Start Here
What matters to the participant? It may be work, friendship, home, relationships, community, or reliable support in daily life.
You can begin here without knowing service codes, paperwork, or SDP terminology.
Where are you now?
I want to plan for the future
I want to talk about what matters, what is working, relationships, goals, communication, and the life the person wants.
Person-Centered Planning →
I'm exploring or preparing for SDP
I want to understand the program or prepare for the transition into Self-Determination.
Learn about SDP →
The person is already participating in SDP
I want support with informed choices, meetings, services, coordination, or implementation.
Independent Facilitation →
I need help with a service or decision
A service has not started or has stopped, a provider is unavailable, or a decision is unclear.
See Hero's approach →
The person is not yet a regional-center client
I want to understand regional-center eligibility before exploring SDP enrollment.
Start with eligibility →
I need communication or accessibility support
Communication, language, or accessibility barriers are making it difficult for the person to participate and express their choices.
Explore Access & Communication →
Communication, language, and disability access should work throughout the process. Explore Access & Communication. You can also contact Hero directly.
If you are not yet a regional-center client
Regional-center eligibility comes before SDP enrollment.
If that is where you are, start there. Hero can help you understand where SDP fits in the larger developmental-services system and point you toward current official eligibility information.
Regional-center eligibility and SDP enrollment are related, but they are not the same process.
DDS — Regional Center Eligibility
If you are new to SDP
California's Self-Determination Program gives eligible regional-center participants more control over how services and supports are planned and arranged.
You do not need to learn the whole program at once.
A useful first step is to understand what the participant wants to make possible, where they are in the process now, and what has to happen next.
Need to complete SDP orientation?
See the current statewide SDP orientation and registration information (SCDD).
Since April 1, 2026, orientation has two required parts. People who completed orientation before that date or are already enrolled do not need to repeat it.
If you have completed orientation or are getting ready to enroll, see Transition into SDP. Planning and setup can advance together.
A few terms you will hear
These definitions are optional. You do not have to memorize them to ask for help.
Optional: understand common SDP terms
A way of working that starts with the person rather than with a service menu or system habit. It helps keep strengths, communication, relationships, preferences, support needs, and what matters to the participant visible.
A process for learning what matters to the participant, how they communicate, what is working, what is not, and what they want to make possible.
A written document that can capture person-centered discovery when it is useful or requested. A separate written Person-Centered Plan is not the same thing as the required IPP.
A pre-enrollment SDP planning service that may be requested after orientation under current DDS guidance. It is one possible support; it should not become an extra gate to SDP.
The regional-center planning document developed through a person-centered process where outcomes, needs, services, supports, responsibilities, and planning-team decisions are recorded.
The amount established under current SDP rules for eligible services and supports.
The DDS Individual Budget Calculation and Certification Tool. It is a statewide budget-calculation and certification tool; it is not the Spending Plan.
The participant's plan for how the individual budget will be used.
Financial Management Services handles required financial functions and, depending on the model, employment-administration functions in SDP.
Some steps can happen at the same time
Person-centered planning, the IPP, the individual budget, Spending Plan, FMS setup, and provider or worker preparation can overlap.
Check what is approved, what is still pending, and who is responsible for getting support started.
Ready to begin?
Tell me where things stand and what you are trying to make possible.
You do not need to have everything organized first.