The Department of Developmental Services is the state agency in charge of all 21 regional centers. This agency is sometimes called DDS and it has the power to tell regional centers what to do. One way DDS tells regional centers what to do is by sending orders and instructions, called “directives.”

In a letter on October 7, 2021, DDS told each regional center that they must tell service coordinators and the public about this change in the law. They also must find regional center consumers who may need and want these services. DDS told regional centers they must make special efforts to tell communities of color who do not speak English. Paying for social recreation and other related services can help reduce regional center spending disparities for low-income people of color.

You can find this directive on DDS’s website at: https://www.dds.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Restoration-of-Camping-Social-Recreation-and-Other-Services.pdf