Managing Funds, Staff & Services
Tracking Spending Plan to Actual Costs
The Self-Determination Program requires participants to manage an individual budget authorized through the Individual Program Plan (IPP) process and administered through a Financial Management Service (FMS). To maintain good standing and ensure uninterrupted services, participants and their support teams must actively monitor spending plan allocations against actual expenditures on an ongoing basis throughout the fiscal year.
The Spending Plan, as approved through the IPP and authorized by the regional center, serves as the budget ceiling. No expenditure may exceed the authorized amount without a formal Spending Plan modification approved through the IPP addendum process.
Helpful Tools for Tracking
- Your FMS provider’s online portal — the main source for payments made on your behalf
- A simple spending tracker or spreadsheet you keep yourself, to compare against FMS records
- Your IPP document — for reference on approved amounts and services
- Your Regional Center service authorization letters — to confirm approved vendors and rates
Ask your FMS for a monthly report showing, for each service line: the amount approved for the year, what’s been paid so far, any pending invoices, and the projected year-end balance. Many participants ask for a simplified or visual version of this report if that’s easier to read.
Revising your spending plan in California’s Self-Determination Program (SDP) allows you to move funds mid-year if your needs, service providers, or personal goals shift. Under statutory rules shaped by California Assembly Bill 143, the revision process requires strict regional center coordination regardless of the amount being transferred.
Overspend Prevention
Participants and their circle of support are responsible for ensuring that actual costs do not exceed the authorized Spending Plan. Because the regional center is not obligated to cover costs incurred beyond the approved budget without a prior Spending Plan modification, all anticipated cost increases — including rate changes, additional hours, or new vendors — must be approved through an IPP addendum before services are rendered.
Spending Plan Modification Triggers
Document and initiate a Spending Plan amendment when any of the following occur:
- The service category is exhausted before plan year-end
- A new service or vendor is identified
- A service is discontinued and funds need reallocation
- Participant’s needs have changed materially mid-year
Spending Plan modifications require an IPP meeting (or addendum with participant agreement) and regional center approval. Retroactive modifications are not permitted under DDS policy; all changes must be prospective.
Managing Staff Best Practices
Stay familiar with your FMS agency’s procedures for hiring, rehiring, or terminating employees as these can change. For terminations, there are strict legal regulations regarding final payment that require careful planning and coordination with the FMS. Know what your FMS needs and their timing for final pay before issuing any termination. Also be familiar with best practices for supervising staff.
You may receive letters from a government agency, such as IRS, Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Department or a county office regarding a current or past employee. Check with your FMS regarding who to forward the letter to so that the legal requirements for reporting and/or garnishment are followed. Responses are usually required, even if the person no longer works for you.
Stay familiar with the procedures for reporting any staff member injury to the FMS’s workers compensation insurance company in case of an injury outside of office hours.
Record Keeping and Case Management
Record keeping for SDP services is different from traditional vendored services. Some services, such as applied behavior analysis and similar behavior services, may have different reporting rules. Participants should ask their service coordinator about regional center expectations.
Good case management and record keeping help keep services professional and private. Records also show the work completed for the participant. Record keeping can show progress, identify needs, and help answer questions if concerns come up. Participants should decide how the individual and planning team may access records. Legal and ethical rules, including HIPAA, still apply.
Participants should decide what records are needed when working with providers or staff. Good records include current contact information and documents needed for health and safety. Examples include contracts, agreements, program plans, emergency information, releases, and other required forms. Assessments, data records, and case notes can show that work was completed. Budgets, invoices, and financial statements can show payments made or still pending.
Developing Policies and Procedures
Participants should work with the FMS to track and review SDP expenses. This helps make sure money is available for services during the full IPP period. Spending must be monitored. Budgets and spending plans should be reviewed each year. To avoid payroll or bill payment gaps, participants should start planning the next budget early, before the current budget ends.
Quality means the support is helping the participant’s life improve. To define and measure quality, the team should look at planning, staffing, training, budgeting, and which practices should continue or change. Signs of success include starting supports on time, steady service delivery, positive interactions, accurate invoices and payments, clear communication with the FMS and regional center, and participant satisfaction.
To support success, participants should stay in regular contact with their team. They should review how services are going. If a working arrangement is not meeting needs, they may need to end it. IPP reviews should be scheduled regularly. The team should have a plan for new needs or needed changes. If needs must be addressed, the participant should contact the case manager and ask for a meeting to solve the problem.
FMS Coordination Language
Sample language when communicating with your FMS provider about tracking:
“Please provide a monthly budget utilization report that reflects, for each authorized service line: the annual authorized amount, total paid to date, total pending/submitted invoices, and projected year-end balance at current spending rate. This report should be delivered no later than the 15th of each month for the prior calendar month.”
These records may be requested during a regional center audit, DDS compliance review, or participant rights complaint investigation.