Regional Center of Orange County Housing: SLS and Life-Sharing for Families
Your adult child finished their school program. The transition paperwork is done. And now you are standing in your kitchen in Anaheim or Irvine or Mission Viejo, staring at a question nobody prepared you for: where does my son or daughter live next?
If your family is connected to the Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC), you already have access to housing support — but figuring out which option fits, and how to actually get it started, is where most families get stuck. RCOC serves all of Orange County, from Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa along the coast to Fullerton and Garden Grove in the north, down through Lake Forest and Laguna Niguel in the south. Wherever you live in the county, the process for accessing housing services starts the same way.
This guide walks through the three main housing pathways funded through RCOC, how to request services, and why life-sharing is becoming the preferred option for families who want something more personalized than a group home.
The Three Housing Pathways Through RCOC
RCOC funds several types of residential support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The three most common are group homes, Supported Living Services (SLS), and life-sharing.
Group Homes
Group homes are licensed residential facilities where four to six adults with disabilities live together with rotating professional staff. They provide 24/7 supervision and work well for individuals who need constant eyes-on support or have complex medical and behavioral needs. The trade-off is limited personal choice — residents typically share bedrooms, follow a set schedule, and have little say in who they live with.
For families whose loved one needs that level of structure and medical oversight, a well-run group home is a legitimate option. But for many adults with IDD, group homes offer more supervision than they need and less independence than they want.
Supported Living Services (SLS)
Supported Living Services flip the model. Instead of moving into a facility, the individual lives in their own apartment or home in the community, with support tailored to their specific goals. SLS can cover help with budgeting, cooking, transportation, health routines, job searching, and building social connections.
SLS is funded through RCOC under Service Code 896. It is not an all-or-nothing arrangement — the level of support adjusts based on what the individual actually needs, from a few hours a week to full-time live-in assistance.
Life-Sharing
Life-sharing is a specific model within SLS where your adult child is matched with a compatible supportive roommate who lives with them. The roommate provides daily support — not as a paid staffer working a shift, but as someone who shares the home, shares meals, and builds a genuine relationship with your family member.
This is what Homies does. We match adults with IDD to supportive roommates through a thorough screening and compatibility process, then provide ongoing oversight with dedicated program managers and a 24/7 support line. The roommate's services are funded through SLS, so families pay nothing out of pocket for the support itself.
Life-sharing works especially well in Orange County because of the high cost of housing. Sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Santa Ana or Newport Beach or Orange makes financial sense for both the individual and the roommate. But the real value is not about splitting rent. It is about having one consistent person who knows your child's routines, preferences, and goals — instead of a rotation of staff who may change every few months.
How to Request SLS Through RCOC
Getting started with Supported Living Services through the Regional Center of Orange County is a specific process, and knowing the steps can save you months of confusion.
Step 1: Talk to your service coordinator. Every RCOC client has an assigned service coordinator. This is your starting point. Tell them you want to explore SLS and life-sharing as a housing option. Be direct — ask specifically about SLS under Service Code 896.
Step 2: Request an IPP meeting. The Individual Program Plan (IPP) is the document that governs what services your family member receives through Regional Center. Housing services need to be written into the IPP. You have the right to request an IPP meeting at any time — you do not have to wait for the annual review.
Step 3: Get SLS authorized in the IPP. During the IPP meeting, your service coordinator will assess your loved one's needs and determine if SLS is appropriate. If approved, the IPP will include authorization for SLS, which allows you to choose a provider like Homies.
Step 4: Choose a provider and begin the matching process. Once SLS is authorized, you select an SLS agency. At Homies, the process starts with a qualifying call where we learn about your family member's personality, support needs, lifestyle preferences, and goals. From there, we identify potential roommate matches and facilitate introductions.
If you are not sure whether your loved one qualifies for SLS, or if your service coordinator is unfamiliar with life-sharing, our team can help you prepare for that conversation. We work with RCOC regularly and can guide you through the language and the process.
Why Orange County Families Are Choosing Life-Sharing
The families we work with in Orange County share a few things in common. They want their adult child to have real independence — not the supervised, scheduled version of independence that a group home provides, but the kind where their son or daughter chooses what to eat for dinner, walks to a nearby coffee shop, and builds a friendship with the person they live with.
They also want peace of mind. Knowing that someone is there every night, someone who genuinely cares about their child and is not just clocking in for a shift, changes everything for parents. Especially for families thinking about the long term — what happens when you are no longer able to provide daily support yourself.
Life-sharing gives your adult child a home that looks and feels like anyone else's. An apartment in Costa Mesa. A house in Fullerton. A place where they have their own bedroom, their own routine, and a roommate who knows them well enough to notice when something is off.
What to Do Next
If your family is connected to RCOC and you want to explore life-sharing, here is where to go from here:
Visit our Orange County Regional Center page for details specific to RCOC families
Read our families page to understand how Homies supports parents through the transition
If your adult child wants to learn more on their own, our Regional Center clients page explains the process from their perspective
Reach out to our team to schedule a qualifying call — no commitment, just a conversation about whether life-sharing is the right fit
You do not need to have everything figured out before you call. Most families start with questions, not answers. That is exactly where you should be.