What is the Lanterman Development Disabilities Services Act?
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act) is that part of
California law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of persons with developmental
disabilities, and creates the agencies, including regional centers, responsible for
planning and coordinating services and supports for persons with developmental
disabilities and their families.
Section 4501 of the Lanterman Act states: "The State of California accepts a
responsibility for persons with developmental disabilities and an obligation to them which
it must discharge. Affecting hundreds of thousands of children and adults directly, and
having an important impact on the lives of their families, neighbors and whole
communities, developmental disabilities present social, medical, economic and legal
problems of extreme importance."
As a result, the Lanterman Act establishes an entitlement to services and supports for
persons with developmental disabilities, those at risk of developing a developmental
disability, and their families. This entitlement means that individuals with developmental
disabilities 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 communities in which they live.
In addition to the entitlement to services and supports, the Lanterman Act creates the
regional center as the central coordinating agency in a community network. The regional
center has the mandate to ensure that the consumers for whom it is responsible receive
services and supports which will assist them in living productively in their communities.
The regional center may accomplish this task by securing services and supports directly,
or by assisting consumers and families to locate and access services and supports from
other agencies. This model of service delivery recognizes that California's network of
services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities is large and complex.
Therefore, the Legislature designed the service delivery system to have one central
coordinating agency that consumers and families can contact regarding all of their
questions and needs.
What responsibilities does the Lanterman Act designate to the
Regional Center?
The Lanterman Act assigns the regional center the responsibility of providing various
services and supports to consumers and their families. These include:
 | Outreach activities to identify persons who may need
regional center services. |
| Assessment and
evaluation
to determine eligibility for regional center services. |
| Preventive and
counseling
services for persons at high risk of having a baby with a developmental disability. |
| Services for infants who have a high risk of becoming
developmentally disabled. |
| Development of an Individual Program Plan (IPP),
through a person-centered planning process, which states the specific outcomes the
consumer is trying to achieve, and the services and supports required to meet those
outcomes. |
| Service coordination. Coordination of services and
supports to assist consumers in meeting the desired outcomes they have specified in their
IPPs. |
| Development of innovative, cost-effective services and supports that are flexible,
individualized and promote community integration. |
| Assurance of the quality and effectiveness of
services and
supports that are provided to the consumer. |
| Advocacy to protect the civil, legal and service rights
of regional center consumers. |
| Live within our budget each year. |
| Locate and/or develop innovative and cost effective ways to achieve the desired outcomes
for consumers. |
| Secure services from qualified service providers, and only continue those services where
there is reasonable progress and agreement. |
| Take into account parental responsibility for minor consumers when making a decision
about the purchase of a service or support. The regional center funds only for those
services and supports which are required for the consumer that are above what a parent
would provide for a child without a disability. |
| Pursue all possible sources of funding before spending regional center funds. |
| Ensure that the regional center does not pay for services and supports which should be
provided by a generic agency such as the Department of Education, Medi-Cal and Social
Security. |
| Ensure that community service providers provide good quality services for a fair
price. |
What is the Department of Development Services?
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is the department in the California
Health and Welfare Agency which has the responsibility of providing statewide policy
direction and leadership to ensure that persons with developmental disabilities shall have
the opportunity to lead more independent, productive and satisfying lives as envisioned by
the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act.
In order for the State of California to carry out many of its responsibilities to
persons with developmental disabilities, the state, through DDS, contracts with regional
centers to provide the service coordination necessary to obtain the services and supports
best suited to each individual consumer.
What is the State Council on Developmental Disabilities?
The State Council on Developmental Disabilities is a federally mandated and funded
organization charged with promoting the development of a consumer and family centered,
comprehensive system of services and supports for individuals with developmental
disabilities. The goals are to enable individuals to achieve independence, productivity
and integration and inclusion into the community.
A key responsibility of the Council is to formulate the State Plan that establishes
goals and objectives for improving and enhancing the service system in California. To
ensure that local needs and priorities are being addressed, the Council funds the thirteen
(13) regional Area Boards on Developmental Disabilities.
