Who does Alta California Regional Center serve?
Alta California serves families living in Alpine, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties — ten of California’s 58, and one of the 21 regional center territories created by the Lanterman Act WIC §4500. Which center is yours depends on where your child lives, not where they go to school or see a doctor. Services are provided regardless of your income.
It is a wide territory, and that shapes the experience more than anything else on this page. Alta California covers a state capital, its suburbs, farm counties on the valley floor, Gold Country foothills, and mountain counties that run to the Nevada border. A family in midtown Sacramento and a family outside Markleeville are entitled to exactly the same things under the same law — but they will not have the same drive, the same local providers, or the same office.
If you are not sure this is your center, check before you spend an afternoon on the phone. Our Regional Center finder answers it from your county in a few seconds.
Which Alta California office will I actually deal with?
Alta California runs eight offices and assigns them by county, so most of your contact will be with a local office rather than the Sacramento headquarters. The main line at the top of this page can tell you which one holds your case and transfer you.
This is the single most useful local fact about this center, and it is published on Alta California’s own offices page:
| Office | Counties it covers |
|---|---|
| Sacramento (main) | Sacramento |
| Roseville | Placer |
| Grass Valley | Nevada, Sierra, northern Placer |
| Truckee | Sierra, Nevada, Placer |
| Placerville | El Dorado |
| South Lake Tahoe | Alpine, eastern El Dorado |
| Woodland | Yolo |
| Yuba City | Sutter, Yuba, Colusa |
Notice the overlaps: Placer, Nevada, and Sierra each appear under more than one office. If you live in one of those three counties, ask on your first call which office your case is assigned to, and get the name of the person you spoke with — Alta California doesn’t publish the rule it uses to split those three counties between offices, so this is the only reliable way to find out. It is a small question that saves you from telling your child’s story twice.
How does intake start here?
Call the main line above and say: “I’d like to request an intake and assessment for my child.” Then say your child’s age. Alta California’s applicant pages route families down two tracks — Early Start for children 3 and under, and standard Lanterman intake for 3 and over — and the deadlines are different, so the age is the first thing the intake worker needs.
You do not need a diagnosis, a doctor’s referral, or a lawyer to start. Eligibility for children 3 and older turns on substantial disability, which the law defines as significant functional limits in 3 or more major life areas WIC §4512. Under 3, Early Start uses broader criteria — a measured delay, an established risk condition, or a combination of high-risk factors is enough, and no label is required.
- Make the call, and record the date. The date of your request is the date every clock below runs from. Ask the intake worker to confirm it in writing or by email.
- Bring what you already have. Pediatrician notes, any evaluation reports, an IEP or preschool observation, a list in your own words of what a hard day looks like. Do not wait for a complete folder — a missing document is not a reason to delay your request.
- Describe the hard days. Assessors are measuring function, not effort. The morning that fell apart is more informative than the afternoon that went well.
- Get the decision in writing. If your child is eligible, planning moves to the Individual Program Plan (IPP) WIC §4646. If not, you are owed a written Notice of Action stating the reason and your appeal rights.
Initial intake: 15 working days from your request WIC §4642. Assessment: 120 days from intake — 60 days when a delay would put your child at risk WIC §4643. Under 3: 45 days from referral for evaluation and the first plan. IPP: 60 days after the assessment is finished WIC §4646.
What is the same everywhere, and what is local?
The law is identical at all 21 centers: the same eligibility standard, the same clocks, the same appeal rights, the same zero cost to your family. What varies is logistics and local supply — which office you get, how far you drive, and which providers actually have openings near you.
| Same at every regional center | Local to Alta California |
|---|---|
| The 3-of-7 substantial disability standard WIC §4512 | Which of eight offices your case sits in |
| The intake, assessment, and IPP clocks WIC §4642 WIC §4643 WIC §4646 | Travel time — Alpine and Sierra families are a long way from Sacramento |
| A denial must arrive as a written Notice of Action | Which vendors and providers have openings in your county |
| Your right to have the process conducted in your preferred language WIC §4646 | Local respite hours and provider availability — DDS publishes purchase-of-service data annually; ask your service coordinator for current local numbers rather than relying on a statewide figure here |
One right on that list is worth saying plainly, because families rarely hear it offered: the planning process must be conducted in your preferred language, and the plan itself must be given to you in it WIC §4646. You do not have to bring your own interpreter, and you do not have to make your bilingual older child do it. Ask at intake.
What if Alta California says no?
A no is a step in the process, not the end of it. Ask for the written Notice of Action — a “no” over the phone is not a decision and starts no clock. From the notice, you have 60 days to ask for an informal meeting, mediation, or a fair hearing WIC §4710.5. If services your child already receives are being cut and you want them to keep running while you appeal, that request has to go in within 30 days of receiving the notice WIC §4715.
Calendar both dates the day the notice lands on your kitchen table. Then get help — it is free, and you are not expected to do this alone. The Office of Clients’ Rights Advocacy (OCRA), run by Disability Rights California, provides advocates who handle Lanterman Act appeals for families at no cost. Ask for them by name.
How to appeal a Regional Center denial, step by step →