The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act affirms that individuals with developmental disabilities have the same legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed all other individuals by the United States Constitution and the Constitution and laws of the State of California. Section 4502 of the Welfare and Institutions Code includes a list of specific rights. In order to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families know about their rights, the department developed, with the assistance of Capitol People First, Short Center North/DDSO, Inc., Mayer-Johnson Co., a handout graphically illustrating the rights.

The department wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the Clients' Rights Advocacy Services program at the State Council on Developmental Disabilities for the translation of this handout into various languages. Lists of the rights without graphics are also available in Cambodian, Laotian, Braille, and audio tape. These versions can be obtain by calling the Office of Human Rights and Advocacy Services at (916) 654-1888.

• English and Spanish (PDF)
• Armenian (PDF)
• Chinese (PDF)
• Korean (PDF)
• Vietnamese (PDF)
• Tagalog (PDF)
• Hmong (PDF)