Learn, maintain, or use targeted everyday skills.
Explore teaching and guided practice for functional skills, household routines, self-advocacy, community access, problem-solving, and greater self-direction.
Explore ILS · RCEBService decision center
Understand the difference. Choose the right conversation.
ILS and SLS are not interchangeable levels of the same program. They have different purposes, living-setting rules, support roles, and planning questions.
Start with purpose
What is the person asking support to accomplish?
This guide helps visitors choose what to read. The person and Regional Center planning team determine eligibility, service fit, and authorization.
Coordinate broader support around a personally controlled home.
Explore individualized support across home life, safety, daily routines, attendants, relationships, financial affairs, and community participation.
Not sure yet? Start with the person’s goal and living situation. A general inquiry can ask which page is relevant without sending an IPP, diagnosis, UCI number, medical record, or identifying document.
Review the safe first stepSimple comparison
ILS teaches targeted skills. SLS organizes broader home-centered support.
Neither service is simply a “higher” or “lower” level. The right conversation starts with the person’s goals and living situation.
| Question | Independent Living Services | Supported Living Services |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Teach, practice, and maintain targeted functional skills for greater independence. | Organize broader individualized support around life in a home the adult owns, leases, or rents. |
| Living setting | The adult may live independently or with a parent, family member, or another person. | The adult lives in a home they own, lease, or rent, not a provider-controlled residential facility. |
| How staff help | Explain, model, prompt, practice, adapt teaching, and review skill use without automatically taking over. | Coordinate and implement authorized support across home life, safety, routines, attendants, relationships, and community life. |
| How support changes | Teaching and prompts are expected to reduce when possible as the person gains or maintains independence. | The type and intensity of support can adapt as assessed needs, circumstances, and authorization change. |
| Regional Center path | East Bay pathway through RCEB. | East Bay through RCEB or North Bay through NBRC. |
| Employment boundary | Not job placement, job coaching, vocational assessment, worksite support, or Supported Employment. | Not job placement, job coaching, vocational assessment, worksite support, or Supported Employment. |
The East Bay and North Bay SLS pages explain the same support model through different Regional Center pathways.
Regional Center context
Jurisdiction is not the same as RILC coverage or availability.
RCEB serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties. NBRC serves Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties. Ask RILC directly about the service and location you are exploring.
Explore Regional AreasStart with a conversation
Choose a pathway before sharing personal information.
Choose the service and Regional Center you are exploring, then start with a short general question. RILC does not request confidential records through this website.