Find my starting point
Regional center · SDRC

San Diego Regional Center

Serves Imperial and San Diego counties. Figures below are reported by the California Department of Developmental Services for the whole catchment area.

Tri-Counties Regional CenterAlta California Regional CenterSan Andreas Regional CenterGolden Gate Regional CenterRedwood Coast Regional CenterKern Regional CenterSan Diego Regional CenterRegional Center of Orange CountyFar Northern Regional CenterRegional Center of the East BayInland Regional CenterCentral Valley Regional CenterValley Mountain Regional CenterNorth Bay Regional CenterHarbor Regional CenterFrank D. Lanterman Regional CenterSan Gabriel/Pomona Regional CenterWestside Regional CenterSouth Central Los Angeles Regional CenterEastern Los Angeles Regional CenterNorth Los Angeles County Regional Center
Catchment areas from the California Department of Developmental Services. Select an area to open that regional center.
Regional centers · DDS

People served with an autism diagnosis on record

Monthly counts of people the center serves whose record includes an autism diagnosis. People not receiving regional center services are not included.

Autism diagnosis on record23,260Through Nov 30, 2025California Department of Developmental Services
Twelve months earlier20,980Through Nov 30, 2024California Department of Developmental Services
People served with an autism diagnosis on record, by monthSan Diego Regional Center, Dec 2014 to Nov 2025
010,00020,00030,00040,00020142015201620172018201920202021202220232024202523,260
Show the numbers
PeriodSDRC
20146,265
20156,371
20156,462
20156,534
20156,574
20156,641
20156,724
20156,761
20156,852
20156,943
20157,017
20157,072
20157,120
20167,199
20167,250
20167,324
20167,385
20167,476
20167,533
20167,635
20167,650
20167,707
20167,785
20167,869
20167,949
20178,026
20178,092
20178,133
20178,193
20178,279
20178,325
20178,426
20178,517
20178,606
20178,664
20178,750
20178,861
20188,971
20189,083
20189,210
20189,303
20189,402
20189,569
20189,652
20189,735
20189,838
20189,944
201810,026
201810,120
201910,215
201910,300
201910,457
201910,616
201910,764
201910,976
201911,097
201911,295
201911,440
201911,553
201911,729
201911,891
202012,025
202012,178
202012,263
202012,345
202012,476
202012,597
202012,731
202012,863
202012,957
202013,057
202013,111
202013,170
202113,276
202113,415
202113,569
202113,817
202114,003
202114,124
202114,274
202114,408
202114,551
202114,708
202114,857
202115,018
202215,194
202215,355
202215,482
202215,708
202215,893
202216,020
202216,221
202216,284
202216,408
202216,550
202216,650
202216,837
202316,981
202317,120
202317,291
202317,502
202317,704
202317,898
202318,085
202318,202
202318,403
202318,587
202318,704
202318,916
202419,050
202419,247
202419,530
202419,755
202419,957
202420,188
202420,369
202420,612
202420,754
202420,878
202420,980
202421,040
202521,126
202521,248
202521,364
202521,546
202521,772
202521,907
202522,151
202522,497
202522,753
202522,944
202523,260

What this measures: Counts people served by a regional center, not everyone with the condition. One person can have several diagnoses, so these counts cannot be added together. Figures cover the center's whole catchment area and are not split by county.

To ask SDRC for an evaluation, find its intake line in the DDS regional center directory. Early Start covers children under 3; regional center eligibility covers people 3 and older.

Regional centers · DDS

Caseload by status

Everyone on SDRC's caseload at the end of each month, from DDS's Monthly Consumer Caseload report. This counts people of every age and every qualifying condition, not only autism.

Early Start, under 35,743Caseload at end of Sep 2026

Up 0.2% from 5,730 in Sep 2025

California Department of Developmental Services
In intake, age 3 and older1,601Caseload at end of Sep 2026

Up 12.1% from 1,428 in Sep 2025

California Department of Developmental Services
Provisionally eligible (under age 5)1,405Caseload at end of Sep 2026

Up 65.9% from 847 in Sep 2025

California Department of Developmental Services
All people served48,129Caseload at end of Sep 2026

Up 7.1% from 44,957 in Sep 2025

California Department of Developmental Services
Early Start, intake and provisional eligibility, by monthSan Diego Regional Center, Jun 2022 to Sep 2026
02,0004,0006,0008,0002022-062022-122023-062023-122024-062024-122025-062025-122026-062026-095,7431,6011,405
Show the numbers
PeriodEarly Start, under 3In intake, 3 and olderProvisional
2022-064,57959173
2022-074,65258276
2022-084,65264782
2022-094,71070988
2024-055,5011,154422
2024-065,6451,173474
2024-075,6081,185515
2024-085,6481,251552
2024-095,6221,299586
2024-105,6051,434618
2024-115,7161,634618
2024-125,6161,665631
2025-015,4921,714628
2025-025,5351,766640
2025-035,5721,822665
2025-045,6481,654701
2025-055,8141,631736
2025-065,9131,637793
2025-075,8031,525798
2025-085,8431,455831
2025-095,7301,428847
2025-105,7671,396894
2025-115,7581,367937
2025-125,6841,267981
2026-015,7181,1931,024
2026-025,7701,2311,074
2026-035,7661,3011,142
2026-045,7261,3331,211
2026-055,7141,2671,249
2026-065,7201,3181,286
2026-075,7131,2751,297
2026-085,7861,4181,333
2026-095,7431,6011,405

The line breaks where DDS has no usable report: the files DDS posted between November 2022 and April 2024 all repeat the June 2022 report, so those 19 months are left empty rather than filled in.

