The bttr Standard

The quality framework behind every bttr service. How bttr trains its team, documents support, protects safety and privacy, and holds itself accountable to adults with developmental disabilities and their families in the San Francisco Bay Area and across California.

Last updated October 10, 2026Published by bttr Living LLC

Our commitment to quality you can see

Anyone can say they provide quality support. bttr wrote down what that means, in detail, and published it here so participants, families, and regional center teams can hold us to it.

We care about every person we support and every family who trusts us. If your experience with bttr does not match what is written on this page, please contact us at info@bttrliving.com or (510) 709 5809. We will listen and we will act.

1.What the bttr Standard is

The bttr Standard is the quality framework bttr Living uses to train its staff, document services, protect safety and privacy, and hold itself accountable.

bttr Living LLC is a support services agency based in Newark, California. It serves adults with developmental disabilities, including autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and Down syndrome, and the families who support them. The bttr Standard is the written set of expectations that every bttr service and every bttr team member works from.

The Standard has seven pillars: documentation excellence, person centered care, health and safety, confidentiality and privacy, equity, culture, and language, service quality, and incident reporting and safeguards.

  • It applies to every bttr service, including Independent Living Services, Coordinated Family Support, Supported Living Services, Tailored Day Services, respite, Personal Attendant Services, and Self Determination Program services.
  • It is built on California's Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, and the federal Home and Community Based Services Settings Rule, with bttr's own expectations added on top.
  • It is an internal framework created and maintained by bttr. It is not a license, a certification, an accreditation, or a government rating.
  • It is published so that anyone can see what to expect from bttr and can tell us when we fall short.

2.Why bttr created it

Families looking for a disability service provider usually want one thing first: trust.

In disability services, hours are easy to count and quality is easy to miss. A provider can deliver every authorized hour and still leave a person unheard, a family uninformed, or a service coordinator guessing. Most of what makes support good happens inside homes and out in the community, where few people see it.

bttr created the Standard to make that quality visible. Each pillar turns a value into something that can be trained, observed, reviewed, and corrected. It gives participants and families a clear picture of what good support looks like, and it gives bttr's team a shared definition of doing the work well.

bttr believes it is okay to need support, and that life deserves to feel better. The Standard is how that belief shows up in daily work.

3.Who the Standard serves

The Standard exists for everyone who depends on bttr doing its work well.

Participants
Adults with developmental disabilities who deserve support that respects their voice, their choices, and their pace.
Families
Parents, siblings, and relatives who need clear communication, honest updates, and someone accountable.
Service coordinators
Regional center service coordinators and case managers who rely on accurate notes, timely reports, and prompt replies.
Self Determination teams
Independent facilitators and Financial Management Service agencies who need reliable documentation and billing that matches the spending plan.
Support professionals
bttr team members who deserve clear expectations, real training, and coaching instead of guesswork.
The community
Schools, employers, landlords, health providers, and neighbors who interact with the people bttr supports.

4.Pillar 1: Documentation excellence

Records that are timely, accurate, and tied to the person's real goals, not just to hours.

Documentation is how a family, a service coordinator, or a new team member learns what actually happened. State regulations require regional center providers to keep service records that support every unit of service billed. bttr treats that requirement as the floor.

What bttr does

  • Support professionals write a note after every session describing what was worked on, how the person responded, and what comes next.
  • Notes use a standard format and connect each session to goals in the person's Individual Program Plan and bttr Individual Service Plan.
  • Independent Living Services are documented across six skill areas: Life, Money, Health, Tech, Connect, and Express.
  • Coordinators review notes and coach staff when a note is late, vague, or incomplete.
  • Progress reports are written from the documented facts and sent on the schedule the funding source requires.

What you can expect

  • Reports that say what happened in specific terms and avoid filler.
  • The ability to ask for the notes and reports written about you or your family member.
  • Corrections made when a record is wrong.

5.Pillar 2: Person centered care

Support is built around the person's own voice, choices, culture, routines, and goals.

The Lanterman Act and the federal Home and Community Based Services Settings Rule both require that services follow the choices of the person receiving them. At bttr that means the participant leads, and the plan follows.

What bttr does

  • Every plan begins with an assessment that asks what the person wants, what a good day looks like, and what matters to them.
  • bttr matches each participant with a support professional based on that assessment, including goals, language, schedule, location, and personality.
  • Support professionals are trained in person centered thinking, supported decision making, and respect for each person's communication style and pace.
  • The participant sets the pace of sessions and can change the focus.
  • bttr respects the dignity of risk. Adults have the right to make their own choices, including ones others might not make.

What you can expect

  • To be spoken to directly, not spoken about.
  • Goals written in the person's own words where possible.
  • A different support professional if a match is not working, without having to give a reason.

6.Pillar 3: Health and safety

Clear safety practices so that support in the home and community is predictable and prepared.

What bttr does

  • Support professionals complete a Live Scan fingerprint background check, tuberculosis clearance, and reference checks before working with participants.
  • Training covers emergency response, risk awareness, professional boundaries, and scenario based practice.
  • Safety needs identified in the assessment are written into the service plan, including emergency contacts and known risks.
  • Higher risk situations are reviewed by a coordinator or by bttr leadership before and after they occur.
  • Support professionals who are sick do not go to a participant's home.

