Support for people with developmental disabilities, their families, and the communities they choose.
Westside Regional Center helps you find out if you qualify, plan the services you need, and get them. Most services are free, whatever your age or income.
- I'm a parent or family memberServices by age, Early Start, family support, how to apply
- I receive servicesYour plan, your service coordinator, your rights, self-advocacy
- I'm a vendor or service providerBecome a provider, e-Billing, rates, forms, incident reporting
- I work at WRCStaff resources, forms and policies, meeting calendar
Español en esta vista previa: solo el encabezado. La traducción de todo el sitio forma parte del proyecto. (Spanish shown for the hero only in this prototype.)
Get help in 3 steps
Written from WRC's Intake & Eligibility page, in plain language: the three things a family needs first, before the detail.
Apply online, or call us
Anyone can apply: a parent, a doctor, a school, or you for yourself. Intake is free, at any age, and does not depend on citizenship status. Attach what you have (an IEP, medical records). No records yet? That is fine.
Start an applicationWe meet you and assess
An intake counselor calls you. For children under 3 (Early Start) we must finish within 45 days. For everyone 3 and older (Lanterman Act) within 120 days. Your observations count as part of the assessment.
Free · no cost at any stepYou get a plan and a service coordinator
If you are eligible, a service coordinator becomes your main contact. Together you write a plan (an IPP, or an IFSP for children under 3) that lists the services you will get. If you are not eligible, you can appeal.
What a service coordinator does →
Services by age
Pick an age to see the services most families ask about at that stage, and who to contact.
- 0–3Early StartAssessment in 45 days
- 3–10Young school-aged childrenSchool and IEP support
- 11–17AdolescentsPlanning for after school
- 18–22Young adultsWork, college, independence
- 23+AdultsLiving, working, community
Westside Family Resource & Empowerment Center
Parent-to-parent support, workshops and Sibshops for brothers and sisters. Free.
Visit the Family Resource Center →Self-Determination Program
A way to manage your own budget and choose your own services. Start with the orientation.
About the program →Support groups and trainings
Bugle Horn Autism Support Group, Siempre Amigas, Different Thinkers Different Learners and more. All free unless the organizer says otherwise.
See this month →Your plan, your coordinator, your rights
Your service coordinator
Your main contact at WRC. They explain the rules, help you ask for services, and help you get them. Behind them is a team: clinical staff, intake, quality resources and finance.
Services and supports →Your plan (IPP or IFSP)
To ask for a new service, bring it up when you make or update your plan. If an assessment finds a new need, services can be added.
Service standards →If you disagree
You can appeal any decision. The Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy (OCRA) is free and independent.
Work with WRC
Everything a provider needs, grouped by task: get approved, get paid, stay compliant.
Get approved (vendorization)
Staff resources
Third in priority, so third on the page: a single link block, not a menu branch. Internal documents move behind a login so the public navigation stays short.
This month at WRC
Titles and dates are from the westsiderc.org calendar as of November 7, 2026. Each event is one content record with audience, language and registration fields, so it appears here, on the calendar and on the right audience page at once.
Self-Determination Local Advisory Committee
Public meeting · Details
Different Thinkers Different Learners
Parents and guardians · Details
Siempre Amigas Support Group
Family support group · en español · Details
Service Provider Advisory Committee (SPAC) Meeting
Vendors and providers · Details
Bugle Horn Autism Support Group
Recurring · Details
Plain language, side by side
Three paragraphs copied from westsiderc.org today, and how we would rewrite them. Reading grades are Flesch-Kincaid estimates illustrative; the real project uses the same test on every page before and after, so the improvement is measured, not claimed.
Now · Services page Grade 12.7
Clients may be eligible for services based upon need related to the nature of the qualifying developmental disability as identified and agreed to by the interdisciplinary planning team. This is not a complete listing. Other needs identified by assessment may identify other services. Services must be requested through the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individual Program Plan (IPP) process.
Rewrite Grade 5.3
You may qualify for a service if your planning team agrees you need it because of your disability. This list does not show everything. If an assessment finds another need, we can add other services. To ask for a service, bring it up when you make or update your plan. Your plan is called an IPP, or an IFSP for children under 3. Your service coordinator can help.
Now · Intake page Grade 11.2
The intake process is a team effort and all participants, including the family members, are encouraged to respond to phone calls and emails in a timely manner. The regional centers must complete the intake process within 45 days for infants and toddlers under three. For individuals over the age of three and adults, the process must be completed within 120 days. Once the assessments are done, an eligibility team will review all the information. You will be notified of the eligibility decision by your assigned intake counselor.
Rewrite Grade 5.0
Intake works best when we work together. Please answer our calls and emails as soon as you can. For children under 3, we must finish within 45 days. For everyone else, within 120 days. When the assessments are done, a team reviews everything. Your intake counselor will tell you the decision.
Now · Vendorization appeals Grade 20.6
Vendors or applicants for vendorization may appeal any denial of a vendorization application, termination of vendorization, or other failure of a regional center to comply with regulations. Such appeals shall be made to the director of the vendoring regional center within 30 days of receiving the written notification of action by that regional center or within 30 days after the failure of the vendoring regional center to comply with regulations.
