San Francisco is unusual among California's largest cities in that its city and county boundaries are identical, so a single school district — San Francisco Unified — and a single regional center — Golden Gate — cover the whole city. That doesn't mean the system is simple, just that there's one clear front door for most services. This page lists the specific contacts, timelines, and funding routes, with a source for every fact.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the California page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to San Francisco (San Francisco County).

Early intervention under 3: California Early Start

San Francisco families access Early Start, California's Part C program, for children from birth to 36 months, qualifying through a developmental delay of at least 25 percent in one area, an established risk condition with a known cause, or a documented combination of biomedical risk factors. Making the referral doesn't require a diagnosis or a doctor's order — a parent, relative, physician, or child care provider can all start the process, and evaluation, assessment, and service coordination are free. Golden Gate Regional Center coordinates most local Early Start services, though certain delays route instead through a local education agency. Within 45 days of referral, state policy calls for a service coordinator to be assigned, the evaluation finished, and a written family service plan produced, and eligibility is reassessed under a stricter standard once a child turns 3.

• California Early Start
• Referral phone: 800-515-BABY (800-515-2229) — statewide Early Start Babyline

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

California school districts owe every family a Child Find duty under Education Code 56043: actively seek out, identify, and evaluate children with a suspected disability, free of charge, from birth through age 21. A district must propose an assessment plan within 15 calendar days of your written referral; you then have at least 15 days to consent, and testing plus an eligibility decision — and, if warranted, an IEP — must follow within 60 calendar days of your signature. State regulations list autism as its own eligibility category, marked by a significant effect on communication and social interaction that generally appears before age three.

• San Francisco Unified School District — serves students ages 3-22 who live in San Francisco; district office (415) 241-6000; SFLink family resource line (415) 340-1716
• San Francisco charter schools — under California Education Code 47641, a charter school that commits in writing to a state-approved special education plan is treated as its own local educational agency, with its own Child Find duty — confirm each charter's status directly

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in San Francisco

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in San Francisco. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: Golden Gate Regional Center

Golden Gate Regional Center is San Francisco's single point of entry into California's Lanterman Act system of 21 regional centers, which coordinate lifelong developmental-disability and Medicaid waiver services statewide. For a child 3 or older, eligibility requires one of five qualifying diagnoses — intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or a closely related condition — plus a 'substantial disability': meaningful limits in at least three of seven major life activities. Initial intake must happen within 15 working days of a request under state law, and the center then has 120 days to decide eligibility, or 60 days if delay would put a child's health, safety, or development at risk.

• Golden Gate Regional Center
• Phone: 415-546-9222

Local organizations that help San Francisco families

We have not yet verified a local parent organization in San Francisco. Statewide help still covers you: the California guide lists the federally funded parent center and the free disability rights organization for the whole state, and both take calls from families anywhere in California.

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• California's DDS estimates only 61 San Francisco County 8-year-olds were autistic and Lanterman-eligible in 2025, a 0.91 percent share of the county's roughly 6,700 children that age — the lowest county-level estimate among California's ten largest cities. (source)
• Golden Gate Regional Center's FY 2024-2025 caseload carried the lowest autism share of any of California's 21 regional centers: 3,524 autistic clients out of 9,752 total, or 36 percent, compared with a statewide pattern where autism has become the majority diagnosis. (source)
• San Francisco's SB 946-covered families should know California set no age boundary and no annual dollar ceiling for ABA coverage, leaving the number of hours to be determined by medical necessity. (source)