In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) are a generic service. The regional center cannot pay for services available through IHSS when your child meets the criteria but you don’t apply for it. The regional center executive director may make an exception to the rule and pay for services even if you don’t apply for IHSS, if there is an “extraordinary circumstance” and it is documented in your child’s IPP.^[1]Section 4689.05. The regional center can pay for supportive services between the time you apply for IHSS and the time it is approved. This is because, until IHSS services are approved and begin, they are not an available resource to meet your needs. The rate that the regional center pays for these services cannot be greater than the IHSS hourly rate for your county. In addition, regional centers cannot purchase supported living services that are the same as or similar to IHSS to replace IHSS.