IEP/Special Education

Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc. (MHAS) is a private, non-profit organization established in 1977 to provide free legal services to people with mental disabilities. MHAS assists both children and adults, with an emphasis on obtaining government benefits and services, protecting rights, and fighting discrimination.

OCRA provides legal services to consumers of all 21 regional centers throughout California. This is done by having a Clients' Rights Advocate (CRA) designated for each regional center catchment area. The CRA can help with legal problems, conduct trainings, and investigate denials of rights.CRA can help with the following: Abuse/Neglect; Conservatorship and Alternatives; Criminal Matters; Discrimination; Guardianship; In-Home Support Services (IHSS); Medi-Cal; Mental Health; Privacy; Private Insurance; Regional Center Services; School Services; Social Security; Voting

MHAS conducts community training sessions to teach parents and caregivers how to obtain special education services for their children. For families needing additional assistance, MHAS provides individual advocacy including negotiation with school districts and other agencies and representation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, mediations and administrative hearings

DRLC’s legal services directly fill the needs of a diverse client community. We focus on the most pressing issues that challenge the civil rights of people with disabilities. These issues include:Elimination of Poverty and Unemployment of People with Disabilities, Access to Government Services, Reducing Cancer Survivorship, Disparities, Legal Clinical Teaching, and Continuing Education of Lawyers,Strategic Alliances, Amicus Briefs, International Disability Rights, and Veterans with Disabilities

SCLARC contracts with the State Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to coordinate services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. One of our goals is to ensure that individuals who are eligible to receive services (consumers) are assisted in living the highest quality life possible in their communities.

For individuals with developmental disabilities, and their families, Harbor Regional Center can provide diagnosis and evaluation, information and referral, individual or family service planning, family support, and assistance in finding and using community resources. Services provided by HRC include:

Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center is a private, non-profit corporation that operates under contract with California’s Department of Developmental Services. The Center serves over 9,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities, who have or are at risk for a developmental delay or disability, and who are at high-risk of parenting an infant with a disability.

Lanterman provides the following services:

The Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center (ELARC) is a private, non-profit organization under contract with the California Department of Developmental Servcies (DDS). ELARC is one of 21 Regional Centers in the state, coordinating and providing community-based services to individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Alliance’s primary objective is to provide stability to foster children and those at risk of entering foster care by helping them obtain healthcare, educational services and financial support so that more of them reach permanency through adoption, legal guardianship or by returning safely to their biological families. For those youth who do age out of the system without a family, we have built a core program designed to give this population the tools and guidance they need to live independently.