California releases Master Plan to better support people with Autism and other developmental disabilities
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Mar 28, 2025

California releases Master Plan to better support people with Autism and other developmental disabilities

What you need to know: The Master Plan for Developmental Services: A Community-Driven Vision was released today with recommendations for strengthening support for Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families to live in the community.

Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the release of the Master Plan for Developmental Services: A Community-Driven Vision (Plan). The Plan makes recommendations on improvements for the service system, including reducing barriers to service access statewide for the growing developmental disabilities community. The Plan reflects extensive and diverse input from the community, capturing what Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families want to see in employment, education, transportation, health, behavioral health, developmental services, and other programs to live and thrive in community.

"California succeeds when ALL communities succeed. Our Administration has prioritized transparency, accountability, and equity in supports that make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. We are proud to receive this Master Plan from the people who are most impacted by our services and look forward to getting to work."

Governor Gavin Newsom

The Committee responsible for the development of the Plan was appointed by the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) Secretary in early 2024 and included five workgroups, all of which were made up of a diverse group of individuals with disabilities, family members, advocates, service providers, direct support professionals, and representatives from the state's 21 regional centers. The Committee and its workgroups convened to develop the recommendations with public input through a robust year-long, statewide process. Additionally, more than 45 listening sessions were held with various diverse communities, service providers, policy experts, advocates, individuals and families.

The Plan's recommendations
  • Ensure that people are treated fairly: Addressing disparities in service delivery for underserved communities by standardizing services statewide and removing language, cultural, and location barriers.
  • Allow people to make their own life choices: Providing tools and resources needed to support individuals in decision-making.  
  • Get people the services they need and choose: Streamlining and simplifying processes to reduce wait times and provide timely access to critical services, as well as building stronger bridges across state service systems.  
  • Ensure people are part of — and served by — a strong workforce: Investing in training, compensation, and recruitment of direct support professionals.
  • Accountability and transparency should guide all systems that serve people: Equipping individuals, families, advocates, and professionals with resources and information needed to understand how the state is providing services to individuals and families.
  • Data should guide the future of the developmental services system: Establishing and implementing clear metrics to assess whether needs are being met effectively and where improvements are needed.  

"This would not have been possible without the collaboration of community members committed to making California a place where everyone is valued and can thrive. We are deeply grateful for their contributions. These recommendations will inform the future for our State that meets the needs and goals of each person with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and the workforce that supports them."

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Kim Johnson, CalHHS Secretary

Learn more and read the full Plan HERE.

Bigger picture

The Newsom Administration has made historic investments in recent years for California's system of community-based services supporting more than 500,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

California provides the only life-long entitlement to services in the nation, funded with over $15 billion annually. The evolving needs of the community and access challenges highlighted the need to re-examine how the state delivers services locally to individuals with I/DD and to identify where stronger bridges can be built across employment, health, and social services systems.

Focus groups and public engagement sessions will continue across a variety of topics to gather input. These topics include employment, rate reform, early intervention, autism, and more. The Plan will guide these conversations for ongoing measurements, evaluations, policy changes, and fiscal investments. Legislation codified the Master Plan for Developmental Services in 2024 and requires annual reports to the Legislature through the next ten years. In preparation for those reports, bi-annual meetings of the Plan's committee will be held to review recommendations and share updates.

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