5: Pre-Enrollment Transition Supports

Sample Process: Transition to SDP Document

PURPOSE: Transitioning into the Self Determination Program.

The SDP Orientation is mandatory training for participants interested in the Self Determination Program. The orientation teaches them about their services, draft budgets and moving away from the traditional model.

Effective April 1, 2026, the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities is the only approved provider to offer the SDP orientation statewide. SDP orientations offered by other entities do not meet the requirement set by the Department of Developmental Disabilities.

• The SDP Orientation can be completed as follows:
• Online via the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) Orientation webpage: https://scdd.ca.gov/sdporientation/.

The SDP orientation will be provided virtually and is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantone), Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Hmong, Farsi, Armenia, Arabic, and American Sign Language (ASL). Additionally, the SDP Orientation will consist of two required two-hour sessions. Part A must be completed before Part B, and both must be finished prior to accessing SDP transition supports and SDP enrollment.

1. If orientation was completed through the Learning Management System (LMS) or the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD), the Participant Choice Specialist will run a monthly list of who has completed the orientation and reach out to the participants/families to invite them to a Q&A follow up session. The Q&A follow-up session is held monthly (in hybrid format).
   1. Participants who register for the Q&A follow-up session will have the opportunity to have their 12-month authorization report available.
2. Concurrent to the Q&A follow up session, the Service Coordinator (SC) will be notified and will reach out to the participant/family to ask if they wish to move forward into SDP.
   1. If the participant/family wishes not to continue, the SC will discuss any challenges or obstacles preventing them from transitioning to SDP.
   2. If the participant/family wishes to continue, the SC will support and be the main point of contact during the transition process.
3. If the participant/family is interested in pursuing SDP, the SC will provide the participant/family with a list of Independent Facilitators upon their request.
   1. NOTE: Kern Regional does not endorse any specific Independent Facilitator.
   2. The participant/family has the right to select the Service Coordinator as their Independent Facilitator.
4. The SC will discuss with the participant/family the option of creating a Person-Centered Plan and encourage them to contact their Independent Facilitator for assistance in completing it.
   1. The Person-Centered Plan outlines what’s important to and what’s important for the participants. It includes their living situation, work, or school programming. It includes the needs, dreams and goals or the participants.
   2. Note: The person-centered plan is optional and does not replace the Individual Program Plan (IPP). It informs the IPP.
5. Once the Person-Centered Plan is completed, the Independent Facilitator can request payment for their service. Payment will be made once the screening process of the Independent Facilitator has been completed and through a standard POS, along with a copy of the plan and invoice.
   1. Plans and invoices should be submitted to Service Coordinator via email and include the SDP email: sdp@kernrc.org.
   2. Note: The Person-Centered Plan does not necessarily require an Independent Facilitator. However, the individual drafting the plan should possess a solid understanding of person-centered practices, as well as knowledge of the participant's preferences, strengths, and needs.

Note: The 12 months authorization report can be requested at any time the participant/family has expressed interest.

As the participant/family is beginning the transitioning process, Kern Regional Center recommends beginning exploring and interviewing the different FMS agencies and different models. Once a draft budget has been obtained the participant/family will contact their chosen FMS.

The role of the FMS is discussed at this early stage in the transition process; however, participants/families choose their FMS later in the process with the help of their Independent Facilitator.

1. Self Determination participants are required to use a Financial Management Service (FMS) to pay for services through SDP. FMS does not work for regional centers but must be contracted by a regional center. The FMS will:
   1. Pay the bills for your services
   2. Provide monthly statements of how you are spending your individual budget
   3. Pay taxes on your staff/workers and ensure employment laws are being followed.
2. The Service Coordinator will review the different service models. The participant or family can change service models at any time, if they feel it’s necessary.

Once the PCP has been completed, a meeting will be scheduled to discuss the plan and initiate the budget development process.

1. A meeting with Service Coordinator, Participant Choice Specialist, parent, client, Independent Facilitator and/or clients/parents’ and circle of support will be held to review the Person-Centered Plan, 12-month authorization report, current services, any new needs, hopes and dreams and available generic services.

2. The 12-month authorizations report will be available and reviewed as the team develops the individual budget.

3. The amount of funding in an individual budget must be based upon services the regional center would have funded through the traditional service delivery model to meet the individual’s IPP goals. This amount is calculated by the regional center and must include any adjustments agreed to by the IPP team, as described below. Also, WIC section 4685.8 now requires the IPP team to discuss unmet needs for individuals with no or low purchase of service authorizations, which is defined as less than $2,000 of authorized services for the most recently available 12 months.

