Client and Family Services Division

Service coordination consists of a unique set of direct services and supports assigned to regional centers by the Lanterman Act, and is the cornerstone service provided by Lanterman. At the core of the Client and Family Services Division are the various service coordination units. There are three primary units; Early Intervention, serving birth up to age 3; School Age, serving ages 3 to 16; and the Ongoing Unit, serving ages 16 and up. Together these units provide lifelong coordination of services and supports for individuals with, and at risk for, developmental disabilities and their families.

Throughout the units, there are service coordination teams that specialize in providing services to a certain:

• age group,
• language group and
• type of residence, such as
  • living in the family home
  • licensed homes,
  • independent living,
  • skilled nursing facility, etc.

Lanterman serves residents in the following geographic areas:

• Hollywood-Wilshire
• Central Los Angeles
• Pasadena
• Glendale
• Burbank
• La Cañada-Flintridge
• La Crescenta

The service coordinators and regional managers in these units represent the Regional Center to the 9,400-plus clients and families that are served by Lanterman. These units generate millions of dollars in federal funding through:

• the Targeted Case Management Program,
• various Medicaid Waivers,
• the Early Start program and
• the implementation of the legislatively-mandated Family Cost Participation Program (FCPP) and Annual Program Fee.

In addition to the Service Coordination units, there is the Intake and Assessment Unit.

The Administrative Services and Clinical Services units of the Regional Center provide support to the service coordination mission of the Center by performing the following functions:

Administrative Services

The Administrative Services Division of the Center is responsible for financial and other functions that provide support to the direct services provided by the regional center, including:

• The control and management of thousands of claims for services purchased on behalf of clients and families
• Management of the office operations and physical plant
• Information technology and computer support
• Client revenue and money management services
• Auditing service providers and managing contracts between the Center and various entities

The division is organized into functional areas as follows:

Accounting
The unit is responsible for: 

• Purchase of services payments
• Payments for operating expenses
• Banking
• Budget forecasting and cash management
• Payroll coordination

Client Revenue Coordination
This unit is responsible for:

• Managing client funds and other public benefits for approximately 850 individuals for whom the center is the payee
• Coordinating applications and redeterminations for Social Security and other public benefits
• Providing money management services for some clients who live independently 

Information Technology
This unit is responsible for managing and supporting computer operations at the center, including:

• Managing the midrange computer system that is linked with the State, which includes client and financial data
• Managing the personal computer operations at the center and the networks that link them including aspects such as email, file storage, and printing
• Manage computer security in regards to system and data access, virus/malware defense, and data encryption
• Providing training, in-house repairs when feasible, and other support to staff of the center

Audits and Contracts
This unit is responsible for:

• Coordinating all contracts entered into by the regional center
• Performing audits of service provider costs and staffing and the management of client funds by residential providers
• Coordinating the Family Cost Participation Program and the Annual Family Program Fee, under which certain families are assessed by law for a portion of services

Operations Management
This unit is responsible for:

• All facilities management issues and relationships with the landlord, including maintenance, cleaning, and parking coordination
• Reception functions, including the switchboard operation
• Telecommunications and mail coordination
• Ordering office supplies
• Equipment and furniture ordering, and space planning and office relocation efforts when needed
• Management of offsite records storage
• Management of the office security system
• Coordinating the center’s disaster preparedness efforts

Clinical Services

The Clinical Services unit works with service coordination to improve client access to quality medical, dental and mental health services and positively impact their overall health outcomes.

The Unit provides:

• consultation,
• technical assistance,
• health care information and education

to clients and their families, caregivers, service providers, staff, and members of other community and generic organizations.

The unit also:

• directly supervises projects that are contracted with:
  • individual healthcare providers,
  • university affiliated programs,
  • clinics and
  • hospitals;
• develops collaborative working partnerships with community-based health care organizations; and
• reviews and coordinates client certification for the federal Medicaid Waiver program.