Coordinated Family Support (CFS) is designed to support consumers aged 18 and older who reside in the family home, along with their families, by offering ongoing support and service coordination. This includes helping families access necessary services, develop personalized care plans, and manage transitions in care or living arrangements. Each service is tailored to meet the unique needs of both the family and the consumer, ensuring comprehensive, individualized support.

Contact your Service Coordinator
Start by reaching out to your Service Coordinator to discuss your interest in Coordinated Family Support (CFS). They will help determine if CFS is a good fit for your family’s needs and begin the referral process.

1. Discuss CFS During Your IPP Meeting
Express your interest in Coordinated Family Support during your Individual Program Plan (IPP) meeting. Your Service Coordinator will help you explore how CFS can support your goals and integrate it into your overall planning.

2. Complete the CFS Referral and Service Needs Assessment
Together with your Service Coordinator, you will complete the CFS Referral and Service Needs Assessment form. This step identifies your family’s specific needs, priorities, and the types of support that would be most beneficial.

3. Submit the Referral and Schedule an Initial Assessment
Once the assessment form is complete, your Service Coordinator will submit the referral to Sunset Lotus (or another vendored CFS provider of your choice). We will then schedule an in-person visit — ideally in your home — to conduct a comprehensive assessment and begin building a person-centered support plan.

4. Service Plan Review and IPP Integration
Following the assessment, your Service Coordinator will review the proposed service plan as part of your IPP. They will determine service approval and confirm the number of authorized CFS hours.

5. Begin Services
Once services are authorized, Sunset Lotus (or your selected provider) will coordinate directly with your family to begin providing supports. We maintain flexibility, open communication, and collaboration to ensure services continue to meet your evolving needs.

Coordinated Family Support (CFS) is designed for individuals receiving Regional Center services who live with their families and would benefit from additional support to maintain stability, connection, and long-term well-being.

CFS may be the right fit for your family if:

✔️ Your loved one is a Regional Center consumer living in a family home.
✔️ Your family needs help navigating and coordinating services to ensure your loved one’s needs are fully supported.
✔️ You want assistance with building a care team, accessing resources, or creating sustainable long-term plans for the future.
✔️ You are a caregiver seeking respite coordination, behavioral support connection, or future transition planning.
✔️ Your loved one would benefit from support with daily living activities, skill development, or meaningful community integration.

How CFS Complements Other Supports

Coordinated Family Support (CFS) is not a replacement for existing services — it works alongside medical, behavioral, and community-based supports to create a more connected, person-centered care system.

At Sunset Lotus, we collaborate closely with Service Coordinators, families, and other providers to bridge gaps, strengthen natural supports, and ensure that care remains aligned with each individual's unique needs, values, and goals.

If you’re unsure whether CFS is the right fit, we encourage you to contact your Regional Center Service Coordinator to discuss your family's needs and explore available options.

🔹 Accessing Services & Bridging Connections
Helping families navigate systems and connect with essential resources.

🔹 Care Team Integration & Collaboration
Building strong support networks by coordinating with providers, caregivers, and natural supports.

🔹 Future & End-of-Life Planning
Supporting aging caregivers and loved ones with transition planning, continuity of care, and future security.

🔹 Skill Development & Daily Living Support
Empowering individuals with skills for independence, self-advocacy, and quality of life.

🔹 Community Integration & Advocacy
Strengthening social inclusion and ensuring equitable access to community resources.

🔹 Grief & Bereavement Support
Holding compassionate space for families navigating loss and major life transitions.

🔹 Respite Coordination
Helping families access and coordinate respite services to provide essential relief and renewal for caregivers.

🔹 Advanced Care Planning
Guiding families through healthcare planning, documenting wishes, and preparing for future care needs.

🔹 Emotional & Practical Caregiver Support
Offering education, stress management tools, and practical support for caregivers balancing complex needs.

🔹 Healthcare & Benefits Navigation
Assisting families in understanding and accessing healthcare coverage, benefits, and long-term care resources.

🔹 Advocacy & Rights Education
Empowering individuals and families with knowledge of rights, self-advocacy tools, and available supports.

🔹 Housing & Long-Term Care Planning
Supporting families in exploring housing options, assisted living, and sustainable long-term care solutions.

🔹 Assistive Technology & Adaptive Equipment Guidance
Connecting individuals to tools and technologies that enhance independence and everyday living.

🔹 Financial & Legal Resources Navigation
Helping families connect with financial planning, special needs trusts, conservatorship resources, and legal support.

🔹 Sibling & Family Support
Providing education, resources, and guidance to help siblings and extended family members understand and embrace their supportive roles.

🔹 End-of-Life Caregiver Preparation
Supporting caregivers in planning for legacy work, future care, and meaningful decision-making.

Note: CFS services may vary by vendor. The services listed above are specific to Sunset Lotus.

At Sunset Lotus, we believe that meaningful, person-centered care begins with intentional, hands-on support — while honoring the natural rhythms of family life.

Our services are primarily provided in person, allowing us to build strong relationships, understand each family's unique needs, and ensure the highest quality of care. While some aspects of our work — like consultations, check-ins, or documentation — can be completed virtually when needed, we prioritize presence when it best serves the family.

Alongside direct support, we are steadily working behind the scenes on behalf of the families we serve — submitting benefits applications and renewals, drafting and filing appeal letters, coordinating with healthcare providers, working with insurance companies to maximize coverage, following up with community agencies and service providers, and ensuring families access all available generic resources before using Regional Center funding.

We also assist with housing applications, IHSS navigation, long-term care planning, healthcare benefit coordination, preparation for IPP meetings, future care planning, and bridging communication between families, providers, and Service Coordinators.

This blend of visible and behind-the-scenes support allows families to stay focused on their loved ones, confident that essential advocacy, care coordination, and resource management are moving forward with compassion, clarity, and respect.

At Sunset Lotus, we are deeply committed to the principle of "Nothing about me without me."

We believe that every individual deserves to be seen, heard, and honored as the expert of their own life. Their voice, preferences, and goals are not just considered — they are central to every conversation, every decision, and every plan we create together.

Throughout the entire process, we actively engage your loved one in ways that are meaningful and accessible to them, ensuring their wishes shape the services and supports they receive. Whether it’s building a care team, planning for future transitions, or navigating day-to-day needs, we prioritize their participation, dignity, and self-determination.

Our role is not to direct or override — it is to walk beside each individual and family, offering guidance, advocacy, and tools to empower their choices, uphold their rights, and honor the life they are choosing to live.

Yes, at Sunset Lotus, we recognize that enhanced behavioral support needs are an important part of many individuals' experiences — and honoring those needs is central to the work we do.

We approach each person with compassion, respect, and a deep commitment to understanding their unique communication styles, sensory needs, and emotional landscapes.

With training in both holistic and clinical approaches, we provide person-centered care that fosters growth, healing, regulation, and connection — without ever reducing an individual to a diagnosis or behavior plan.

Whether supporting complex behavioral needs, facilitating emotional regulation, or strengthening family and care team understanding, we ensure every individual receives thoughtful, inclusive, and comprehensive care rooted in dignity, collaboration, and love.

Families receiving services from a Regional Center outside of Alta California Regional Center (ACRC) may still request our support. To initiate this process, the Service Coordinator at your designated Regional Center must evaluate available service options.

If no equivalent provider is available within your Regional Center’s vendor network, your Service Coordinator may submit a Courtesy Vendorization Request to ACRC. If the request is approved and the necessary agreements between Regional Centers are established, we will be able to provide services to your family under the terms outlined by the approval process.

For guidance on initiating this request, please contact your Service Coordinator directly.