4. The budget will begin with the total amount of the most recently available 12 months of purchase of service authorizations for that individual in the traditional service delivery model. New needed services will be added as identified by the IPP team that are not previously included in a purchase of service authorization. (DDS Directive 11/25/2025)
   1. If services requested need further consultation the team will reconvene within 15 days. A Notice of Action will be issued if services are denied.
   2. If assessments are needed, i.e. Supported Living Services, Independent Living Services or Augmentative Communication, etc., the team will reconvene once assessment is completed.
      1. Note: The participant/family will have the availability to have the funding of the assessment added to the draft budget and be reflected in the spending plan.
   3. The participant/family must explore all generic resources with the support of their Service Coordinators.
   4. Service Coordinators will link the participant/family to generic agencies such as Community Navigator Program.
5. At the conclusion of the meeting, a draft budget that includes current services based on the 12-month authorization report and any new needs will be drafted and the participant/family will have a general idea of services as they transition into SDP.

At Kern Regional Center, we are dedicated to carefully reviewing each budget and spending plan to ensure they meet all necessary guidelines and align with the requirements of the Lanterman Act and adhere to the following process when certifying an SDP budget.

1. Best Practice Team is a multi-disciplinary team that provides the Service Coordinator with technical assistance, review rates, dental needs assessment and additional information as needed. Additionally, the team reviews services, assessments and any exceptions if warranted.
2. Best Practice Team meets every Monday morning. Service Coordinators will sign up for the next meeting once the draft budget is completed.
3. Once the proposed budget is reviewed and if no questions remain, the budget is certified.
4. The budget will be certified by the Director of Client Services or their designee.
5. The Service Coordinator will send the Regional Center certified budget to the participant/family the same day via docu-sign for the participant’s/family’s signature and include the Independent Facilitator for additional support.
6. If the participant/family has chosen their Service Coordinator as their Independent Facilitator, the SC will provide support and guidance in understanding the proposed budget.
7. A planning team meeting shall be convened at the participant/family’s earliest convenience to discuss any concerns with the budget if final agreement cannot be reached.
8. Once the budget is certified and signed by the participant/family, the Service Coordinator shall provide a copy of the certified budget to the Independent Facilitator.

A Self-Determination Program (SDP) spending plan identifies how a participant’s individual budget will be used to support their goals, services, and supports.

1. The spending plan is developed in collaboration with the participant/family, the independent facilitator, and, if included, regional center staff.
2. The spending plan needs to include the services, how often the services will be purchased, the SDP service codes, and the cost of each service and support that will be purchased.

At Kern Regional Center, the draft spending plan as provided by the participant/family and Independent Facilitator will be reviewed at Best Practice Team.

1. The Service Coordinator will review the spending plan with Program Manager, prior to presenting it to the Best Practice Team.
2. Regional Centers are to certify the individual’s spending plan. As part of the certification process, regional centers must certify that the goods and services in the spending plan meet the following:
3. Address the goals in the individual’s IPP.
   1. Are not available from generic services, including but not limited to, Medi-Cal, In Home Supportive Services, services from other state departments such as the Department of Rehabilitation, and services provided by local school districts or private insurance.
   2. Are eligible for federal financial participation, which means the services or supports are eligible for federal funding and that the services have been approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
4. If the Best Practice team has any questions pertaining to the spending plan, a planning team meeting shall be convened at the participant/family’s earliest convenience to discuss. If agreement cannot be reached on any or all services detailed in the spending plan, the participant/family will be provided with their due process rights.
5. If agreement is reached on the spending plan, the Program Manager will submit the spending plan to the SDP Program Manager and the SDP Program Manager will review the spending plan with KRC accounting department, typically before the end of the week.
6. The spending plan will undergo a thorough review by the Accounting Department to verify the accuracy of details including the Name, UCI, Dates of services, FMS vendor number, and most importantly that the calculations are correct.
7. If no questions remain, the Director of Client Services or their designee will certify the spending plan.
8. A copy of the signed spending plan will be provided to family and Independent Facilitator. As well, as to the Lead SDP Service Coordinator for tracking purposes.

Prior to finalizing the Purchase of Service (POS) request and the initiation of the new budget, the spending plan will have to be incorporated into the IPP. At Kern Regional Center, this will be done via an addendum of the existing IPP.

1. The Service Coordinator will draft the addendum based upon the conversations the IPP team has had in previous months leading up to the transition.
2. The Service Coordinator will provide a copy of the addendum to all parties.
3. Once the addendum has been signed and returned from the participant/family, the SC will draft the agreed upon POS requests.
4. The Program Manager will approve the POS.
5. Once all Purchase of Services have been approved the entire packet (open authorizations, copy of certified spending plan) will be emailed to the respective FMS.

*Please note that this is subject to change as procedures are updated by DDS and internal processes at Kern Regional Center.