Services Under the Lanterman Act
DDS - A Consumer's Guide to the Lanterman Act
What is The Lanterman Act?
The "Lanterman Act" refers to the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, which was passed in 1977, has been amended on several occasions. It can be found in the California Welfare and Institutions Code, beginning at Section 4500.
Why is the Lanterman Act significant?
Among other things, the Lanterman Act established the right of Californians with developmental disabilities to receive "treatment and habilitation services and supports in the least restrictive environment", and make choices in their own lives, including "program planning and implementation." The Lanterman Act also created and now governs the state's 21 regional centers.
How does the Lanterman Act relate to mental health services for persons with developmental disabilities?
"Services and supports" are defined by way of a list of examples, which include:
"mental health services"
"counseling of the individual with a developmental disability and of his or her family"
"behavior training and behavior modification programs"
"emergency and crisis intervention"
What is meant by "mental health services" under the Lanterman Act?
The term "mental health services" is not defined in the Lanterman Act. However, it should be interpreted to refer to something including but not limited to the three items that follow it. That is, counseling, behavior training, and crisis intervention are generally assumed to be specific examples of the general term "mental health services." The inclusion of the more general term indicates that additional specific mental health services beyond the three mentioned could legitimately be considered part of regional center's "services and supports."
Webster's defines "mental health" as the "psychological well-being and satisfactory adjustment to society and to the ordinary demands of life" and "the field of medicine concerned with the maintenance or achievement of such well-being and adjustment." Under the Lanterman Act's implementing regulations, which can be found in Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, the regional centers must assign specified service codes to services such as:
art therapy
"diagnosis and psychotherapy of mental and emotional disorders"
"individual and group testing and counseling"
dance therapy
music therapy
psychiatry (i.e., the "diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders")
recreational therapy
How does one obtain mental health services under the Lanterman Act?
The Lanterman Act states clearly that "determination of which services and supports are necessary for each [person with a developmental disability] shall be made through the individual program plan process."
Resources for more information:
- The Lanterman Act, California Welfare and Institutions Code, beginning at Section 4500, and particularly Sections 4512(b), 4642, and 4685(c)(1). A hard copy of the Lanterman Act can be obtained from any Area Board or from the Organization of Area Boards in Sacramento (916-227-2148). The California Welfare and Institutions Code is available at general public libraries and law libraries. On the web: http://www.dds.ca.gov/Statutes/Statutes_Home.cfm
- Rights Under The Lanterman Act Service Rights and Entitlement Programs Affecting Californians with Disabilities, Protection and Advocacy, Inc. This is a helpful discussion in a question-and-answer format. Copies are available from PAI, Inc., at 800-776-5746, or on the web: http://www.pai-ca.org.