Draft — pending review by outside counsel.
If you are reading this, you are probably making hard decisions about your child’s services — decisions that feel too big to get wrong. You deserve to know exactly what this site is, and what it is not, before you rely on it.
What Waypoint is
Waypoint is a guide written by a fellow parent. We explain, in plain language, how California’s systems usually work — Regional Centers, IEPs, Medi-Cal, IHSS, SSI, insurance — and we cite the law we are describing (for example, “WIC §4643”) so you can check every claim yourself. Our content goes through a credentialed review before it is published.
That makes us a good map. It does not make us your lawyer, your doctor, or your caseworker.
Not legal advice
Nothing on this site is legal advice. Laws and regulations change, agencies interpret them differently, and every child’s situation is different in ways that matter. Reading our guides, using our tools, adapting our letters, or emailing us does not create an attorney-client relationship with Waypoint.
For advice about your child’s specific case, talk with a special education or disability rights attorney, Disability Rights California, or the Clients’ Rights Advocate connected to your Regional Center.
Not medical advice
Nothing on this site diagnoses, treats, or rules out any condition. Before making decisions about your child’s diagnosis, treatment, or therapies, talk with a clinician who knows your child.
Not benefits or financial advice
We explain how programs like SSI, IHSS, and Medi-Cal generally work, but we cannot tell you what your family will qualify for or receive. Benefit amounts, income limits, and program rules change — many of them every year.
That is why every Waypoint page that shows a dollar figure carries a “figures current as of” date. Before you rely on any number — especially for a budget, an application, or an appeal — check that date, and confirm the current figure with the agency itself. If a page’s date looks old, treat its numbers as history, not fact.
No outcomes guaranteed
Following the steps in our guides does not guarantee an assessment, an approval, a service, or a favorable decision. Regional Centers, school districts, county offices, and insurers apply their rules with real discretion, and two families with similar facts can get different answers. What our guides and letters can do is help you ask clearly, cite the right law, and keep a record — the things that tend to help. The outcome is never in our control, and anyone who promises you one is overpromising.
We are independent
Waypoint is not affiliated with or endorsed by DDS, any Regional Center, any school district, the Social Security Administration, or any other government agency. When we describe what an agency should do, we are citing the law — not speaking for the agency.
If you are in crisis
Caring for a child with a disability can be heavy, and some seasons are heavier than others. If you are struggling, or you are worried about your child’s safety or your own, you do not have to carry it alone.
- Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day.
- En español: llame al 988 y presione 2, o envíe la palabra AYUDA al 988.
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.
- You can also dial 211 to find local services, including your county’s crisis and respite resources.
Questions
If anything on this page is unclear, or you think something on this site is wrong, tell us: privacy@waypointchild.com. We would rather fix an error than defend one.
- Draft dated: September 6, 2026 — first draft, pending counsel review.