Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is a Regional Center?

Regional centers coordinate services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Because there are so few child psychiatrists available, some Regional Centers have chosen to access psychiatric care through telepsychiatry.

Telesite coordinators work with families to schedule appointments and arrange telepsychiatry services with Cedars-Sinai. Typically, telesite coordinators are also clinicians and therefore are extremely helpful in on-site assessment and accessing local resources.

Click here for further information on regional centers.

 

Which Regional Centers offer telepsychiatry clinics with Cedar-Sinai?

Far Northern Regional Center (with clinics in Redding and Chico)
1900 Churn Creek Rd., Suite 319
Redding, CA 96002

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 492418
Redding, CA 96049-2418
Telephone: (530) 222-4791
Fax: (530) 222-8908
Web site: www.farnorthernrc.org

The Far Northern Regional Center serves the counties of Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity.

Kern Regional Center (with clinics in Bakersfield, Mammoth and Ridgecrest)
3200 North Sillect Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93308

Telephone: (661) 327-8531
TDD: (661) 327-1251
Fax: (661) 324-5060
Web site: www.kernrc.org

The Kern Regional Center serves the counties of Inyo, Kern, and Mono.

Redwood Coast Regional Center
525 Second Street, Suite 300
Eureka, CA 95501

Telephone: (707) 445-0893
Fax: (707) 444-3409
Web site: www.redwoodcoastrc.org

The Redwood Coast Regional Center serves the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake.

Click here to view a map of regional centers around California.

 

How do I schedule an appointment?

Appointments can only be made through the Far Northern Regional Center, the Kern Regional Center, or the Redwood Coast Regional Center. Not all patients are eligible for regional center services. "To be eligible for services, a person must have a disability that begins before the person's 18th birthday, be expected to continue indefinitely and present a substantial disability as defined in Section 4512 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code." Regional centers provide free diagnosis and assessment in order to determine eligibility.

Once you are determined eligible, you may schedule a telepsychiatry consultation with the telesite coordinator at your local regional center. Appointments cannot be made directly with Cedars-Sinai. To inquire about eligibility and assessment, please contact the Far Northern Regional Center, the Kern Regional Center, or the Redwood Coast Regional Center.

 

Where can I learn more about Telepsychiatry?

http://www.psych.org/Departments/HSF/UnderservedClearinghouse/Linkeddocuments/ telepsychiatry.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepsychiatry

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/circuits/articles/09psych.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/us/08teleshrink.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/09/AR2006100900097.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975531,00.html

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