Some of the most important information that we share with regional centers is about ourselves. That information describes who we are, what our background is, and our communication preferences. The regional center also uses codes to identify where we live, and the programs we participate in. Last year, changes were made to the laws for data collection. These changes require the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to establish standard categories for certain information. All regional centers must begin to use those new categories after January 1, 2025. Updated data categories will give people more choices when they identify themselves, provide more detail, and improve the ability of regional centers to achieve equity in the authorization and delivery of services to all people.
DDS has established standard categories for race and ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and gender identity, residence codes, and program status codes. They can be found here on the Updated Requirements for Collecting Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data page of the DDS website. When these new categories become effective in January 2025, you will have more choices within these categories when identifying yourself. The updates will help you see yourself in the data about our system, improve communication with you, help your regional center know where you live and which services and supports are provided, and improve equity efforts. We want to thank the individuals and families, advocates, organizations, regional centers, other state departments and the California Health and Human Services Agency, and our staff for providing input and expertise to these updated categories, particularly during the April 2024 public comment month!
