Regional Center of the East Bay

Regional Center of the East bay is a good resource for families with special need children. They can provide you with information, support, and tools to find solutions to your everyday needs. Whether it’s for daycare, financial needs, counseling, therapy, or medical issues, this is the place to start looking for guidance.
We are very fortunate to have worked with great case managers in the past.

The regional centers can’t fund resources that don’t EXIST. Housing? Day programs? Treatment for children/​adults with autism spectrum disorder? The social workers there are paid peanuts. It’s just tough all around.
The Regional Centers are funded by the state to purchase services and support for individuals with developmental disabilities. It is simply not funded as it should be, therefore resources can’t afford to exist and provide needed services. An job coach gets paid about $ 15/​hour for example. Despite providers get $ 12 tops. I’m 100% sure the regional center would love to fund everything you ask for, but it’s public money and the the penny jar is low.
If you wish to truly advocate for people with developmental disabilities, show up at the Capitol with us and lobby for change. Vote. Call your local rep. Email Jerry. The fiscal budget comes out July 1 and regional centers desperately need funding for services, support programs and caseloads UNDER 90 people per social worker.
If you’re not happy with an assigned social worker, ask for another. Submit an appeal to decisions if you disagree.

I would give zero stars if I could. They don’t care for your kids or their progress. I asked what services and they couldn’t even answer. Yet other regional centers provide better care and services. I wish there’s other providers other than them. It’s such a shame.

If I could leave less than one I would. My child has paperwork dated 1998. This organization is «recommended «by numerous other entities and in my experience with them, it’s an exercise in futility and frustration. They WILL NOT do anything until AFTER there is a problem. They WANT your child, minor or adult, (calendar age), to fail and be dependent on society — welfare. If you want to know who you DO NOT WANT to be assigned to PM me and I’ll give you a name (s).
This Elizabeth person must work for them or her kid does or someone close to her does. I don’t know ANYONE who’s been helped by them and I’ve seen a lot of kids with IEP’s.

Regional Center of the East Bay employees DO NOT make a lot of money — not even hardly enough to live on. They work long, hard hours with huge case loads. While I understand that waiting for services can be frustrating when your child needs serious attention fast — the case managers have so much red tape to go through to get those services in place for the consumers. Things cannot happen fast with so much bureaucracy to deal with. The case managers have big hearts — that is a requirement for doing that kind of work. If they wanted to make big bucks, they would work for the county — where they can earn double what RCEB pays. There is no doubt that there is plenty of room for improvement and some workers are better than others, but it breaks my heart to see so much negativity towards these hardworking people. One meeting may involved getting five or six other people (or more) organized to meet at one time — and then it never fails that one person who is key will cancel at the last minute. It is frustrating for all concerned! My best advice is to approach it with patience, compassion, and kindness. Some of the parents call their worker on a daily basis and try to talk for hours! It is the hardest job! Also, remember that there have been huge cuts in funding — the workers have to be creative to get all the services people want. Also, to the man who rented to a destructive RCEB client, you should know that RCEB clients (or consumers) often live on about $ 700 a month or less! I understand you want him/​her to be accountable — but remember that these are people who need assistance to get through each and every day. The consumers or clients are the ones who deserve our utmost concern and care. As with any organization, there are good times and there are bad times. But know that the case managers are there because they care deeply about your loved ones — they are not there for a fat paycheck. In addition, there has to be a ton of record keeping and reports to satisfy the government and the auditors. It is the hardest job in the world. Walk a mile in their shoes…

Terrible and mismanaged. Too many details to write a long review. All I can say is unorganized, non communicative, misinformed, no follow through, and missed appointments. A building full of Bozos.

Well I’m receiving services for speech therapy for my two year old. We were referred to RCEB because our speech pathologist at Kaiser said my son doesn’t qualify for services since his problem is a little severe. So naturally they gave me info about RCEB and I called. My son was 22 months when he was referred, my son is now 2 years and 3 months and finally we have gotten the evaluation. I had to fight for my son to get services because honestly who really waits 5 months to call you back? So that’s my only tip unless you don’t mind waiting until they get back to you. So far the services are okay but we just barely started seeing a speech therapist so only time will tell.

