The Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center (FDLRC) guide

How do I reach Lanterman?

How do I contact my Lanterman service coordinator?

• Email for everyday things.Lanterman staff emails end in @lanterman.org, so search your inbox for your coordinator’s address. Lanterman says email is a good way to handle anything that isn’t urgent. It also gives you a dated record.
• Call (213) 383-1300.Lanterman says coordinators make every effort to call back by the end of the next business day. In your message, give your name, your family member’s name, your number and why you’re calling. Not sure who your coordinator is? Tell the operator the client’s age and city.
• Coordinator away, or it can’t wait?When a coordinator is out, their voicemail greeting says who to call instead. For anything urgent, press 0 during the voicemail. Or call (213) 383-1300, press 0 and ask for the Officer of the Day, who handles same-day needs for each team.
• Go to the regional manager.Your coordinator’s supervisor is the regional manager for their team. Lanterman doesn’t post a staff list, so call (213) 383-1300, press 0 and ask for the regional manager for your coordinator. If that doesn’t solve it, Lanterman says to ask for the department’s director next.
• Keep a simple log.Lanterman tells families to keep dated notes of calls and meetings, with the name of each person they spoke to. Save every email and reply in one folder, too.
• Want a different coordinator?Talk to the regional manager for your team. By law, a coordinator stays only when everyone agrees. Lanterman also asks you each year if you want to keep the same one.

What does Lanterman pay for?

• Adaptive skills trainingA professional visits your home to teach daily skills, like dressing or cooking, so they can handle more by themselves.
• RespiteTime off for you. Another person takes over the care for a few hours.
• Behavior servicesSupport when behavior gets in the way at home or in public.
• Day programsAdults spend the day learning, practicing skills and being with friends.
• Help living on your ownRegular help so an adult can keep their own place running.
• Social recreation and campFun outings, sports teams and summer camp.
• RidesA way to get to programs, for people who can’t get there alone.
• DiapersOnce a child is 3 or older.

Lanterman pays last. Insurance, Medi-Cal, IHSS and your school district come first when they should cover something.

How do I get adaptive skills training through Lanterman?

1. Email your coordinator.Ask to add adaptive skills training from Aldera to your plan, and copy team@aldera.org. Naming us is how you choose us. Here’s the email to send.
2. Lanterman changes your plan.A small change gets an amendment. A bigger one gets a new plan, within 30 days of your request. If it’s needed for health and safety, or to keep someone living at home, the law says 7 days.
3. Sign it and send it back.Lanterman can’t pay for anything until the plan or amendment is signed. After that, Lanterman says approval takes about two weeks on average.
4. We come to your home.Once Lanterman sends its written OK, we meet your family member and set the first goals with you. You don’t need to ask for a number of hours. The first visits settle that.

Lanterman sends its written approval to the provider, so ask your coordinator to email you when it goes out. Your signed service list should also give a start date, if one is known.

How do I get copies of reports and the IPP from Lanterman?

• Ask in writing.Email your coordinator a list of what you need, like the psychological evaluation or the latest IPP. The state’s family guide says asking in writing is a good idea. You can pick up the copies, or have them emailed or mailed.
• 3 business days.State law gives Lanterman 3 business days to let you see the file, whether you ask by email or by phone. Copies can cost only what the copying costs. If you can’t pay, say so, and the copies are free.
• Your IPP.At the end of each IPP meeting, you should get a signed list of the services everyone agreed on. For the full written IPP, ask your coordinator. The law then gives Lanterman 45 days to send it, in your language.
• For Social Security (SSI).Send Social Security the reports you already have, like the psychological evaluation. Social Security says this helps it decide faster. For IHSS, see the question about it near the bottom of this page.

How do I get school support from Hollywood to Pasadena?

1. Ask for an assessment in writing.Send it to the person your district names below, with any Lanterman reports that explain your child’s needs. Under state law, a written request is what starts the clock.
2. Get the plan within 15 days.The district has 15 days to send you an assessment plan to sign. Breaks of more than 5 school days don’t count.
3. Then 60 days to the IEP.Once the district gets your signed plan, it has 60 days to test and hold the IEP meeting. The count starts at your signature, not your first letter.
4. Invite your coordinator.The law lets you bring anyone who knows your child. Lanterman says to invite your coordinator early and tell the school, or the school won’t let them in. Afterward, send your coordinator a copy of the IEP, because the school can’t.
5. Turning 3? Lanterman and the district plan it together.With your written OK, the district can use Lanterman’s assessments along with its own. You can also ask the district to invite your coordinator to the first IEP.

Who takes the request in each district

• Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD)Give your written request to the principal of your neighborhood school; every school office has a request form. Questions go to the special education call center at (213) 241-6701, or for a preschooler, to Early Childhood Special Education at (213) 241-4713.
• Glendale Unified (GUSD)Send a written request to the district’s Special Education Office, (818) 241-3111, ext. 1205. Glendale says its testing includes a look at outside evaluations, so share Lanterman’s.
• Pasadena Unified (PUSD)Pasadena requires a written request and says the school will answer within 15 days. For questions, call the Special Education Help Line at (626) 396-3617.
• Burbank Unified (BUSD)Send a letter or email to your school’s administrator, or straight to Special Education at (818) 729-4449. For a child leaving Early Start, Burbank invites the Lanterman coordinator to the first IEP.
• La Cañada Unified (LCUSD)Requests must be in writing, to your child’s school administrator. The special education office is at (818) 952-8397.

Glendale, Burbank and La Cañada belong to the Foothill SELPA, whose parent committee meetings are open to anyone: call (818) 246-5378.

How do I become a Lanterman client?

What happens

1. Call or email intake.Call (213) 252-8610 or email referrals@lanterman.org. Share your name, phone and address, the person’s name and birth date, and why you’re reaching out.
2. An intake specialist calls you back.They call within 24 hours. If Lanterman can help, they set up a meeting and any tests needed. You pay nothing.
3. Lanterman decides.It has 120 days from your first contact. A 3- or 4-year-old can qualify for now, even without a diagnosis.

Who qualifies, explained further: our eligibility page.

Where do parents go for support?

• Koch-Young Resource Center.Lanterman runs this resource center for families, with a spot at each office. It has a help line, a library and more than 25 support groups, many in other languages. Call (213) 252-5600, email kyrc@lanterman.org, or read about it.

Quick answers