The Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) guide

How do I reach RCOC?

How do I reach my RCOC service coordinator?

• Email, or use the contact form.RCOC emails end in @rcocdd.com, so an old message from your coordinator has their address. RCOC’s contact form works too: pick your office, and RCOC says it will follow up with you.
• No reply after a few days?RCOC doesn’t publish how fast coordinators answer. When a few business days go by in silence, write to your area office.
• Write to your area office.Santa Ana (CentralOffice@rcocdd.com) handles the east and south of the county. Cypress (WestOffice@rcocdd.com) handles the west and north. Include the client’s full name and date of birth.
• Ask who the supervisor is.Call your office, (714) 796-5100 in Santa Ana or (714) 796-2900 in Cypress, and ask for your coordinator’s supervisor by name. RCOC’s management team page shows who leads case management in each area.
• Keep notes.Note the date of each call, the person’s name and the next step they gave you. Reply on one email thread, so nothing gets lost between messages.
• Want a better fit?Ask for a different coordinator. Under state law, a coordinator stays on only if all sides agree, and the supervisor can help you make the change.

What does RCOC pay for?

• Adaptive skills trainingA professional shows them how to do daily tasks at home, like getting ready or cooking, until they can do more on their own.
• RespiteA break for caregivers while another person steps in.
• Behavior servicesHelp with behavior that makes everyday life harder.
• Day programsWeekday programs where adults keep learning and stay connected.
• Help living on your ownSupport for adults who have their own home or want one.
• Social recreation and campClubs, sports, classes and camps.
• RidesHelp getting to a day program or other service.
• DiapersStarting at age 3.

RCOC is the payer of last resort. If insurance, Medi-Cal, IHSS or the school district should pay, they pay first.

How do I get adaptive skills training through RCOC?

1. Email your coordinator.Request adaptive skills training from Aldera for your IPP, with team@aldera.org copied. See the email.
2. RCOC meets with you.You can ask for an IPP meeting any time. It has to happen within 30 days, or 7 if it’s needed for health and safety or to keep someone living at home. If you can’t agree that day, RCOC can meet again within 15 days to decide.
3. About 30 days to start.RCOC’s rules say an approved service normally starts about 30 days after it’s approved. That time is for setting it up with you and with us.
4. We come to your home.The first sessions happen at home. We get to know your family member, write goals with you, and work out the hours from there.

Ask your coordinator to email you the day the authorization goes through, since RCOC counts its usual 30 days from that date. If a month passes with no start, reply on that same email.

How do I get copies of my family member’s RCOC records?

• Use the records form.RCOC’s Request for Records form asks which records you need and for what dates. Not sure? Write the reason, like “for SSI,” and RCOC will pick the records that help most.
• What copies cost.RCOC charges 10 cents a page or $20 for a CD, and the form lets you ask for a fee waiver if money is tight. Questions go to RCOC’s Custodian of Records at records@rcocdd.com or (714) 796-4078.
• Deadlines in state law.RCOC must let you see the file within 3 business days of your request. Ask for a written copy of the IPP, and it must reach you within 45 days, in the language you ask for.
• Applying for IHSS or SSI?IHSS takes its SOC 873 health form, or other papers like an IPP with the same facts and a licensed professional’s signature. For SSI, send Social Security the reports you have. RCOC says its assessments can support eligibility for public benefits. Does your family member need someone watching around the clock? Ask about protective supervision.

How do I get school support in Orange County?

1. Put it in a letter.Ask for a special education assessment in writing, sign and date it, and keep a copy. Your district below shows who should get it.
2. 15 days for the plan.The district must send a written assessment plan within 15 days of getting your letter, not counting breaks longer than 5 school days.
3. 60 days from your signature.When the district has your signed plan, it has 60 days to do the testing and hold the IEP meeting.
4. Ask your coordinator to come.State law lets you bring anyone who knows your child. Your coordinator can also help you write a one-page description of your child for the IEP team.
5. Close to age 3?Your coordinator and the district go over options with you at the transition meeting, and RCOC encourages you to ask for specific services there. For dates of RCOC’s “Moving On at 3” workshop, call (714) 558-5400.

Special education offices in the biggest districts

• Santa Ana UnifiedGive your written request to the school principal; Santa Ana says you don’t need a Student Success Team meeting first. Special Education is at (714) 558-5551, and its preschool team takes referrals straight from RCOC.
• Capistrano UnifiedStart with your child’s teacher or school, then follow up in writing. For a preschooler 2 years 10 months or older, call the district’s preschool transition specialist at (949) 234-9293.
• Irvine UnifiedWrite to the school psychologist at your child’s school, or email SpecialED@iusd.org. For a child leaving Early Start, Irvine meets with you and your RCOC coordinator 90 days to 6 months before age 3, aiming to start services on the third birthday.
• Garden Grove UnifiedAsk at your neighborhood school or call the Office of Special Education at (714) 663-6233. For ages 3 to 5, the district holds a Child Find screening day once a month.
• Saddleback Valley UnifiedContact your school psychologist or the Special Education Office at (949) 580-3206. Its SELPA’s parent handbook says a letter to the principal of your neighborhood school starts the process.

In any other Orange County district, the school office can tell you where the written request goes.

How do I become an RCOC client?

How it works

1. Contact intake.Call (714) 796-5354, email intake@rcocdd.com, or send an online inquiry. An Intake Specialist answers online inquiries within 2 business days.
2. Apply with their help.The Intake Specialist walks you through the application and tells you which records to send.
3. RCOC decides.The law gives it up to 120 days. A 3- or 4-year-old can sometimes qualify before having a diagnosis.

More about who qualifies: our eligibility page.

Where can parents get free help?

• Comfort Connection Family Resource Center.RCOC runs it, it’s free, and most of the staff are parents. Many speak Spanish or Vietnamese. It’s on the first floor of the Santa Ana office, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (714) 558-5400, or read about it.

Quick answers