Rewrite Grade 9.5
If we deny or end your approval as a provider, or do not follow the rules, you can appeal. Send your appeal to WRC's Executive Director within 30 days of our written notice, or within 30 days of the problem.
Legal terms stay where the law needs them; the plain version links to the regulation text.
Tip for evaluators: the Plain language switch in the accessibility toolbar swaps the formal wording back in on three section introductions above, so you can feel the difference in context.
Sitemap, moodboard and homepage options
The RFP asks for an interactive moodboard, sitemap, wireframes and homepage design options. Here is the first draft of each, so the committee can react to something real before kickoff.
Interactive sitemap · every page two clicks from Home
The current site's navigation holds more than 70 distinct links across three levels (counted on westsiderc.org on November 7, 2026). The proposed map has six sections; the green "2" means two clicks from the homepage. Open a section to see its pages.
Get started 1 click
- Apply for services (Intake & Eligibility)
- Eligibility and orientation
- Intake Portal login
- What is a Regional Center?
- Service area
Services by age 1 click
- Early Start (0–3)
- Ages 3–10
- Ages 11–17
- Ages 18–22
- Ages 23 and older
- Service standards
- List of service providers
Families and self-advocates 1 click
- Family Resource & Empowerment Center
- Self-Determination Program
- Special Education Advocacy
- Self-Advocacy Groups
- Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy
- Fair hearings and appeals
- Family support groups
Vendors and providers 1 click
- Become a service provider
- Current service needs and RFPs
- e-Billing
- Forms, documents and policies
- Reimbursement rates
- Special incident reporting
- Provider training
Events and training 1 click
- Calendar
- Public meeting notices
- Workshops
- Office holidays
About WRC 1 click
- Who we are
- Board of Directors, agendas and minutes
- Transparency and funding
- Language Access and Cultural Competency plan
- Employment
- Contact
Moodboard · type, color, components
Montserrat for headings
Atkinson Hyperlegible for body text: a free typeface designed by the Braille Institute for readers with low vision, with letterforms that stay distinct at small sizes. Minimum body size 17px; line length capped at 70 characters.
15.97 : 1
6.54 : 1
5.91 : 1
6.12 : 1
8.81 : 1
6.32 : 1
Blue is drawn from the current westsiderc.org palette so the brand stays recognizable. AA requires 4.5 : 1 for text.
One style guide in WordPress, so staff cannot drift into new colors or banners.
Homepage design options · deliverable 5
Two directions. Press a button and the hero at the top of this page switches to that layout.
How WRC staff will edit this
WordPress remains the CMS. We replace page-builder pages with a small set of content types and locked block patterns, so an administrator adds a record and the right pages update themselves. No third-party builder, no custom code to edit text.
Alert
title message severity start end language
Shows at the top of every page between start and end; announced to screen readers; expires itself.
Service
name age groups plain summary who to contact related forms regulation link
One record appears on each age page it applies to and in search.
Event
date audience language in person / online registration link organizer
Feeds the calendar, the homepage and the audience page at once.
Provider notice
type (RFP, letter of interest, rate change) deadline document contact
Replaces hand-made PDF link lists on the vendor pages.
Page
Core block editor with locked patterns: Steps Audience tiles FAQ Document list Contact card
Editors choose a pattern; colors, type and spacing come from the style guide.
Training plan
- Two recorded 60-minute sessions: content editing, then alerts/events/notices.
- A printed quick guide with screenshots, in English and Spanish.
- Four weeks of office hours after launch, then maintenance support.
Built in, not bolted on
What this prototype already does, and what the real site inherits. WCAG 2.2 adds nine criteria to 2.1; the ones that change design decisions are listed first.
- Target size (2.5.8) · every button, link tile and menu item is at least 44 × 44px; 2.2 requires 24.
- Focus not obscured (2.4.11) · the sticky header leaves room, so a focused item is never hidden under it.
- Consistent help (3.2.6) · phone and contact sit in the same place on every page.
- Redundant entry (3.3.7) · the intake form keeps what you typed if you go back (planned for the Intake Portal handoff).
- Accessible authentication (3.3.8) · no puzzles or memory tests to log in; passkeys or emailed links.
- Dragging (2.5.7) · nothing on the site requires a drag gesture.
- Contrast and reflow · all text pairs above 4.5 : 1; layout works at 320px wide and 400% zoom.
- Screen readers · landmarks, one H1, labeled controls,
lang="es"on Spanish text, alerts announced through a live region. - Deaf and hard of hearing · every video captioned; ASL contact option and text relay listed on Contact.
- Blind and low vision · text resizes without breaking; high-contrast mode in the toolbar; descriptive link text, no "click here".
- Motion · scroll animation respects "reduce motion" in your device settings.
- Testing · axe and WAVE on every template, then keyboard, NVDA, VoiceOver, 200% text and 400% zoom by hand, before launch and after every update.
Who we are, in one paragraph
Westside Regional Center is a nonprofit funded by the California Department of Developmental Services. We are one of 21 regional centers in the state. We assess eligibility, then plan, coordinate and pay for the services and supports a person needs because of a developmental disability, under the Lanterman Act and the Early Start program. There is no charge for assessment, and most services are free regardless of age or income.
Our mission
To support people with developmental disabilities, their families, and communities of choice by facilitating access to person-centered, culturally responsive services and resources.