SERVICE POLICY GUIDELINES
INDIVIDUAL EXCEPTIONS TO SERVICE POLICY
Tri-Counties Regional Center is committed to assisting individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in securing those supports and services which will maximize opportunities and choices for living, learning, working, and pursuing recreational activities in their community.
The Board of Directors of the Tri-Counties Association for the Developmentally Disabled (doing business as Tri-Counties Regional Center) can not anticipate each individual and/or family need for supports and services within a Service Policy. An individual exception to the Service Policy may be approved, however, when:
An exceptional level of supports and/or services must be recommended by an individual’s Planning Team when an identified need, plan outcome and option identification and exploration can not be met by the level of supports and/or services identified in the relevant Service Policy. Requests for an exceptional level of supports and/or services will be considered and decided upon within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Planning Team’s recommendations. Exceptional levels of supports and/or services will be reviewed by the Executive Director, or designee, and may be approved as an exception to the Service Policy for a time-limited basis.
If a final agreement regarding the services and supports to be provided to the individual cannot be reached at a program plan meeting, then a subsequent program plan meeting shall be convened within 15 days, or later at the request of the individual or, when appropriate, the parents, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized representative or when agreed to by the planning team. Additional program plan meetings may be held with the agreement of the regional center representative and the individual or, where appropriate, the parents, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized representative.
An authorized representative of the regional center and the individual or, where appropriate, his or her parents, legal guardian, or conservator, shall sign the individual program plan prior to its implementation. If the individual or, where appropriate, his or her parents, legal guardian, or conservator, does not agree with all components of the plan, they may indicate that disagreement on the plan. Disagreement with specific plan components shall not prohibit the implementation of services and supports agreed to by the individual or, where appropriate, his or her parents, legal guardian, or conservator.
The Executive Director, or designee, will consider the Planning Team’s assessment and a need and resource analysis, examining the uniqueness of the individual need and the options and strategies utilized in addressing the need as envisioned in the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act. A decision by the Executive Director, or designee, is subject to the Fair Hearing process should the individual and/or their legal representative disagree.
Continuations of exceptional levels of supports and/or services will be approved only with substantive re-assessment that the individual’s need remains unchanged, an exceptional level of supports and/or services continues to be necessary, and alternative resources for the supports and/or services remain unavailable or unable to address the individual need.
Approvals:
