For individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD), having a say in how support is provided can be an important part of building a life around personal goals and preferences. California’s self-determination program gives eligible Regional Center participants greater choice, flexibility, and control over their services. During National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, it is especially meaningful to recognize that people with Down syndrome, like all people with I/DD, have individual strengths, preferences, ambitions, and ideas about what they want their lives to look like.
What Is the Self-Determination Program?
California’s Self-Determination Program, often called SDP, is an alternative way for Regional Center participants to receive services.
In the traditional Regional Center system, individuals generally receive services through approved vendors. SDP provides more flexibility. Participants can have greater control over choosing providers and support staff, deciding when certain supports are provided, and creating services around their individual goals.
The program does not replace the Regional Center or the Individual Program Plan (IPP). Instead, it changes how approved services and supports can be arranged.
That distinction is important. Self-Determination is not simply a list of additional services. It is a different approach to directing support.
Why Does Choice Matter?
Every person has preferences about daily life. Where to go, what to learn, whom to spend time with, and what goals to pursue are deeply personal decisions.
People with developmental disabilities are no different.
Person-centered planning is a central part of SDP. It considers what is important to the individual as well as what is important for the person’s well-being. Strengths, needs, preferences, goals, and barriers can all become part of the conversation.
This can lead to support that fits the person more naturally rather than expecting the individual to fit into a predetermined program.
For a parent or family member, this approach may also mean changing the question from ‘What programs are available?’ to ‘What does this individual want to accomplish, and what supports could help?’
How Does the Individual Budget Work?
Participants in the self-determination program have an individual budget that is used to purchase eligible services and supports.
The budget is connected to the individual’s IPP and Regional Center services. A spending plan then identifies how that budget will be used.
Having control over a budget does not mean participants can spend it however they choose. Services and spending must meet SDP requirements and relate to the individual’s plan.
Participants also work with a Financial Management Service, commonly called an FMS. The FMS handles important financial responsibilities such as processing payments, tracking the budget, and helping ensure that spending follows program requirements.
This structure allows participants to have greater control without having to personally manage every administrative detail.
Can Participants Choose Their Own Support Providers?
One of the major differences in Self-Determination is greater flexibility in choosing who provides support.
Depending on program requirements and the service involved, participants may be able to select individuals, independent providers, or organizations that are not traditional Regional Center vendors.
That choice can be especially valuable when an individual has particular needs, preferences, schedules, interests, or goals that are difficult to address through a standard service model.
Choice also carries responsibility. Participants and their representatives need to understand the program, make decisions about services, work within the spending plan, and coordinate with the FMS and Regional Center.
Self-Determination is therefore about both freedom and active participation in planning.
What Does Down Syndrome Awareness Month Have to Do With Self-Determination?
October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the abilities of people with Down syndrome while promoting greater awareness, inclusion, and advocacy.
It is also an opportunity to challenge assumptions.
A diagnosis of Down syndrome does not tell anyone what a person wants from life, which decisions that person can make, or what goals may be possible. People with Down syndrome are individuals, and their interests, abilities, personalities, and support needs vary.
Self-determination reflects that same person-centered idea.
Rather than starting with assumptions about what someone with a particular disability should do, planning starts with the individual. What matters to this person? What choices does the individual want to make? What would greater independence or community participation look like? What support would help?
For some individuals, expressing those preferences may require assistance. That does not make the individual’s voice less important.
What Could Support Through SDP Look Like?
Because Self-Determination is individualized, support can look different from one participant to another.
Canaan Cares provides services statewide through SDP where applicable. Depending on the individual’s approved plan, this can include support with community integration and other goal-aligned services.
Community integration, for example, can create opportunities for individuals to take part in activities that reflect their interests while becoming more comfortable and involved in their communities.
The important point is that activities should have a purpose for the individual. Self-Determination is not about filling someone’s schedule. It is about arranging meaningful support around that person’s life.
How Does Someone Get Started?
A person interested in SDP begins by working with the Regional Center. The process includes learning about program requirements, participating in orientation and person-centered planning, establishing the individual budget and spending plan, and selecting an FMS.
Families do not have to understand every part of the program before asking about it.
A useful starting point is talking with the individual’s Regional Center service coordinator about Self-Determination and whether the individual would like to explore this option.
From there, families and self-advocates can learn about the responsibilities involved and decide whether this approach fits the individual’s goals and preferences.
Self-Determination Keeps the Individual at the Center
The self-determination program recognizes something simple but important: people with developmental disabilities should have meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions about their own lives.
National Down Syndrome Awareness Month offers a timely reminder of why that matters. Awareness should involve more than recognizing a diagnosis. It should include listening to self-advocates, respecting individual choices, recognizing abilities, and creating opportunities for people to pursue lives that reflect who they are.
Canaan Cares supports Self-Determination participants age three and older through all California Regional Centers. Support remains centered on the individual – the person’s goals, interests, choices, and vision for a meaningful life. That is ultimately what self-determination is about: giving people a stronger voice in shaping the support they receive and the lives they want to build.
If you are interested in learning more about self-determination programs in San Diego County and the surrounding areas, please contact the compassionate staff at Canaan Cares today: (858) 345-6546.
Canaan Cares proudly serves California Regional Centers throughout San Diego, Poway, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon, Vista, Solana Beach, Encinitas, La Mesa, and Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Riverside Counties.
To begin the eligibility process in your region, contact:
San Diego Regional Center
(858) 576-2996
Regional Center of Orange County
(714) 796-5100
Inland Regional Center
(909) 890-3000
Harbor Regional Center
(310) 543-0100
South Central Los Angeles Regional Center
(213) 744-7000
Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center
(626) 299-4700
Lanterman Regional Center
(213) 383-1300
Westside Regional Center
(310) 258-4000
Families may call any office for support, and staff will direct you to the correct intake coordinator.
