National Core Indicators

The National Core Indicators (NCI) Survey is used by California’s Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to assess performance in services and supports provided to people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). The NCI survey has been used in California since 2010 as a requirement by the Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 4571 to implement a nation-wide quality assessment survey.

The survey was developed by the Human Services Research Institute and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) and is used in 48 states and Washington, D.C. In California, the NCI Survey is conducted by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD).

The National Core Indicators (NCI) Survey gives individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families the opportunity to voluntarily and confidentially participate in surveys to share their experiences on access to and use of regional center and community services.

Survey responses help California learn how it is doing compared to other states.
Survey responses help the regional centers see what they are doing well and what they can improve.

There are four types of NCI-IDD surveys used in California:

Adult In-Person Survey (IPS): The In-Person Survey is conducted face-to-face or remotely with individuals who are 18 years or older, have an intellectual/developmental disability, and receive at least one service from the regional center, in addition to case management. The In-Person Survey is administered once every other year and collects data from all 21 regional centers.
Child Family Survey (CFS): The Child Family Survey is a mailed survey that can be completed on paper or online by parents or guardians who live with the child. The child must be between 3 and 17 years old, have an intellectual/developmental disability, and receive at least one service from the regional center, in addition to case management. The survey is conducted once every other year along with the Adult Family Survey and Family/Guardian Survey.
Adult Family Survey (AFS): The Adult Family Survey is a mailed survey that can be completed on paper or online by parents or guardians who live with an adult family member with an intellectual/developmental disability. The individual must be 18 years old or older, have an intellectual/developmental disability, and receive at least one service from the regional center, in addition to case management. The survey is conducted once every other year along with the Child Family Survey and Family/Guardian Survey.
Family/Guardian Survey (FGS): The Family/Guardian Survey is conducted with families or guardians of an adult family member who is 18 years or older, has an intellectual/developmental disability, and does not live with their family or guardian. The individual must also receive at least one service from the regional center, in addition to case management. The survey is administered once every other year along with the Child Family Survey and Adult Family Survey.

Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 4571(h)(1) also requires regional centers to annually present the data collected from the findings of the NCI surveys at a public meeting of its governing board. You may view notices for upcoming presentations and previous presentations to the community here.

Following our public presentations, Harbor Regional Center submits a report to the Department of Developmental Services that outlines our implementation of the requirements of Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 4571(h).