Golden Gate Regional Center

Active Status 
When the individual and his/her family are actively partnering with the regional center on plans, decisions and choices regarding provision of services and supports to meet desired outcomes. 

Advocate 
A person who supports and represents the rights and interests of another individual in order to ensure the individual's full legal rights and access to services. The advocate can be a friend, relative, Case Manager, or any other interested person. 

Age-Appropriate 
Consideration of the chronological age of the person in the use of activities, instructional locations, and techniques. 

Autism/Autistic Disorder
Autism/Autistic Disorder has the essential features of markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interests.  Manifestations of the disorder vary greatly depending on the developmental level and chronological age of the individual.  It must be manifest prior to the age of 3 years.

Case Manager (also referred to as Social Worker)
Person assigned as the primary contact and partner at the regional center once eligibility has been determined. The Case Manager is a professional in the area of developmental disabilities and is knowledgeable about counseling, resources, supports and other services. 

Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is a condition which results in a disorder of movement and posture resulting from a non-progressive lesion of the brain acquired during development. 'Cerebral" refers to the brain, and "Palsy" to paralysis. It can be mild in nature or very debilitating depending on the severity. Common manifestations may include spastic rigidity of the limbs, disorders of posture and movement, speech articulation difficulties, lack of muscle tone, poor coordination, poor balance, unusual gait. It is not communicable. Education, therapy and the use of assistive technology can help persons with cerebral palsy lead productive lives.

Circle of Support 
Informal and reliable group of people who meet and communicate regularly to offer support, in a way appropriate to the consumer for whose benefit it exists. 

Client Development Evaluation Report (CDER) 
An assessment instrument administered to each consumer at intake to determine developmental and functional status. Thereafter, the CDER is reviewed and revised at the IPP meeting. 

Community Integration 
Presence, participation and interaction in the consumer's natural environments. 

Consumer 
Person who is eligible for regional center services. Sometimes referred to as a client or customer. 

Emergency Response System 
Response system used after business hours to reach an emergency on-call worker within 30 minutes once a caller contacts Golden Gate Regional Center's after hours response pager system and leaves their telephone number. 

Empowerment 
To gain the knowledge, information and skills necessary to take responsibility for one's own decisions and choices, empowering an individual to have as much control as possible over his/her life and future. 

Entitlement 
Persons with developmental disabilities (consumers) and their families have the right to receive services and supports which will enable them to make decisions and choices about how, and with whom, they want to live their lives; achieve the highest self-sufficiency possible; and lead productive, independent and satisfying lives as part of the community in which they live. 

Established Risk 
An established risk condition exists when an infant or toddler is diagnosed with a condition which has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay, although that delay may not be evident at the time of diagnosis. 

Functional Skills 
Skills which enable an individual to communicate and interact with others, and to perform tasks which have practical use and meaning at home, in the community or on the job. 

Generic Agencies 
Any agency which has legal responsibility to serve all members of the general public and which is receiving public funds for providing such services. 

Generic Services or Supports 
Services and supports provided by public agencies. For example, medical services through Medi-Cal, educational services through the Public School District, vocational and job placement services through the Department of Rehabilitation, and disability benefits through Social Security. Other generic supports in the community are voluntary service organizations, commercial businesses, non-profit agencies, and similar entities in the community whose services and products are regularly available to members of the general public. 

Goal 
A general statement of purpose that defines the end result of a program's impact upon an individual. A goal describes the behavior or skills that a consumer is to acquire usually within a three-to-five year period. 

High Risk 
High risk for developmental disability exists when an infant or a toddler has a history of a combination of biomedical risk factors such as low birth weight, prematurity, severe respiratory distress, or seizure activity during the first weeks of life. 

Inactive Status 
When a consumer or family requests that they no longer need or want direct or purchased services from the regional center, their status becomes inactive. Status may be reactivated by contacting the regional center serving the area where you live in California. 

