You may be entitled to services from a variety of agencies and programs. Some examples are:
- Appropriate special education services from your local public school
- Equipment and services from Medi-Cal, California Children’s Services (CCS), or private health insurance
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- The right kinds and amounts of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
If you are having trouble getting the services and benefits you need, the regional center must advocate for you. Your service coordinator (or someone else selected by the regional center) might help by going with you to your IEP meeting at the school. They might help you calculate how many IHSS hours you need by figuring out how much time it takes to do different tasks at home. The regional center could also help you at an administrative hearing with one of these agencies.[1]Section 4648(b)(1)& (2). Some regional centers hire attorneys to represent consumers in certain circumstances.
Regional centers must have a staff person (or contract with someone) with expertise in the areas of criminal justice, special education, family support, affordable housing, community integration, and quality assurance. Regional centers must also hire a “consumer advocate” who is a person with a developmental disability.[2]Section 4640.6(g). You should be able to go to any of these people to get help advocating in these areas.
If the regional center cannot or will not help, file an appeal and ask the judge to order the regional center to provide advocacy help to you. See Chapter 10 for more information about appeals.