Association of Regional Center Agencies

What Association of Regional Center Agencies does

The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) is a California-based nonprofit membership association that serves as the unified voice and coordinating body for the state's 21 private, community-based regional centers. These regional centers, operating under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, deliver services to more than 500,000 Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). ARCA's mission is to promote, support, and advance regional centers in fulfilling the Lanterman Act's mandate, with a focus on enabling full community inclusion and the highest possible level of self-sufficiency for individuals served.

ARCA does not sell a traditional commercial product. Instead, its offerings consist of advocacy services, legislative and budget testimony, board-approved operational standards (e.g., Notices of Action Standard, Legislative Positions Standard, Regional Center Leadership Standard), public policy and criminal justice resource libraries, community webinars, and educational infographics. These resources are delivered to member regional centers, policymakers, individuals with developmental disabilities, and their families through a multi-channel approach including the arcanet.org website, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram), public webinars, and direct legislative engagement.

ARCA is funded primarily through membership dues from the 21 regional centers, supplemented by grant-funded initiatives such as a 2014 Mental Health Services Act project with Central Valley Regional Center. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors composed of two representatives from each member regional center, and operates with a small professional staff of 7–10 led by Executive Director Amy Westling. The current strategic plan covers Fiscal Years 2023/24 through 2025/26, and ARCA's principal lever for influence is Sacramento-based legislative and budgetary advocacy on behalf of the I/DD service system.

Name

Association of Regional Center Agencies

Legal name

Association of Regional Center Agencies

Website

https://arcanet.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARCA is a California nonprofit membership association representing the state's 21 regional centers that serve over 500,000 individuals with developmental disabilities under the Lanterman Act. It provides collective advocacy, policy development, operational standards, and resource libraries funded by member dues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Services Advocacy

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Developmental disability services
• Regional center advocacy
• Disability policy advocacy
• Community-based services
• Nonprofit association

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ARCA operates as a membership organization representing 21 regional centers. Funding supports advocacy, policy development, training, and collaborative initiatives for the developmental disabilities service system in California.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ARCA is a nonprofit membership association that represents California's 21 regional centers serving individuals with developmental disabilities. It delivers collective advocacy, legislative and budget representation, board-approved operational standards, training resources, public webinars, and curated policy and criminal-justice resource libraries to its member regional centers and the broader developmental disabilities community.

Product overview

The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) is a nonprofit membership association representing California's 21 regional centers that serve individuals with developmental disabilities. ARCA does not offer a traditional commercial product; rather, it provides advocacy services, legislative support, public policy resources, and operational standards for its member regional centers. Key offerings include policy resource libraries (Public Policy Resource Library, Criminal Justice Resource Library), board-approved standards (Notices of Action Standard, Regional Center Strategic Thinking Standard, Regional Center Leadership Standard, Legislative Positions Standard, Remote and In-Person Planning Team Meetings Standard), community webinars, budget advocacy materials, and educational infographics designed to support the regional center system and the individuals it serves.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Advocacy and Coordination Services
• Legislative and Budget Advocacy Service
• Board-Approved Standards Development
• Public Webinar Series

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Central Valley Regional CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014In 2014, Central Valley Regional Center was awarded a Mental Health Services Act grant, with ARCA as the primary contractor. The purpose was to examine concerns about systemic issues encountered by people with developmental disabilities involved in the criminal justice system. The outcome was identification of optimizations in serving such individuals.
• State Council on Developmental DisabilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARCA collaborates with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities on various initiatives including the Self-Determination Program. The Council co-establishes local volunteer advisory committees with regional centers and forms the Statewide Self-Determination Advisory Committee.
• 21 Regional Centers (Member Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARCA functions as the association representing all 21 regional centers in California. Centers collaboratively work on shared opportunities, challenges, and needs through ARCA. Each regional center is represented by two board representatives including a Delegate from its board of directors and its Executive Director.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• California Department of Developmental Services (DDS): The California state agency that administers the regional center system ARCA represents. ARCA regularly submits legislative testimony, budget comments, and Trailer Bill Language responses to DDS, making it the primary government counterpart in ARCA's advocacy work.

Direct peers

• State Council on Developmental Disabilities (California): California state agency that partners with ARCA and the 21 regional centers on the Self-Determination Program and local volunteer advisory committees. Operates in the same advocacy and policy ecosystem as ARCA.
• NASDDDS (National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services): National association of state agency directors administering intellectual and developmental disability services. Comparable to ARCA as a coordinating/advocacy body for state-level DD service systems, though its members are state agencies rather than community regional centers.
• The Arc of California: California state chapter of The Arc, advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and operating in the same policy environment as ARCA. Overlapping advocacy agenda on issues like Lanterman Act implementation, regional center funding, and Self-Determination Program.

Regional players

• Disability Rights California: California's federally designated protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities. Operates in the same California DD advocacy ecosystem as ARCA but focuses on legal advocacy and individual rights rather than systemic/legislative policy coordination.

Emerging players

• Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF): National disability rights organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area with roots in California DD advocacy. Operates in the same advocacy space as ARCA but with a national scope and a stronger focus on civil rights litigation and policy.

Broad incumbents

• ANCOR (American Network of Community Options and Resources): National membership association for community-based disability service providers. Directly comparable to ARCA as a trade association for regional-center-equivalent organizations, but operating at the national level across all states rather than focused on California.
• The Arc of the United States: National disability advocacy organization covering intellectual and developmental disabilities. Sister organization to The Arc of California, the closest direct state-level peer to ARCA within the broader DD advocacy ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ARCAcalifornia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCf4SSLNmWcfa1JHlfq1oQlQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARCAcalifornia
• Instagraminstagram.com/arcacalifornia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arcanet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association of Regional Center Agencies