There are two major groups of clients that live in Adult Residential Facilities: The Developmentally Disabled and Mental Health Clients. Another emerging population are individuals with traumatic brain injury. Many of these individuals with brain injury are returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanstian.
Mental Health clients suffer from psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression; they are usually on medication. Mental health clients pay for their stay in the facility through their Social Security disability income. This amounts to approximately $1000.00 per month. Mental Health clients are not managed by Regional Center. To be successful, you must market your facility to hospitals, psychiatrists and others in the mental health community. Most residential programs for mental health clients are large commercial facilities with over 100 beds.
Services for developmentally disabled individuals are delivered through a network of 21 Regional Centers in California. These 21 regional Centers are funded and regulated by Title 17 through the California Department of Developmental Services. Each Regional Center covers a specific geographic region known as a catchment area. Developmentally Disabled individuals typically have mental retardation, autism or a seizure disorder and function at various levels of independence. Each Regional Center client has an Individual Program Plan that specifies the goals the client is working on. A typical goal might be “the consumer will learn to use city bus services,” or “...reduce instances of wandering,” or “...will take a community college class.”
Working with Regional Center clients involves a considerable amount of work and commitment. Because of the unique needs of developmentally disabled individuals, Regional Center requires that the Administrator of the facility have experience working with the population. Each Regional Center interprets the experience requirement differently. Some Regional Centers require direct experience in a residential setting. Other Regional Centers may consider related experience as a nurse or health professional in evaluating experience. Many people satisfy the experience requirement by working in a residential setting on a part time basis. Click this link to view a list of So California Homes contracted with Regional Centers where you might get your experience requirement satisfied. It is best to work for a larger company that has a training program and other benefits rather than a small family run business.
To become vendored with Regional Center you must attend an orientation at their local office and write a Program Design based on the principles of normalization. The Regional Center Program Design is different from the Community Care Licensing Application. The Program Design requirements are specified in Title 17 (56013) and published by the Department of Developmental Services. Most Regional Centers develop their own requirements for how they want the Program Design prepared. Contact your local Regional Center to request their current Program Design requirements. Click her for information on obtaining assistance with your Regional Center Program Design. Students enrolled in our Administrator Course receive instruction in how to navigate the Regional Center system.
Working with developmentally disabled individuals requires a philosophical shift from the traditional medical model of care. Historically individuals with developmental disability have been treated like children placing the care provider in the role of parent. Services were recommended and implemented by physicans, social workers and family , friends and care providers. Person Planning turns this old medical medical upside down by shifting control to the indidivual who receives the services. The model is based on the simple idea that those who receive services have the right to chose which services they recieve and by whom. Click here to learn more about Person Centered Planning.
Title 17 also requires all individuals who work in a residential setting to complete Direct Support Professional Training within 1 and 2 years of working in the facility. Some Regional Centers require DSPT training prior to being vendored. For a schedule of courses click here DSPT Training
