Participant-Directed Services (PDS)
Participant-Directed Services (PDS) lets you choose your own providers for certain regional center services — including providers who aren't regional center vendored. FMS Pay is vendored with Regional Center to handle the payments, so you can focus on the support itself instead of the paperwork. You must use a Financial Management Service (FMS) to check qualifications and pay your service providers.
Is this the same as SDP?
Short answer: no — they're two different programs.
The Self-Determination Program (SDP) gives you an individual budget and a certified spending plan you manage. Participant-Directed Services (PDS) allows you to remain within the traditional regional center model while exercising direct authority over who provides certain supports.
Services We Support
General Self-Directed Supports (099)
Help getting into the Self-Determination Program. If you've completed your SDP orientation but haven't enrolled yet, your regional center can authorize paid coaching and training to walk you through it — up to 40 hours, and more in some cases. You pick who helps you. They don't have to be a regional center vendor. We pay them.
Social Recreation, Camp & Non-Medical Therapies (459)
Community programs, the way everyone else uses them. Your authorized funds can go to city and county parks and rec programs, the YMCA, dance studios, and similar community providers.
How It Works:
1. Your regional center authorizes the service. Talk with your service coordinator about the support you want. The service, the amount, and the estimated cost are written into your IPP.
2. You choose your qualified provider. For these services, your provider does not need to be a regional center vendor.
3. We get your provider set up. There are a few forms. We walk them through it and answer their questions so you don't have to.
4. Your provider invoices us. We pay them. Payments go out by direct deposit, and your provider gets a remittance notice by email. You'll see the activity in the SDP Spark portal.
Ready to receive Participant Directed Services?
Talk to your Regional Center case manager today! FMS Pay's PDS Vendor # is PY4656. Your Regional Center case manager will need this number to authorize services.