What you can expect

  • To know who is coming before they arrive.
  • A support professional who calls 911 in an emergency, stays with the person where it is safe to do so, and notifies the emergency contact and bttr.
  • Honest limits. bttr does not provide medical, nursing, or emergency services, and says so.

7.Pillar 4: Confidentiality and privacy

Participant and family information is handled with care, limited access, and clear rules.

California law makes the records of people who receive regional center services confidential. bttr follows applicable California and federal privacy law in how it collects, stores, and shares information.

What bttr does

  • Records are stored in secure, access controlled cloud systems, with access limited to approved bttr personnel.
  • Staff see only the information they need for their role and are trained in confidentiality before they start.
  • Information is shared with the regional center, the planning team, and the Financial Management Service as needed to deliver services. Sharing with anyone else requires separate written authorization.
  • bttr does not sell personal information and does not use it for advertising.
  • Photos, videos, and stories are used only with a separate signed media release.

What you can expect

  • To see your records and ask for corrections.
  • To decide who else, including family members of an adult participant, receives information.
  • To be told promptly if your information is ever exposed in a way the law requires bttr to report.

8.Pillar 5: Equity, culture, and language

Support that honors each person's culture, language, identity, family values, and lived experience.

What bttr does

  • bttr approaches every family with cultural humility and asks how they want to be supported before assuming.
  • Spanish speaking staff are available, key web pages and materials are offered in English and Spanish, and interpretation for other languages, including American Sign Language, is arranged on request.
  • Language, culture, and communication preferences are considered when matching a support professional.
  • bttr provides equal treatment regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.
  • Materials can be provided in large print, read aloud, or explained with pictures and examples.

What you can expect

  • Support that fits your family and does not feel one size fits all.
  • Information in the language and format you can use, at no cost.
  • Respect for your traditions, your household, and the way your family makes decisions.

9.Pillar 6: Service quality

Quality checks are built into daily work so that concerns are noticed early and addressed directly.

What bttr does

  • Regular check ins with participants and families about how services are going.
  • Review of session notes and service patterns, with feedback and coaching for staff.
  • Follow up when sessions are missed, a schedule is not working, or progress stalls.
  • Replies to emails from families and service coordinators within one business day whenever possible.
  • Changes to training and procedures when the same issue appears more than once.

What you can expect

  • Someone at bttr who knows your situation and answers when you reach out.
  • Honest updates, including when something went wrong.
  • No guarantee of specific results. bttr commits to effort, skill, and good faith, and progress depends on many things outside any provider's control.

10.Pillar 7: Incident reporting and safeguards

Serious events are handled with urgency, documentation, prevention planning, and openness.

Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations requires regional center providers to report special incidents, such as a missing participant, suspected abuse or neglect, a serious injury, an unplanned hospitalization, being the victim of a crime, or a death. Everyone who works for bttr is also a mandated reporter under California law.

What bttr does

  • Support professionals report incidents to bttr immediately through a dedicated internal process.
  • bttr reports special incidents to the regional center within the timelines the regulations set, generally within 24 hours, with a written report within 48 hours.
  • Suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation is reported to protective services or law enforcement as the law requires.
  • Each incident is reviewed for its cause, and a prevention plan is written.
  • Patterns across incidents are tracked so that risks are addressed before they repeat.

What you can expect

  • To be told when a report about you or your family member has been made, unless the law or safety requires otherwise.
  • A clear explanation of what happened and what will change.
  • No retaliation, ever, for raising a concern or reporting an incident.

11.How the Standard applies to each service

The same seven pillars apply to every bttr service. What changes is how they show up.

Independent Living Services
One to one skill building for adults in areas such as money management, cooking, transportation, health routines, and self advocacy. The Standard shows up as goal based session notes, skill tracking over time, and reports a service coordinator can rely on.
Coordinated Family Support
Coordination support for adult clients who live in the family home. The Standard shows up as organized follow through on benefits, appointments, and paperwork, clear communication with the family, and coordination with the other agencies involved.
Supported Living Services
Ongoing, hands on support for adults who live in a home they own or rent. The Standard shows up as consistent staffing, respect for the person's home and routines, and careful health and safety practices.
Tailored Day Services
An individualized day built around the participant's own goals, such as college, work, and community life. The Standard shows up as a schedule the participant chose and support that fades as independence grows.
Respite and Personal Attendant Services
Relief for families and help with daily routines. The Standard shows up as screened, prepared support professionals, reliable scheduling, and accurate visit records.
Self Determination Program services
Services a participant chooses and directs through their own budget. The Standard shows up as rates and hours confirmed in writing, records that match the spending plan, and coordination with the independent facilitator and Financial Management Service.

12.How bttr checks its own work

A standard matters only if someone checks whether it is being met.

