National Core Indicators (NCI) Survey

The National Core Indicators (NCI) Survey has been conducted in California since 2010, as required by the state’s Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 4571. Information about this survey, as well as links to Golden Gate Regional Center’s most recent survey results, can be found below.

Collage ng tatlong larawan na may mga geometric na hugis sa background. Ang larawan sa kaliwang itaas ay isang matandang nakasakay sa wheelchair na isinasakay sa taxi ng kanyang tagapag-alaga. Ang larawan sa kanang bahagi ay isang mag-asawang Itim na may hawak na mga susi ng bahay. Ang larawan sa ibaba ay isang babaeng may Down Syndrome na bumibili ng mga grocery sa tindahan.

What Is the NCI Survey?

The National Core Indicator (NCI) program is a voluntary, nation-wide effort by state agencies to track performance in delivering services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. The way the NCI does this is by using standardized surveys with nationally validated measures, or “indicators.” On a national level, the program is coordinated by the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) and the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI); on the California state level, the survey is conducted by the State Council on Disabilities (SCDD) for use by the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and the state’s 21 regional centers.

Every year, tens of thousands of people are surveyed for the NCI, including over 400 people from each regional center. The topics surveyed include:

  • Housing
  • Trabaho
  • Relationships
  • Community involvement
  • Information and planning
  • Health and welfare
  • Safety
  • Respect and rights
  • Access to services and supports
  • Satisfaction of services
  • Choices, decision making and control

Why Is the NCI Survey Important?

The NCI Survey is a key way in which individuals and families served by the regional center can offer feedback about the type and quality of services they are receiving, which in turn can help DDS and the regional centers develop ways to improve the state’s developmental disabilities service system.

The survey also helps determine how California’s services compare to those of the other 45 states (plus the District of Columbia) participating in the NCI; and at the local level, it helps determine how each regional center is performing in comparison to one another.

Dalawang larawan na nakaayos sa isang collage. Ang larawan sa itaas ay isang larawan ng isang Itim na artisan na nagtatrabaho sa katad sa isang workshop ng mga manggagawa ng katad. Ang larawan sa ibaba ay isang matandang babaeng may Down syndrome, kasama ang isang katulong na umaalalay sa kanya, at hawak ang kanyang mga kamay.
Binata na may Down syndrome na gumagamit ng laptop sa bahay.

Are the NCI Survey Results Available?

The NCI Survey is hugely complex, involving many thousands of people, so it takes a number of years for results to be compiled and made available to the public. The most recent results currently available are for fiscal years 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19:

For NCI Survey results pertaining to other regional centers, as well as more information about the State of California’s involvement in the survey, see the National Core Indicators page on the DDS website.