Inland Regional Center (IRC): San Bernardino and Riverside

How do I reach Inland Regional Center?

How do I reach my IRC service coordinator?

• Start with the contact form.Send your question through IRC’s Contact Us form, which IRC says is the fastest way to the right department. To talk instead, call the front desk at (909) 890-3000 and ask for your coordinator by name.
• Allow 48 hours.That’s IRC’s reply time for its form. If nothing comes, check your spam folder and the email address you typed. IRC usually doesn’t answer after hours, on weekends or on holidays.
• Ask for a Program Manager.Still stuck? Use the same form to ask a Program Manager to contact you, and fill in every field so IRC can find the right one. IRC says to allow up to 48 business hours.
• Then email Community Engagement.If delays go on, write to the manager of IRC’s Community Engagement Team at community@inlandrc.org. Reply on your earlier email thread, since IRC asks you not to start a new one.
• Track every message.Write down the day you sent each one and who answered. Because IRC wants one thread, that thread becomes your record.
• Want someone new?If your coordinator isn’t a good fit, you can ask for a new one; a Program Manager is a good person to ask. Under state law, a coordinator stays only as long as everyone agrees.

What does IRC pay for?

• Adaptive skills trainingA professional teaches everyday tasks at home, like washing up or fixing a meal, so they need less help over time.
• RespiteA caregiver takes over for some hours, so you can recharge.
• Behavior servicesSupport for behavior that makes daily routines hard.
• Day programsDaytime programs for adults, with skills practice and friends.
• Help living on your ownHelp for an adult who lives in their own place or is getting there.
• Social recreation and campSports, crafts, outings and camp.
• RidesTransportation to programs in the plan.
• DiapersOnce a child reaches age 3.

IRC pays only when no one else should. Medi-Cal, private insurance, IHSS and schools come first.

How do I get adaptive skills training through IRC?

1. Email your coordinator.Write that you want adaptive skills training from Aldera, and copy team@aldera.org. Here’s the email. Using IRC’s contact form? Pick “Contact Your Service Coordinator” and give the full name, birth date and diagnosis.
2. IRC amends your plan.Plans are usually yearly, but IRC can amend one when needed. After you ask, IRC has 30 days to meet, or 7 days if it’s needed for health and safety or to keep someone living at home.
3. Sign the plan.IRC can’t start a plan until it’s signed. Check that adaptive skills training is in it first.
4. We visit your home.With IRC’s approval in hand, we visit your home, meet your family member and set goals together. How many hours comes out of those first visits.

IRC says it must send you a copy of the plan within 45 days of the meeting. Look in it for adaptive skills training and a start date, or an estimated start date if a provider was still being found.

How do I get records and the IPP from Inland Regional Center?

• Request copies on form ICRC 59.On IRC’s records request form, list the kind of records and the dates. Email it to recordrequest@inlandrc.org or fax it to (909) 890-3008. A guardian or conservator must attach the court papers.
• Pick email, and it’s free.IRC doesn’t charge clients or guardians for records sent electronically. Paper is 10 cents a page and a CD is $10 plus postage, paid first. IRC can send only records it has already scanned, so the newest reports may take longer.
• Sending records for benefits?On IRC’s release form, check “Application for Benefits” and the records to send, like the psychological assessment or the IPP. IRC sends them straight to Social Security or IHSS, and government agencies pay no fee. IHSS can use an IPP in place of its SOC 873 form if it has the same facts and a licensed professional’s signature. Asking IHSS for protective supervision? Send the psychological report there too.
• Timelines in state law.IRC must let you see the file within 3 business days of your request. For another copy of the IPP, ask your coordinator; it must reach you within 45 days of asking, in your language.

How do I get school support in the Inland Empire?

1. Request an assessment in writing.Date the letter or email and keep a copy. Your district’s entry below says where to send it.
2. Expect a plan in 15 days.The district must send an assessment plan within 15 days of receiving your request. School breaks of more than 5 school days aren’t counted.
3. The 60 days start when you sign.From the day the district receives your signed plan, testing and the first IEP meeting must be done within 60 days.
4. Invite your coordinator 2 weeks ahead.IRC says schools no longer invite coordinators, so ask yours at least 2 weeks before the meeting and go over your concerns together first. The law lets you bring anyone who knows your child.
5. Plan early for age 3.At least 90 days before the third birthday, you, your IRC coordinator and the district meet to plan the move to school.

Special education contacts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

• Corona-Norco UnifiedAsk your school where the written request goes, or call Special Education at (951) 736-5090. Corona-Norco says the move from IRC’s Early Start usually begins at 2 years 9 months, and you’ll need proof you live in the district.
• Riverside UnifiedA written request to your school brings a Student Success Team meeting within two weeks, which Riverside says shouldn’t delay an assessment. Its special education office is at (951) 352-1200, ext. 83503, and it lists a Regional Center counselor among people who can join an IEP team.
• San Bernardino City UnifiedAsk your school team where the written request goes, or call the Special Education Parent Liaisons at (909) 880-6863. For ages 3 to 5, call the Early Childhood Assessment Team at (909) 889-1262; you’ll bring a birth certificate, shot records, proof of address and ID.
• Fontana UnifiedFontana’s parent handbook suggests talking with the teacher first, then a school administrator, and says the district answers a written request within 15 days. Special Services is at (909) 357-5000, ext. 29374, and the parent committee takes questions at CAC@fusd.net.
• Moreno Valley UnifiedFor school-age students, call Special Education at (951) 571-7500, ext. 17590; for infants through age 4, call (951) 571-4710 or email searchandserve@mvusd.net. Staff fill out the referral form for you.

Other districts in the two counties follow the same state timelines; ask the school office where requests go.

How do I become an IRC client?

Step by step

1. Fill out the pre-application.Do it online (there’s a Spanish version), or call intake for your county.
2. Send the application back.The online pre-application opens IRC’s full application. Return it with the signed forms by email to intake@inlandrc.org, by fax or by mail. IRC may do testing. It’s free.
3. IRC decides.The law gives it up to 120 days. If you qualify, a service coordinator is assigned within 30 days.

Who qualifies, in more detail: our eligibility page.

Where can parents get support?

• Family Resource Network.IRC lists this center, the Family Resource Network & Family Empowerment Center, for families of children with delays and disabilities. It offers support, training and information. Call (800) 974-5553, or visit its website.

Quick answers