  • Scheduled reviews of session notes, service plans, and progress reports
  • Spot checks of daily work against the seven pillars
  • Coaching for support professionals based on what the reviews find
  • Feedback channels for participants, families, and regional center partners
  • Review of every incident and complaint by bttr leadership
  • Updates to training and procedures when a gap is found

bttr is also subject to outside oversight. Regional centers monitor their vendors, review special incident reports, and can audit service records, and the Department of Developmental Services oversees the system as a whole.

We will be honest about this. No review process catches everything. When bttr finds a problem, or someone reports one, bttr says so, fixes it, and tells the people affected.

13.Where bttr provides services

bttr serves the San Francisco Bay Area through regional centers and all of California through the Self Determination Program.

Regional Center of the East Bay
Independent Living Services, Coordinated Family Support, and Supported Living Services in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, including Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville, Walnut Creek, Concord, Moraga, Richmond, San Pablo, and Antioch.
Golden Gate Regional Center
Coordinated Family Support in San Francisco County, San Mateo County, and Marin County, including San Francisco, Daly City, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and San Rafael.
Self Determination Program
Services for participants of any California regional center, statewide. This includes the South Bay and Santa Clara County, such as San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Cupertino, as well as the Los Angeles area, Long Beach, and San Diego.

bttr's office is at 39899 Balentine Drive, Suite 200, Newark, CA 94560. Services are delivered in the participant's home and community.

About availability. A city or service listed here is not a promise that bttr has capacity at a given time. Eligibility for regional center services, and the type and amount of services a person receives, are decided by the regional center and the person's planning team, not by bttr.

14.Common questions

Questions families and regional center teams ask about the bttr Standard.

What is the bttr Standard?

The bttr Standard is bttr Living's internal quality framework for disability services. It sets written expectations in seven areas: documentation, person centered care, health and safety, privacy, equity, culture, and language, service quality, and incident reporting.

Is the bttr Standard a certification or a government requirement?

No. It is bttr's own framework. It is built on California law and regulations, including the Lanterman Act and Title 17, but it is not a license, certification, accreditation, or rating issued by any agency.

Which services does the bttr Standard apply to?

All of them. It applies to Independent Living Services, Coordinated Family Support, Supported Living Services, Tailored Day Services, respite, Personal Attendant Services, and every service bttr provides through the Self Determination Program.

How does bttr keep services consistent?

Through staff screening and training, a standard note format, matching based on each participant's assessment, regular review of notes and service patterns, coaching, and check ins with participants and families.

How does bttr choose the support professional for a participant?

bttr matches a support professional to each participant based on the assessment, including goals, language, schedule, location, and personality. A participant can ask for a different match at any time.

How does bttr protect participant privacy?

Records are kept in secure systems with access limited to approved personnel. Staff are trained in confidentiality, information is shared only with the people involved in services, and bttr does not sell personal information.

How does bttr handle incidents?

Support professionals report incidents to bttr immediately. bttr reports special incidents to the regional center within the required timelines, reviews the cause, writes a prevention plan, and tells the participant or family what happened.

Why does documentation quality matter?

Good documentation lets families, service coordinators, and care teams see what happened, what progress was made, what concerns came up, and what should happen next. It is also how a provider shows that authorized hours were used for the person's goals.

Where does bttr provide services?

bttr serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties through Regional Center of the East Bay, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties through Golden Gate Regional Center for Coordinated Family Support, and all of California through the Self Determination Program.

Does bttr serve people with autism?

Yes. bttr serves adults with developmental disabilities, including autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and Down syndrome, who receive services through a California regional center or the Self Determination Program.

Does following the bttr Standard guarantee results?

No. The Standard describes how bttr works, not what any person will achieve. Progress depends on many things, including participation, health, and circumstances outside a provider's control.

What if bttr does not meet its own Standard?

Tell us. Email info@bttrliving.com or call (510) 709 5809. bttr aims to acknowledge every concern within one business day, look into it, and respond in writing. You can also contact your regional center service coordinator at any time.

15.Feedback and concerns

The Standard improves when people tell us where it is not being met. Please reach out early.

Anyone can raise a concern: participants, families, service coordinators, community partners, and members of the public. Call (510) 709 5809, email info@bttrliving.com, or speak with any bttr team member. You can ask to speak with bttr leadership directly. bttr does not retaliate against anyone for raising a concern and does not allow its staff to do so.

Contacting bttr first is encouraged but never required. Participants can also speak with their regional center service coordinator, contact the Office of Clients' Rights Advocacy at 1 800 390 7032 in Northern California or 1 866 833 6712 in Southern California, or contact the DDS Ombudsperson at (877) 658 9731.

17.Contact

Regional center teams, families, and partners can request a walkthrough of how bttr applies the Standard to a specific service.

bttr Living LLC

Email
info@bttrliving.com
Phone
(510) 709 5809
7 days a week, 9am to 9pm PT
Office
39899 Balentine Drive, Suite 200
Newark, CA 94560
Website
bttrliving.com

Related bttr policies

Consent
Consent to Receive Services
Media
Media Use Consent and Removal Policy
Privacy
Privacy and data practices
Settings
Home and Community Based Services

We do not believe in the bare minimum. We believe people should feel the difference in every visit. That is the bttr Standard.