Individual Educational Plan (IEP) 
A program established for individuals who are eligible for special education services, prepared by an individualized education program team which determines services to be provided under the mandates of the IEP. 

Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) 
A written statement which lists goals and specific objectives in areas important to the family of a child birth to three years of age. Each objective contains a target date that the objective is to be met, and one or more plans designed to reach the objective. The IFSP is coordinated by the Case Manager. 

Individual Program Plan (IPP) 
A planning document that is developed for each consumer which specifies the desired outcomes he/she is trying to achieve. The IPP also specifies the steps and actions that will be taken to try to reach a desired outcome, and lists any needed supports and services. The IPP is developed through a process of individualized needs determination and embodies an approach centered on the person and family. 

Interdisciplinary Team 
A group of persons who have individual areas of professional expertise and/or know the consumer and his/her skills and behavior. 

Long-Term Goals 
Desired outcomes that take at least five years to accomplish and require new skills, certain choices, and certain steps along the way in order to achieve them. 

Mental Retardation
Mental retardation has the essential feature of significantly subaverage intellectual functioning that is accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, work, leisure, health and safety. The onset must occur prior to the age of 18 years of age.

Natural Environment 
Places and social contexts commonly used by individuals without developmental disabilities. Examples of natural environments include the neighborhood school, the local child care center, social activities sponsored by Boy and Girl Scouts, YMCA/YWCA, Parks and Recreation, and activities sponsored through religious organizations. 

Natural Support 
Support and assistance that naturally flows from the associations and relationships typically developed in natural environments such as the family and community. Examples of natural supports are extended family and friends. 

Objectives 
Steps taken to move towards a goal. A completion date should be indicated so that everyone involved in the planning will know if the objective is being met or not. 

Partnership 
When two or more people share common goals and agree to work together to achieve them. 

Person-Centered Planning 
The way in which the planning team works together to figure out where you want to go (goals), how you want to get there (objectives) and what kinds of support you need to get there. Person-centered planning means focusing on your needs, strengths and capabilities, and helping you to have an independent, productive and satisfying life. 

Purchase of Service Funds 
Funds identified in the Budget Act of the regional center system for the purpose of purchasing services provided by vendors for consumers. 

Self-Advocacy 
Awareness, motivation and ability of an individual to represent and communicate his or her own interest, to exercise personal choice, to exert control over his or her own environment, and to avoid exploitation and abuse. 

Service Catchment Area 
Geographical area within which a regional center provides services specified in its contract with the Department of Developmental Services. 

Service Coordination 
Locating and coordinating support, information and service choices for a consumer and the family to feel secure, knowledgeable, responsible and empowered.

Social Worker
See Case Manager

Short-Term Objectives 
Steps and actions outlined in the Individual Program Plan to achieve desired outcomes in the future. Objectives are usually time-limited and stated in terms that allow you to measure your progress in achieving them. 

Social Security Administration (SSA) 
Federal agency which administers benefits to retired or disabled workers and their surviving dependents. 

Stakeholder 
All members of the community ­ consumers, families, providers of services and supports, local and state agencies, Golden Gate Regional Center Board of Directors and staff. 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 
A program that pays monthly benefits to people with low incomes and limited assets who are 65 or older, blind, or have a disability. Children can qualify if they meet Social Security's definition of disability and if their income and assets fall within the eligibility limits. 

Substantial Handicap 
Condition which results in major impairment of cognitive and/or social functioning. Moreover, a substantial handicap represents a condition of sufficient impairment to require interdisciplinary planning and coordination of special or generic services to assist the individual in achieving maximum potential. 

Vendor 
A provider of services who has applied for and received a vendor identification number from the regional center. Regional centers may only purchase services from community agencies, programs and professionals who have completed this vendor process. 

Voucher 
A written authorization issued by a regional center to a family member or a consumer to procure the service for which the voucher is issued and which specifies the maximum reimbursement authorized by the regional center. 

Voucher Program 
Direct reimbursement to families for arranging respite care services and transportation.