SDP Updates

SDP Updates

Overview

HRC will post updates on on this page that we receive about the Self Determination Program, and the state’s (Department of Developmental Services) plans for implementation.

The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) publishes a Self-Determination Program (SDP) Newsletter featuring updates on the program, a question of the day and feature story focusing on the people and the principles of Self-Determination. To subscribe to this DDS  newsletter, please email sdp@dds.ca.gov.

Family Training

Self-Determination Program

Orientation

What is the Self-Determination Program, what are the benefits, and what would your responsibilities be if you choose to participate in this service delivery option? Effective June 7, 2021, the Self-Determination Program is available to everyone.

This orientation is designed to help you to learn about what this program is all about, and whether you would be interested in changing from more traditional regional center service coordination model to a self-determination model.

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Waiver of Self-Determination Program Budget Restrictions for Financial Management Services 

Guidance Regarding Waiver of Self-Determination Budget Restrictions for Payment for Financial Management Services

Department of Developmental Services Directive in response to State of Emergency 

The State of California Department of Developmental Services notified the regional centers of the following change regarding Financial Management Services.

Due to the current State of Emergency, the Director of the Department of Developmental Services (Department) has temporarily waived the requirement that individual participants in the Self-Determination Program cover the cost of the financial management service (FMS) from his or her individual budget.

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Program Directives & Implementation Tools

October, 2020

Self-Determination Program (SDP) guidance documents have been translated in the following languages: Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Hmong. 

You can view these documents on the Program Directives & Implementation Tools page on the SDP website. 

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December, 2019

Second round of participant selection

On November 22, 2019, DDS made the second selection of participants to fill vacancies in the initial implementation of the Self-Determination Program (SDP). The Department of Developmental Services mailed a notice to all individuals who were chosen from the list of interested persons. 

Selection of this latest group of participants was prioritized based on:

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November 30, 2018

Update from Department of Developmental Services

“This update is in response to questions received regarding the selection of the initial participants for the Self-Determination Program (SDP). As required by law (Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 4685.8(b)(1)), the number of participants selected at each regional center was based on the relative percentage of total consumers served by all regional centers. For example, if a regional center served 5% of all consumers, then 125 (5% of 2,500) SDP participants were selected from that regional center.

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October 1, 2018

Self Determination Program Participants Selected

The Department of Developmemtal Services is pleased to announce that the initial 2,500 participants for the Self-Determination Program have been selected. The Department will mail notification letters to all individuals to communicate their selection status. To find out if you were selected to participate, you may enter your UCI (Unique Client Identifier) number at www.dds.ca.gov/SDPverification/index.cfm.

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June 29, 2018

The application for federal funding of the Self Determination Program Waiver has been approved.

Updated estimated timeline for implementation–

The Department of Developmental Services, in collaboration with the self-determination advisory workgroup and other stakeholders, has been working on the major components necessary to implement the Self-Determination Program (SDP). Outlined below are some of the major components requiring completion prior to the SDP becoming operational. The list below is not exhaustive but includes the key components and steps under active development.
The Department will post updates on the progress of each component.

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October 2015

DDS Update

The Self-Determination Program Waiver Application was formally resubmitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on September 29, 2015. DDS is awaiting further questions or direction from CMS.