Free Regional Center navigation for California families
It's 2am. The Regional Center is closed. You have questions that can't wait until Monday.
DAN is California's free navigation program for self-advocates and the families who help them navigate the Regional Center disability services system.
Quick signup helps us understand who we're reaching and improve the service.
Esta versión en español es un borrador inicial — la estamos mejorando con miembros bilingües de la comunidad. Si tienes comentarios sobre la traducción, escríbenos a support@sdta-np.com.
The reality
California's promise — and its gap
California's developmental disability system, built on the Lanterman Act of 1969, was designed to guarantee services as a right, not a privilege. The data tells a different story.
See live Regional Center data and outcomes →
DAN was built by a Regional Center mom whose son nearly fell through the cracks. Why DAN exists →
The solution
What DAN does
DAN's first move is to listen. Before it explains anything, it asks one question: what's actually going on for your family right now? The answer to that question shapes everything that follows — because the same system looks completely different depending on where you are in it.
DAN is built for the self-advocate and everyone in their circle of support — family members, caregivers, and trusted people who show up when it matters. It meets you where you are, right now, in the middle of whatever is happening. Not with a manual to read later. With education about what the system says your rights are, real help understanding what's going on in your specific situation, and a clear next step you can take today.
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Rights and policy translationThe Lanterman Act, DDS Directives, and Regional Center purchase of service policies explained in plain language — with the source cited, so families know where the information comes from and can point to it in their own conversations.
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Situation recognitionDAN recognizes the most common situations families find themselves in — not knowing what services are available, uncertainty about how to frame a request, not knowing what information to bring to an IPP meeting — and helps families understand what's happening and what to ask for next.
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Next step guidanceFrom understanding how to prepare for an IPP meeting to knowing when and how to request a supervisor conversation or a formal review — DAN helps families understand what options exist and how to use them, step by step.
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SDP orientation and readinessHelping families understand what Self-Determination actually is, what the enrollment path looks like, and whether it might be right for them — before they ever talk to anyone at their Regional Center.
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IPP goal reviewPaste your Individual Program Plan into DAN and walk through each goal together — what's strong, where the language is vulnerable, and what to ask for at the next meeting. (Tip: if your IPP PDF won't let you copy text, "print" it to a new PDF first; the new copy will let you select and paste.)
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Handoff to humansWhen a situation calls for a professional — an Independent Facilitator, an attorney, an advocate at Disability Rights California — DAN doesn't just say "go find one." It creates a plain-language summary of where the family is and what they've tried, so the first conversation with that human starts informed.
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Always availableNo appointment. No cost. No waiting until Monday morning. Families can access DAN whenever they need it — at 2am, in Spanish, in the middle of an IPP meeting, anywhere.
The boundaries
What DAN doesn't do
DAN is a navigation program — not a lawyer, not a financial planner, not a service coordinator. There are things it deliberately doesn't do, and being clear about those is part of how it earns trust.
- DAN doesn't give legal, financial, or medical advice.
- DAN doesn't file applications or contact agencies on your behalf.
- DAN doesn't replace your service coordinator, your Independent Facilitator, or your attorney.
- DAN doesn't store your conversation after your session ends.
When a situation calls for one of those, DAN says so clearly — and helps you get there.
Watch and listen
What is DAN?
A short overview of what DAN is, why it exists, and how it can help your family. A good place to start if you're new to DAN.
A short overview of DAN. Spanish version in progress — coming soon.
An example
What a DAN conversation looks like
Waiting on a response from your Regional Center — one of the most common situations families bring to DAN. Here's how a real exchange would unfold.
You
DAN
That's good that you put your follow-up in writing — it gives you a clear record of what you asked for and when.
A natural next step is to include your service coordinator's supervisor on your next email. Sometimes a request just needs a second set of eyes on it to start moving.
If you don't already have the supervisor's email, call your Regional Center's main number and ask for it — they can give it to you.
Here's a draft you can send:
Subject: Following up on respite request — [child's name]
Hi [Service Coordinator name],
I wanted to follow up on the respite services I asked about at [child's name]'s IPP meeting in January, and emailed about on [date]. It's now been about six weeks, and I'd appreciate an update — or a written decision so I can plan from there.
[Supervisor name], I'm including you here so you have visibility on this. Please let me know if there's anything more I can provide to help move this forward.
Thank you,
[Your name]
A representative example. Real DAN conversations adapt to what each family shares — and cite the specific Lanterman Act or Title 17 sections when a question turns on rights or policy.
How DAN improves
By the community, for the community
DAN isn't a static product built once and pushed out. Every session shapes what DAN learns next.
Real session data drives DAN's content and capabilities
When families ask questions DAN can't yet answer well, those gaps become the next things DAN learns. Knowledge modules for waiting on Regional Center responses, fair hearing prep, decoding Notices of Action — all built in direct response to what real families needed and weren't getting.
Real family feedback shapes DAN's voice
Pilot families and active users tell us what landed and what didn't, what felt clear and what didn't. That feedback gets reviewed and built into the next version. The work doesn't stop — that's the point.
Self-advocates, IFs, and advocates bring lived expertise
People who navigate this system every day — for themselves, with their families, alongside their clients — shape how DAN recognizes situations and hands off when the right answer is a human, not a chat.
Partner organizations help DAN reach the families who need it most
Not endorsement — distribution. The way DAN actually finds the families who could most benefit is through the people and organizations they already trust.
If you've used DAN and have feedback, that's how DAN gets better.
support@sdta-np.com →If you work with families who need DAN, share it.
bit.ly/tryDANPilot →If you're a partner organization who wants to do more, let's talk.
support@sdta-np.com →Free, always — and yours
No price of admission. No price ever.
SDTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The mission is access — and access only works if there is no price of admission. DAN is free to families, and it always will be.
You own your journey.
DAN is designed so you stay in complete control of your own information. No account. No login. Nothing stored anywhere. What you share in a session stays in that session — when you close the window, it's gone. If you come back with a follow-up, you decide whether to share your prior session.
People navigating the Regional Center system have often experienced their information being used in ways they didn't expect. DAN works the other way.
Available in
Languages
DAN is currently available in English and Spanish. We're actively improving Spanish parity with the help of bilingual community members. Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese are on the roadmap — because the knowledge gap is deepest in communities where the system was never designed with you in mind.