Far Northern Regional Center (FNRC): Redding and Chico

What is Far Northern Regional Center’s phone number?

What does Far Northern Regional Center do?

• Adaptive skills trainingAn expert visits your home and teaches everyday skills, so your family member can do more on their own. The state’s guide on FNRC’s site lists it for children 3 and up.
• RespiteA worker looks after your family member while you take a break. FNRC starts with 90 hours every 3 months, and you can ask for more.
• Behavior servicesFor children, insurance or Medi-Cal is asked first. Parents take part, and FNRC holds Behavior Tools classes for them.
• Camp and social activitiesCamp, group outings and lessons like swimming or music. FNRC can’t make you use up IHSS or trade respite hours first.
• DiapersFrom age 3, after Medi-Cal, insurance or CCS, along with a toilet training plan. Under 3, only if you can’t afford them.
• Independent living skillsOne-on-one training for adults 18 and older. Most 18 to 22 year olds need a diploma or certificate first.
• Day programsWeekday programs for adults who are 18 or older.
• Getting aroundBus training for adults. Rides for a child only if you show in writing that you can’t drive them.

FNRC pays after everyone else. If Medi-Cal, insurance, IHSS, CCS or the school should cover something, FNRC won’t pay for it.

Who qualifies for FNRC, and how do I apply?

How it goes

1. Phone or go online.Call (530) 332-1529 and leave a message with your name and number. Or send FNRC’s intake request, also in Spanish.
2. FNRC gathers records.It may set up testing, but only with your written OK. FNRC can pay for tests that no one else covers.
3. The answer.Expect an answer within 120 days. If it’s yes, FNRC writes the first plan with you within 60 days.

Not sure you qualify? See who does.

Questions families ask about FNRC

What’s the best way to reach my FNRC service coordinator?

• Use email.Next time you talk, get your coordinator’s email address. Send each request that way, so it has a date on it.
• No set reply time.FNRC doesn’t say how quickly coordinators reply. After a few days with no answer, write again, so the wait is on record.
• Coordinator out? Call the office.FNRC doesn’t name a duty coordinator. When yours is out and it’s urgent, call Redding or Chico and ask who can help today.
• Then the supervisor.FNRC’s coordinators work under a Case Management Supervisor, who signs off on many service requests. Above that is an Associate Director. FNRC says families can contact either one, so ask your coordinator for their names.
• Write down every call.FNRC’s Early Start packet tells parents to note the date of each call and what they were told. It works at any age.
• Not a good match?FNRC’s Early Start packet says you may ask for someone else. That’s for when the match isn’t working for your family.

How do I get adaptive skills training through FNRC?

1. Send your coordinator a note.Say you want Aldera for adaptive skills training, and put team@aldera.org on the copy line. This sample email is ready to use. Name the daily tasks that are hardest now.
2. A meeting within 30 days.At the meeting, ask for it to go into the plan. FNRC suggests bringing insurance cards and any new school or health papers.
3. Read the plan before you sign.FNRC says you can ask for changes if the written plan doesn’t match what was said. Make sure adaptive skills training is in it.
4. Then it’s our turn.After FNRC says yes, we visit you at home. We get to know your family member and pick the first goals together.

Need the plan in Spanish, Hmong or another language? Just ask. The state’s guide says a copy in your language is due within 45 days.

How do I get records from Far Northern Regional Center?

• Ask in writing.Email your coordinator and name the reports you need, like the psychological evaluation. FNRC’s Early Start packet calls writing it down a good idea.
• Seeing the file.State law says FNRC must let you look at the file in 3 business days or less. For Early Start, the packet promises a copy in 5 business days or less.
• IHSS paperwork.A licensed professional fills out the county’s SOC 873 health form for IHSS. The county also has to take your IPP, or anything else that proves the same things. If your child needs watching all day to stay safe, read about protective supervision and how many IHSS hours you can get.

How do I get school help in Shasta, Butte and the other FNRC counties?

1. Put the request in writing.Write a letter or email to the school, and date it. Ask it to test your child for special education. Keep a copy.
2. The plan comes next.Within 15 days, the district owes you a written testing plan. You then get 15 days or more to think it over.
3. 60 days from your signature.Once you sign, the district has 60 days to finish testing and hold the first IEP meeting.
4. Bring your coordinator.FNRC coordinators can help you get ready, take notes at the meeting and share sample letters for school requests. They can also check with FNRC’s special education expert. Give notice, since they can’t make every meeting.
5. Turning 3.FNRC starts planning for age 3 by the time your child is 2 years and 3 months old. Your family meets with the school no later than 90 days before the third birthday.

Special education contacts in FNRC’s counties

• Shasta CountyStart with your child’s school or the Shasta SELPA in Redding, (530) 225-0100 or selpa@shastacoe.org. For a preschooler, call Early Childhood Services at (530) 225-2999.
• Chico UnifiedChico Unified looks for and assesses students from infancy through 21, with your OK. Call the district office at (530) 891-3000. It says testing and the IEP meeting happen within 60 days of a signed plan.
• Butte County SELPAOutside Chico, including Oroville, contact your own district or the SELPA at (530) 532-5621. For a baby or toddler, the county office’s Early Start line is (530) 532-5740.
• Tehama CountyCall your district first: Red Bluff Union Elementary at (530) 527-7200, or Red Bluff Union High at (530) 529-8700. The county SELPA, (530) 527-8581, takes preschool referrals.
• Siskiyou CountyThe county office of education runs special education from birth to 22 across the county. Call Special Schools and Services in Yreka, (530) 842-8441.
• Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas and TrinityEach county has one SELPA. Glenn: (530) 934-6575, ext. 3201. Lassen: (530) 257-2196. Modoc: (530) 233-7110. Plumas: (530) 283-6500, ext. 5217. Trinity: (530) 623-2861.

Students in special education can stay in school through age 22. FNRC’s handout reminds families to invite their coordinator to the transition and exit IEPs.

Where can parents find support in the far north?

• Rowell Family Empowerment.The family resource center for six of FNRC’s counties, all but Lassen, Modoc and Plumas. Parents of children with disabilities run it, in Redding. Call (530) 226-5129 or email info@rfenc.org.
• Lassen, Modoc and Plumas.FNRC points Lassen and Modoc families to Exceptional Connection, (530) 257-9781. In Plumas, the state lists Plumas Rural Services, (530) 283-2735.
• Family Wellness Program.FNRC’s own groups for families of young children have offered free dinner, childcare and parent support in English, Spanish and Hmong. Email familywellness@farnorthernrc.org to ask about the next one.