Empowered FuturesSelf-Determination, without the overwhelm.
Empowering your future.
Independent Facilitation for people across California. Building your Person-Centered Plan, handling the Regional Center, and keeping the whole process moving.
No out-of-pocket cost. Your plan and transition support are funded through your Regional Center. See what it costs. After we talk, you get an email with a breakdown of what we discussed and what I advised, so you have it to keep.
Your SDP journey
What to expect, step by step
A clear path from your first meeting to the day your Self-Determination Program begins, with me guiding you the whole way.
-
1
Planning
We create your Person-Centered Plan
together, you and me
~2 weeks
This is the fun part. We talk about your whole life, not just Regional Center services: what you love, what a good day looks like, and who is already in your corner. I turn that into a plan, with a purchase request for each Regional Center service.
-
2
Planning
Submit your PCP
to your Regional Center
~2 weeks
We send the plan and the service requests to your service coordinator and ask for a planning meeting. Nothing is needed from you while it is scheduled.
-
3
Agreeing
PCP meeting / SDP IPP meeting
review the plan and the requests
~2 weeks
One meeting, sometimes more. The IPP team goes through each request. The Regional Center agrees, asks for more information, or says no, and you get the outcome in writing.
-
4
Agreeing
Formal purchase requests
and your IPP is updated
up to 45 days
The Regional Center processes the agreed services for internal approval and updates your IPP for Self-Determination. Up to 45 days, though it usually does not take that long.
-
5
Budget
Your SDP budget is finalized
~30 days
The Regional Center sends your budget. We make sure it is correct, the Regional Center signs, then you sign, and it becomes your certified budget. Up to 30 days if revisions are needed, often the same week.
-
6
Spending plan
Spending Plan reviewed and approved
2 weeks to 1 month
Drafted while we wait for the budget, so it goes in within a day of certification. The Regional Center reviews it, usually about two weeks and up to 30 days, and both sides sign.
-
7
FMS
Onboarding with the FMS
before your start date
The Regional Center sends the purchase of service to your FMS, and the FMS sets up everyone who will be paid: you, your employees and your vendors.
-
8
Start
Your Self-Determination Program begins
1st of the next month
Self-Determination starts on the first of a month. Traditional services end on the last day of the month before, so there is no gap in services. Ongoing facilitation after that is optional and paid from your budget.
About
Who you'll be working with
Empowered Futures Independent Facilitation LLC provides Independent Facilitation for individuals and families receiving traditional Regional Center services: Person-Centered Planning, transition into California’s Self-Determination Program, SDP planning, and ongoing SDP support.
I am an SDP family myself. I have made these same decisions for someone I love, and lived with getting them right and getting them wrong.
Family stories
In their words
What people say about working through Self-Determination together.
First family story goes here.A parentCalifornia
Second family story goes here.A parentCalifornia
Third family story goes here.A self-advocateCalifornia
Worked with me before? I would be grateful for a few sentences about your experience. Share as much or as little as you like; stories are published anonymously unless you ask otherwise. Email me or text (714) 591-0464.
Worked with me before? I would be grateful for a few sentences about your experience. Share as much or as little as you like; stories are published anonymously unless you ask otherwise. Email me or text (714) 591-0464.
How I work
Empowering your future takes a plan, a timeline, and follow-through.
My caseload is the complex end of the program: medically complex care, clinically intensive and behavioral services, and large staffing teams across multiple providers and employees.
Organization
Every case runs on the same proven project management system, so nothing gets lost and nothing waits on someone to remember it.
Timeline
Most people take about six months. Mine usually take three or four, because nothing sits waiting for someone to remember it.
Deliverables
What you receive: the Person-Centered Plan, purchase of service requests, the spending plan, a schedule of supports, and utilization audits.
Communication
You always know what has happened, what is next, and whose turn it is. No wondering whether anything is moving.
Your own client portal
All four of those, visible to you at any time. See exactly which step you are on and who it is waiting on, with your plan, budget, spending plan and authorizations in one place instead of scattered across your inbox.
See what it will do →How I help
How I can help
Independent Facilitation from start to finish, funded through your Regional Center or your SDP budget. No out-of-pocket cost to you.
Your PCP
We build a plan around your strengths, your goals, and the life you want: the foundation of your SDP budget. Flat rate.
Getting to SDP start
Answering the emails and preparing the paperwork, finding services and staff, pricing the spending plan against your certified budget, and getting everyone set up with your FMS. Around 40 hours over the transition.
After you start
New service requests, spending plan revisions, mid-year FMS changes, and the end-of-year review. Entirely optional.
Step one is the SDP Orientation
Before any family can begin the Self-Determination transition, the state requires you to complete the SDP Orientation. It is free, held over Zoom, and run by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. It comes in two parts, Part A and Part B, two hours each. Part A comes first.
Connect with me and we will work on getting your orientation completed.
Supporting individuals across every California Regional Center
Text or call me for a free consult
Text or call me for a free consult. No pressure, and no cost to get started. After we talk, you get an email with a breakdown of what we discussed and what I advised, so you have it to keep.
Serving self-advocates and families across every California Regional Center.
Not ready to talk yet?
Use the free tools.
The same lookups I use every day, open to everyone. No sign-up.