Thank you for your interest in serving people with developmental disabilities in West Los Angeles!

Westside Regional Center (WRC) partners with hundreds of service providers – also known as “vendors” – to ensure that services and supports meet the needs of people with developmental disabilities to live safely and with dignity in our community.

This section provides information and requirements for those interested in becoming authorized to provide services (becoming “vendored”) to WRC individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Vendorization is the process by which Regional Centers approve an entity to provide services to individuals served by the Regional Center. This process is to identify, select, and utilize service providers based on the qualifications and other requirements necessary in order to provide the services. The vendorization process allows regional centers to verify, prior to the provision of services to the individuals that we serve, that an applicant meets all of the requirements and standards specified in regulations. Applicants who meet the specified requirements and standards, and who complete the vendorization process are assigned a unique vendor identification number and service code.

Since there are 21 Regional Centers in California, each Regional Center is a non-profit agency that contracts with the State of California to provide assessment, case management, and purchase services for people with developmental disabilities.  Each Regional Center is responsible for a defined geographic area.  Westside Regional Center (WRC) provides services in the West Los Angeles area.  Regional Centers may only vendor service providers in the Regional Center’s designated area.

For more information about the process of vendorization, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) has a designated page on their website with an overview and important links for prospective service providers. To view this page, please click here. 

The State of California establishes rates for community-based day programs, infant development programs, independent living services, work activity programs, supported employment, and respite agencies after completion of vendorization. After a rate is set, the regional center Service Coordinator (also referred to as “counselor”) must initiate a written authorization for funds between the regional center and the Service Provider. If the Service Provider initiates services for a client before an approved authorization is received, the regional center cannot provide payment for that service.

Governing Statutes and Regulations for the Title 17 Regulations for Vendorization from the California Department of Developmental Services can be found here.