The Lanterman Act is the California law that gives people with developmental disabilities a right to the services they need, at every age. It's the law Regional Centers run under. It also sets the rules for the IPP, the written plan that lists what your Regional Center will pay for.
Its full name is the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act. It's long, but a handful of its promises do most of the work for a family.
What does the Lanterman Act promise families?
The Lanterman Act makes six promises that matter at home:
- Help at every age. The law covers people at each stage of life. Services don't stop at 18, or when school ends at 22.
- A plan built around your child. Services are picked to fit what your child needs and wants, and what your family needs.
- Decisions made with you. What goes into the plan is agreed on by you and the Regional Center, at the meeting.
- Help keeping your child at home. The law puts a high priority on children living with their families. Respite, training for parents, and special equipment are on its list.
- Your own language. The Regional Center has to plan with you in the language you prefer, with an interpreter if needed. It also has to give you the plan in that language.
- Choices in their own life. Your child has the right to choose where and with whom they live, and how they spend their days.
What does the Lanterman Act mean at your IPP meeting?
At your IPP meeting, the Lanterman Act gives you five rules to use on purpose:
- Ask for a meeting when you need one. You don't have to wait for the next scheduled one. The Regional Center has 30 days to meet after you ask. It has 7 days when the meeting is about health and safety, or keeping your child at home.
- Say what your child wants first. The law builds the plan on your child's own goals, so start there.
- Name the help you want. The services the law lists include daily living skills training, respite, camping, and rides. A request by name is easy to write into the plan.
- Leave with the list. At the end of the meeting, the Regional Center gives you a list of what was agreed. For each service it shows, when known, the start date, how often, for how long, and who provides it.
- Meet again if you can't agree. A second meeting has to happen within 15 days.
One more for parents of adults. If your child lives with you, the IPP has to plan for later. By their 22nd birthday, it must include a talk about who will care for them when you can't. That talk comes back every year after.
A signed list is a promise of help. It doesn't teach anyone to cook, get dressed, or calm down after a hard day. Someone still has to teach that at home, the same way, for weeks.
If that someone has been you, we can take on the teaching. Our professionals are caring, hold master's degrees, and have 9.3 years of experience on average. The one we send is matched to your child because they've already helped people learn that same skill. Your family pays $0 through your Regional Center. Check whether adaptive skills training belongs on your child's list.
Our guide to the IPP walks through what's in the plan and how to add a service.
Who does the Lanterman Act cover?
The Lanterman Act covers people whose disability began before age 18, will likely last, and makes daily life much harder. That includes autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy, plus conditions close to intellectual disability. Children under 5 can be covered for now without a diagnosis.
Our piece on what a Regional Center is covers who qualifies in more detail, including ADHD.
Does the Lanterman Act mean you get everything you ask for?
No. The Lanterman Act promises the services your child needs, which isn't always every service you ask for. Three limits matter most:
- It has to be in the plan. The Regional Center pays only for what's written into the IPP.
- Others pay first. If the school, Medi-Cal, your health plan, or IHSS should cover something, the Regional Center sends you to them.
- Cost counts. The team has to weigh cost, so if two services meet the same goal, expect the one that costs less.
When you disagree with a decision, start with your service coordinator, in writing, then go to their supervisor. Here's how to reach your service coordinator when they're slow to answer. Our guides to the North Los Angeles County, Westside, and Eastern Los Angeles Regional Centers name who to call at each one. For any other center, look yours up by ZIP code.
California Department of Developmental Services: The Lanterman Act The full law, plus the state's plain-language guide to it →Questions parents actually ask
Is the Lanterman Act the same as the Lanterman Regional Center?
No. Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center is one Regional Center in Los Angeles. Both are named for the lawmaker behind the law, and the law covers every Regional Center. Our Lanterman Regional Center guide has its offices and phone numbers.
Is it the same as the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act?
No. That's a different California law, about mental health holds and treatment. The Lanterman Act on this page is the one for developmental disabilities.
Where can I read the whole law?
The state's Lanterman Act page links to the full law. It also has a plain-language guide, written for adults who use Regional Center services.
If we ask for adaptive skills training at the IPP, could our IHSS or respite go down?
No. Asking for it, or getting it, won't shrink either one. A state rule tells the county to set IHSS hours without counting the Regional Center at all. Read it here.
