North Los Angeles County Regional Center

Artemis D

They close early. 4:45pm. Case workers & supervisors, even up to Cristina Pruess, don't care, don't offer or help with ANY services. Supervisor Amy Gandin will twist your words and put her comments in your case file trying to make you out for a parent that's confused and doesn't understand their child or needs. It's been a struggle. I don't know how anyone gets services. I've even had an IPP meeting, but when I call to see where the NOA is, they say the meeting never happened. I should have recorded it. Keep all emails! Try to document everything with them. Unfortunately, they are not there to help. They make everything difficult, instead of doing their jobs to help. Other Regional centers have places where parents can get support or help with the IEP or legal matters... this one doesn't. They had a supposed legal office but the person quit. Now they say they have a lawyer but she is only there for administrative purposes and can't help. When I ask for social skills or Rec therapy they say to find other means of funding... which would basically be lausd for a 6 year old. I showed them the IEP and that they refused Rec therapy or any other therapy for that matter. They told me to find a lawyer and sue them. WHAT?!? Then what is the regional center for? It's sad that they get so much funding but don't help most families. If you look at their statistics there are very few families getting lots of funding and lots of families getting zero funding. I actually attended one of their spending meetings and they act all confused about why families don't seek services. I commented that they make it impossible to receive the services, and they stopped me and told me to call my worker and talk to them. Well, I've been doing that for 3 years and getting zero services. I've been told by disability rights California that I need to appeal and fight every decision. Well, if you are watching over a special needs child you don't really have time to be appealing and filling out forms and going to court every month for every decision that they deny. The Regional Center knows that and that's why they make it difficult ...because they know that you are going to pick taking care of your child over trying to get services by having to fight and appeal every decision to get them. Lanterman would be ashamed of this institution. They are just there to process paperwork and deny applications. In denying services they are causing us to have minimal improvement in our lives and be forced to stay home and live with the condition instead of trying to better our lives or be functional. I see videos of the original regional centers that were set up to help families and it makes me sad. Families really need help and that's why so many parents fought so hard to get Regional centers established, but this one serves no purpose. 3 years & the only thing they gave us was a diagnosis of autism. Just that one thing. I wonder how much funding the government gives them for us, but we don't see any of it. I even tried reaching out to government officials, but apparently no one oversees Regional centers, even CDSS says they cannot help, they can just receive complaints and suggest improvements to the Regional Center, but they cannot enforce anything.

Manuel Santizo

They helped me to solve my disability and autism

Monique Calhoun

I've been calling for over 8 months to get a review since my disabled daughter case was transferred. I still have yet to receive a returned call after several messages. Horrible service

Karen Wilshire

This place is run by the worst, least qualified, and most ignorant workers. Bureaucratic staff, including medical doctors (who absolutely don't care about kids or their families), case workers (who lie all the time) and their careless supervisors.