Valley Mountain Regional Center (VMRC) serves San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne counties — one of California’s 21 regional centers under the Lanterman Act WIC §4500, free at any family income. Intake is routed by county to one of three branches: Stockton (San Joaquin), Modesto (Stanislaus), and the town of San Andreas (Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne). VMRC names three eligibility doors, not two — Early Start, provisional eligibility under age 5, and standard Lanterman eligibility at 3 and older.
Is Valley Mountain my regional center?
If you live in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Amador, Calaveras, or Tuolumne county, yes. The boundary is the county line, which makes this simpler than Los Angeles County, where seven centers divide one county by neighborhood.
Two corrections worth making, because both send families to the wrong place:
- Mariposa county is not VMRC. It belongs to Central Valley Regional Center, along with Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare. Older lists get this wrong.
- Sacramento and the counties north of Amador are not VMRC either — those belong to Alta California Regional Center.
A confusing name collision. VMRC’s foothill branch is in the town of San Andreas, in Calaveras County. San Andreas Regional Center is a completely different organization, serving Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties on the coast. If you search “San Andreas regional center” from Angels Camp or Sonora, you will land on the wrong one. Your center is Valley Mountain.
Which of VMRC’s three doors is my child’s?
VMRC sorts by age into three tracks. Under 3 is Early Start. Under 5 can qualify through provisional eligibility, which uses a lower bar. 3 and older goes through standard Lanterman eligibility. A child can move between them — provisional eligibility is reassessed before age 5 WIC §4512.
| Door | Age | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Early Start | Birth to 3 | Developmental delay or an at-risk condition — broader criteria, no diagnosis required |
| Provisional eligibility | Under 5 | A disability that is not solely physical, with significant functional limits in at least 2 of the 7 life areas WIC §4512 |
| Lanterman eligibility | 3 and older | A developmental disability beginning before age 18, with significant functional limits in 3 or more of the 7 life areas WIC §4512 |
The middle row is the one worth arguing for. Many parents of 3- and 4-year-olds are told their child is “close, but not three areas” and hear that as a final no. It is not: provisional eligibility asks for two areas, not three, and it exists precisely because a young child’s picture is incomplete. A child found provisionally eligible is reassessed at least 90 days before turning 5 WIC §4512 — so it buys real years of service, not a technicality.
The seven life areas are self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. A preschooler is measured against what is expected at that age.
Valley Mountain — eligibility and county intake contacts →How does intake start here?
Call the branch for your county and ask for intake and assessment, saying your child’s age first. VMRC publishes a separate intake number for each of its three branches, so calling the right one saves a transfer:
| Your county | VMRC branch |
|---|---|
| San Joaquin | Stockton |
| Stanislaus | Modesto |
| Amador · Calaveras · Tuolumne | San Andreas (Calaveras County) |
Write down the date you call — that date starts every clock below. Then gather what you already have: pediatrician notes, any evaluation (speech, occupational therapy, psychological), school or preschool records, an IEP or IFSP if one exists, and your own written description of a hard day. A diagnosis helps but is not required to start, and VMRC funds its own assessments at no cost to you.
What deadlines is VMRC on?
15 working days from your request to initial intake WIC §4642. 120 days from intake to a completed assessment — 60 days where delay would risk your child’s health, safety, or development WIC §4643. Under 3: 45 days from referral for the Early Start evaluation and assessment 17 CCR §52086. Then 60 days from the completed assessment to the written plan WIC §4646.
Those clocks are identical at all 21 centers, and they run from your request. What varies locally is who answers, how far you drive, and which providers have openings near you. None of that changes what your child is owed.
Highway 49 in winter, a child who does not do well in the car, and an appointment ninety minutes down the hill — that is a real reason families put the call off for months. Say it on the first call: which meetings have to be in person, which can be by phone or video, and can anything happen at the San Andreas branch instead of Stockton? The worst outcome of asking is the drive you were already making.
What if Valley Mountain says no?
A denial must arrive as a written Notice of Action stating the decision and your appeal rights. An informal no on the phone is not a decision and starts no clock — ask for the written notice. From it, you have 60 days to request a hearing WIC §4710.5; check the dates printed on your own notice and calendar them the day it comes.
Before you appeal, ask one question in writing: was provisional eligibility considered? For a child under 5, that is the most common thing a denial letter skips.
Free advocates handle these appeals. The Office of Clients’ Rights Advocacy (OCRA), part of Disability Rights California, works with families statewide.
How to appeal a Regional Center denial →You know which branch is yours, which of the three doors fits your child, and what a real decision has to look like on paper. Most families spend a year learning that.