TransparencyThe case manager is the primary partner of any individual or family receiving services from Golden Gate Regional Center. Below is an overview of the agency's case management services, beginning with the role of the case manager.
What is a case manager?*
A GGRC case manager is a professional in the area of developmental disabilities who is knowledgeable about the resources, services and supports an individual with developmental disabilities (or a family served by Early Start) may want or need. Every individual who receives services or supports from GGRC is assigned a regular case manager.
The specific duties of a case manager are many, varied and complex. The primary function of the case manager's work, however, is to help individuals and families make (and execute) informed decisions about their own needs and desires. A case manager's main tool for achieving this can be either the Individual Program Plan (for anyone receiving Lanterman Act services) or the Individual Family Service Plan (for anyone receiving Early Start services).
What is an Individual Program Plan?
An Individual Program Plan (IPP) is a person-centered plan detailing how an individual receiving Lanterman Act services intends to work toward the future the individual prefers. Any services or supports an individual receives (or is scheduled to receive) from GGRC must be recorded in the IPP. In developing and authoring an individual's IPP, the Lanterman Act requires the regional center to:
- Complete an initial IPP for the individual for no more than 60 days after eligibility is determined
- Review the individual's IPP at least once annually (a person's plan can be modified at any time to better suit his or her needs)
- Complete a new IPP for the individual once every three years
- Convene an IPP planning team prior to completing the individual's initial IPP and all IPPs thereafter
In regard to the last requirement, an IPP planning team must include (at minimum) the individual receiving services and the individual's assigned case manager; it may, however, also include anyone who is part of the individual's support network (family, friends, caregivers, etc.).
As a unit, the IPP planning team should have knowledge of the following:
- The existing skills and abilities of the individual receiving services
- The goals the individual would like to achieve and the skills needed to achieve them
- The types of programs, training or services the individual may need to refine existing skills or acquire new ones
- The role and responsibilities of each planning team member in helping the individual achieve defined goals
- The specific services and supports the individual is to receive (or continue to receive) from the regional center
- The funding sources of all services and supports the individual is to receive (including non-regional center services and supports)
Ultimately, the deliberations and conclusions of the IPP planning team should lead to a document (the IPP itself) that reflects the desires and best interests of the person for whom the document is written.
What is an Individual Family Service Plan?
An Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a detailed plan for providing early intervention services (through the Early Start program) to a child and the child's family. Any IFSP completed for a family should have statements of the following:
- The family's resources
- The family's priorities and concerns
- The child's present levels of development
- Expected developmental outcomes for the child
- Expected outcomes for the family as related to the child's developmental needs
- Specific early intervention services necessary to the unique needs of the child
- The provider(s) and funding source(s) of said early intervention services
In developing and authoring a family's IFSP(s), California state law requires GGRC to:
- Complete an initial IFSP for the family no more than 45 days after the application process begins
- Complete a new IFSP for the family at least once every six months (a family can request a new IFSP at any time)
- Convene an IFSP planning team (consisting of the case manager and the family at minimum) prior to completing the initial IFSP and all IFSPs thereafter
Since a child is no longer eligible for Early Start services upon reaching age three, the final two IFSPs concern transitioning out of the Early Start program. The focus of the transition may be (among other possibilities) typical preschool services, a special education program run by the local school district and/or (if the child is eligible) GGRC's Lanterman Act services program.
What kind of services does GGRC purchase?
By law, GGRC can only purchase services and supports that are necessary for the accomplishment of a goal (or goals) established in an individual's IPP or a family's IFSP. The types of services and supports that may be purchased include:
- In-home respite
- Out-of-home respite
- Residential care
- Parent training and behavior modification services
- Adult day services
- Transportation
- Adaptive equipment
- Supported living services
- Infant early intervention services
In purchasing these or any other services or supports, GGRC is required to:
- Identify the service or support (as mentioned above) in an individual's IPP or a family's IFSP
- Verify that no other public or private monies are available to purchase the service or support
- Verify that the budget provided to the agency by the Department of Developmental Service (DDS) is sufficient to meet the cost of the service or support
- Authorize purchase of the service or support in writing prior to its actual purchase
- Purchase the service or support from an authorized regional center vendor
In addition to the above, the cost of certain regional center services and supports (respite, for example) may be shared with the family for whom the service or support is being purchased.
For more information about the types of services and supports GGRC purchases, as well as the circumstances under which such purchases can be made, see the agency's purchase-of-service (POS) guidelines.
* The Lanterman and Early Intervention Services acts use the term "service coordinator" in place of case manager. Also, in some GGRC literature, a case manager is referred to as a "Social Worker."
