As previously announced, the Department of Development Services (DDS) has allocated American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding for regional centers to reimburse early intervention service providers for the cost of training fees and/or staff time to attend training. Please note that the deadline for reimbursement has been extended through November 15, 2024.
To be eligible for this reimbursement, early intervention service providers and/or their staff must be serving a Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center client and must be attending an approved training. The training must total at least one hour and the staff time reimbursement for attending the training shall be the actual cost of time spent attending the training up to a maximum of $50.00/hour; whichever is lower. Approved training organizations and programs can be found here: Early Start Neighborhood.
A provider can submit a training consideration request if they would like to participate in a training which is not included in the approved list. That request with the required information can be sent here: Submit a Training for Consideration.
Permissible training topics include the following:
- Cultural competency and cultural humility in the delivery of services
- Reflective practice and supervision
- Recognizing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Toxic Stress
- Recognizing and addressing implicit bias in oneself, and in service delivery
- Supporting early childhood inclusive practices
- Family engagement practices in early intervention
- Coursework for Associate of Science degrees and licensure for Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy. (While the cost of training fees and/or staff time to attend training are reimbursable; staff time toward completing coursework for the Associate of Science degrees is not reimbursable.)
Online trainings are permissible regardless of the location of the trainer. Travel and lodging costs to attend trainings are not reimbursable.
If you are interested in attending a training, please e-mail your request to Edward Perez, Lanterman regional manager, at eperez@lanterman.org at least 30 days before the scheduled training. Providers will have 30 days to complete the approved training and will need to submit a verification of attendance to Mr. Perez at the same e-mail address listed above.
The DDS letter can be found here, the training request here and training verification form here. Questions can be routed to Mr. Perez at the same e-mail listed above.