What this measures: Everyone on the regional center's caseload at the end of the report month, by DDS status: intake (status 0, being evaluated), Early Start (status 1, under age 3), active under the Lanterman Act (status 2), state-operated (status 8) and provisional eligibility (status U, children under 5). DDS redacts cells of 1 to 10 people and builds its totals by rounding each redacted cell to the nearest ten, so a total can differ from the true count by a few people per redacted cell. Regional centers report for their whole catchment area, never by county.

To ask SDRC for an evaluation, find its intake line in the DDS regional center directory. Early Start covers children under 3; regional center eligibility covers people 3 and older.

Regional centers · DDS

Spending on purchased services

What SDRC paid vendors for services in FY 2024–25 (July to June), from DDS's Annual Purchase of Service Report. Staff time at the regional center itself, including intake and service coordination, is not included.

Total purchase-of-service spending$827.4MFiscal year 2024–25 (July–June)

FY 2023–24: $666.6M

California Department of Developmental Services
Spending per person counted$16,717Fiscal year 2024–25 (July–June)

FY 2023–24: $14,555

California Department of Developmental Services
Share of authorized services used65.9%Fiscal year 2024–25 (July–June)

FY 2023–24: 61.6%

California Department of Developmental Services
People with no purchased services21.9%Fiscal year 2024–25 (July–June)

FY 2023–24: 24.3%

California Department of Developmental Services
Spending per person, by ageSan Diego Regional Center, FY 2024–25. Statewide figures for comparison.
  • Ages 0–2 · SDRC$6,374
  • Ages 0–2 · California$6,574
  • Ages 3–21 · SDRC$5,793
  • Ages 3–21 · California$9,632
  • Ages 22 and older · SDRC$43,531
  • Ages 22 and older · California$55,401
Race or ethnicity, all ages, FY 2024–25
Race or ethnicityPeople countedSpending per personStatewide per personNo purchased services
American Indian or Alaska Native264$23,169$29,52223.5%
Asian3,782$14,498$23,31223.2%
Black or African American2,615$23,756$33,29323.0%
Hispanic20,557$11,896$16,12422.7%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander154$19,276$24,56520.8%
Other race or more than one9,751$9,164$13,66523.8%
White12,373$29,700$39,59018.4%
Preferred language, all ages, FY 2024–25
Preferred languagePeople countedSpending per personStatewide per personNo purchased services
Other985$16,558$31,90216.6%
Chinese101$17,167$30,22013.9%
English39,163$18,089$25,11123.1%
Spanish9,088$10,950$15,89417.2%
Vietnamese159$9,150$20,31738.4%
Qualifying condition, all ages, FY 2024–25
Qualifying conditionPeople countedSpending per personStatewide per personNo purchased services
Autism23,401$11,587$18,99030.6%
Cerebral palsy3,386$37,645$50,45016.2%
Epilepsy3,186$45,258$58,50514.6%
Fifth category1,788$37,500$26,94217.3%
Intellectual disability19,960$28,474$44,45822.9%
Other11,717$5,487$5,3228.2%

What this measures: Fiscal year July to June. People counted are those active in January of the fiscal year or with any purchased service during it; someone who moved between regional centers can be counted at both. Spending covers services the regional center bought from vendors (purchase of service), not its own staff. Per-person spending divides by everyone counted, including people with no purchases, and is not adjusted for age or need: centers serving more adults in residential care spend more per person. DDS suppresses small cells. DDS changed how race and language are recorded late in FY 2024–25 and advises caution comparing those groups across years.

Compare all 21 regional centers

To ask SDRC for an evaluation, find its intake line in the DDS regional center directory. Early Start covers children under 3; regional center eligibility covers people 3 and older.

Regional centers · DDS

Other qualifying conditions on record

A person can have more than one of these diagnoses, so the rows overlap. Adding them up would count some people twice.

Condition (DDS data dictionary)People with this diagnosis on recordThrough
Autism spectrum disorder23,260Nov 30, 2025
Intellectual disability19,430Nov 30, 2025
Cerebral palsy3,291Nov 30, 2025
Epilepsy3,077Nov 30, 2025
Fifth category1,759Nov 30, 2025
How to ask for an evaluation

Intake at San Diego Regional Center

We have not yet checked SDRC's intake contacts ourselves. The DDS regional center directory lists its phone numbers and offices. Children under 3 can be referred to Early Start without a doctor's referral; people 3 and older can apply for regional center eligibility.

Counties in this catchment area

2 counties

ImperialSan Diego

Catchment description as published by DDS: “Imperial and San Diego counties”

Sources

Where these numbers come from

Figures are copied from public files without adjustment. Suppressed cells stay blank. Each source's own definitions apply.

Read the methodology
  1. Regional centers · DDSDDS Consumers by Diagnosis, Early Start Consumers, and Regional CenterCalifornia Department of Developmental Services, via the California Open Data Portal (CC BY)
    Editions used
    ckan-2026-10-08
    Retrieved
    Oct 16, 2026
    License
    Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
    Pipeline run
    dds-diagnosis-20261016180057-88f1
  2. Regional centers · DDSDDS Monthly Consumer Caseload, Regional Center Caseloads by StatusCalifornia Department of Developmental Services, Monthly Consumer Caseload report
    Editions used
    2026-09
    Retrieved
    Oct 17, 2026
    License
    Public information; DDS de-identified public release
    Pipeline run
    dds-caseload-20261017231544-d00d
  3. Regional centers · DDSDDS Annual Purchase of Service (POS) Reports, machine-readableCalifornia Department of Developmental Services, Annual Purchase of Service Reports (WIC 4519.5)
    Editions used
    2024-25
    Retrieved
    Oct 17, 2026
    License
    Public information; de-identified under the CalHHS De-Identification Guidelines
    Pipeline run
    dds-pos-expenditures-20261017231616-bf55