and occupational therapy to improve skills.
Service guides: A coordinator to make sure you keep getting help.

Regional Centers are payors of last resort

This means that if a service is available through certain state or federal programs - such as Medicaid, the public school system, or private insurance - the regional center is not allowed to pay for it. Regional Centers cannot directly pay for services that are available through other programs such as:

Medi-Cal (Medicaid)
In-Home Support Services
California Children's Services
private insurance, or
a health care service plan

Exceptions can be made when the person with a disability is under three years of age, when the individual is still in the process of applying for coverage of those services, or when these programs have issued a letter denying coverage for these services.

How are services & supports determined?

For a young preschool-aged child, available services might include social skills and behavioral interventions, copayment assistance for those who qualify, respite care, support to be successful in a child care setting, support groups and conferences, and diapering and medical supplies, social recreation programming, non-medical therapies, educational services in some circumstances, and camping, among others.

After your child is found eligible for Regional Center services after age 3, a Far Northern Regional Center coordinator will schedule an Individualized Program Plan (IPP) meeting with you.

An IPP is a document that describes your child’s:

1) needs

2) goals & objectives to meet needs

3) services & supports needed to achieve goals & objectives

Regional Center services are based on your child’s IPP goals. If you want to request a specific service, make sure your child’s IPP explains why it is needed. For example, if you want behavioral or social-skills support, the IPP should describe your child’s behavioral and social challenges and include goals to address them.

For a young preschooler, available services may include:

Social-skills and behavioral support
Help with copayments, if eligible
Respite care
Support in a child care setting
Support groups and conferences
Diapers and medical supplies
Social and recreational programs
Nonmedical therapies
Educational services in some situations
Camping programs
Other services as needed

What is a Self-Determination Plan?

The Self-Determination Program is a voluntary alternative to the usual way of receiving Regional Center services. Children age 3 and older who qualify for Regional Center services may participate.

The program gives families more control over their child’s service budget. Families can choose providers, including local experts, and select services and activities that fit their child’s goals, needs, and schedule. The program uses person-centered planning to focus on the child’s strengths, interests, and community participation.

Let your Regional Center service coordinator know you are interested in transitioning to the Self-Determination Program. They can give you more information, including resources about attending a mandatory SDP orientation.

To be eligible you must agree to:

1) participate in an orientation

2) work with a financial management services agency

3) manage the program’s services within the assigned budget.

The participant (and their family as applicable) creates a person-centered plan (PCP), which outlines what is important to and for them as well as the services, supports, and resources that will help them reach their goals. The PCP is presented to the Regional Center, which will come back with an individualized budget. This budget is then used by the participant to create a spending plan that outlines what the participant will do with the money, including addressing any unmet needs (supports or services the participant couldn’t access for a variety of reasons, or needs that were not covered in an Individualized Program Plan).

To help you plan The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) has a long list of services in their Self-Determination Program Service Definitions document.

Keep in mind, the Regional Center is the payer of last resort, so the participant must use generic services first, such as the school district, private insurance, Medi-Cal, etc.

Choose a Financial Management Service & Choose a support option for creating and managing the plan

The participant chooses a financial management service (FMS), an independent agency that helps them use their budget to pay for services, taxes, and insurance. Participants choose the level of involvement they want from the FMS. The FMS can also run background checks on staff and keep track of spending.

Participants have three options for support in creating their Self-Determination plan:

1) Hire an independent facilitator (IF) to help create the PCP and spending plan, find and hire the right people, decide how much they should be paid, and mediate issues with providers. The independent facilitator fees are paid by the Regional Center for the first year; if the participant chooses to continue to work with their IF or a different IF after the transition, the fees can come out of the participant's budget.

2) Use their Regional Center service coordinator (keep in mind that many have high caseloads and some people consider it to be a conflict of interest).

3) Manage the process themselves.

To learn more about the services available in Plumas County, watch the recorded webinar below.

An Introduction to the Self Determination Program for Plumas County

Presented by Far Northern Regional Center,

Morgan Curtiz and Jordan Beard

Resources to help you understand the Self Determination Program:

Self Determination Program: What can or cannot be paid for & why?

Goods & Services Decision Tree

Self Determination Definitions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Slide Deck