I have a 2 year old child suspected to be on the autism spectrum. Our case manager is disorganized, and seems to only care about her self. When we first met, she took pictures of my daughter without consent, the worst part, she was secretly taking them while I stepped away and my daughter was napping. Then she proceeded to share pictures of all the other children she has open cases of. Of course I didn’t look because that would be a violation of these children’s privacy rights. I called her supervisor but it seems like every time you contact them they seem upset or bothered. My daughter has a major speech delay and I fought for her to get speech services since we couldn’t afford them on our own. They made me wait 8 months for those services. Fortunately I was proactive and signed my little girl up for a program. Next step was to have my daughter evaluated by psychologist specializing in spectrum disorders. Wow, what a major disappointment and a waste of time. I wouldn’t be so upset if this lady was kinder and less aggressive with both me and my 2.5 yr old child. She was pushy, cold, rude, aggressive, condescending, and all together just wrong for this line of work. At times I thought to myself «grab your child and go» but I stayed thinking it would get better. It only got worse. My daughter kept opening the door and saying «bye» and since we didn’t leave she had tantrums galore, of course the therapist thought her tantrums were a behavior problem. I said well she’s just getting over the flu and she doesn’t want to be here. She saw my daughter for maybe a total of 1.5. hrs because one, my daughter hated being there (she never behaves like that at the doctor’s office nor with her teachers) and two the lady cut the session short because she had to collect all the information from me. She was also very aggressive with me because she kept trying to force me to answer questions and would get upset if I said something that opposed «her observation» Her words would be «of course how would you notice it, you’re not the professional, I am» I almost said F you! and this is over, good luck getting paid on the purchase order you awful lady.
Bottom line, if you can afford to get the testing done outside of RCEB do it. Don’t leave your child’s fate in their hands, they only care for themselves.

The whole system is about the employees not the kids. My son tried to commit suicide and then attacked us back and forth. The Regional center pretended it had no home. The money goes to them for the children but the employees have huge salaries and benefits that would put the private sector to shame. The money that was suppose to be for the kids is just sucked out by administration or managers of special disorders who do nothing to improve the child.
They dope the kids and then lead them about like zombies. They say it makes them easier to manage. I went to my Senator and they finally did something. For the home he is in now I give them one star more. In reality I think they are pigs\. We pay enormous taxes to help the mentally ill not enrich the workers like royal family.
Everything government does, it does badly. Just look at the affordable health care act.

As a single parent of 2 children with autism, RCEB has been a blessing to us. Although there are times it seems that they make it harder than it needs to be to get much needed services, but I’m sure that’s all because of funding. RCEB is a great agency that continues to endure budget cuts. Overall I do believe that the case managers are doing the best they can with what they have.

I appreciate what the Regional Center does greatly, but my experience with them is so-​so. I am a client of College Living Experience in Monterey, which Regional Center funds because CLE costs a LOT of money. The process to get funding was long and difficult. They are also very selective when it comes to who gets funding and who doesn’t. We came in several times for meetings with people, a very long and boring process since some of the meetings took up about 4 hours! Each time I went in there, I felt like I was treated like a child. Also once you get funding, beware of certain requirements of services that must be attended. The case manager I was assigned to was somewhat disorganized and wrote a report about me that was full of errors that completely dumbed down my High Functioning Autism and made me feel insulted.
All this work and time may or may not be worth it. But if you/​you kid is really needs their services, you may as well give it a shot!

As a civil servant myself, I highly appreciate the work and commitment that RCEB has been doing for years. In terms of client development and support, the case managers of the regional center of the East Bay put time and effort to every case. Their knowledge of the service system and supported living services allows vendors, clients, and client’s families to have the necessary resources to develop a culture of relationship and independence. Thanks guys!