Inland Regional Center

Inland Regional Center (IRC), formally Inland Counties Regional Center, Inc.,[3] is a government-funded not-for-profit public benefit corporation that provides services and programs to more than 33,000 people with developmental disabilities and their families[4] in California's San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Its headquarters, which include a conference center, are located in San Bernardino; the center also operates a branch office in Riverside.[5] The center is part of a statewide network of regional centers established by the state of California to provide these services under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act.

Inland Regional Center
FormationAugust 1971; 53 years ago (1971-08) (incorporated)
February 1972; 52 years ago (1972-02) (opened)
TypeGovernment-funded not-for-profit public benefit corporation
Headquarters1365 South Waterman Avenue, San Bernardino, California, United States 92408
Coordinates34°04′33″N 117°16′40″W / 34.0758°N 117.2777°W / 34.0758; -117.2777
Region served
Riverside County, San Bernardino County[1]
ServicesServices and programs for people with developmental disabilities and their families
Lavinia Johnson
Associate director
Kevin Urtz
Inland Regional Center Board of Trustees[2]
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

History

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IRC was incorporated in 1971 and opened in February 1972 as the thirteenth of what became 21 such California centers established by the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act and contracted by the California Department of Developmental Services.[6]

IRC also operated the San Gabriel-Pomona Regional Center from July 1985 to June 1986. In 1990, services for Inyo and Mono counties were switched from Inland Regional Center to Kern Regional Center[7] in Bakersfield.[8] In 1996, the center opened its current headquarters in San Bernardino.[6]

In 2010, the California Bureau of State Audits found Inland Regional Center had a "culture of employee intimidation" and concluded the center had violated part of its contract with the state. The audit raised questions about how it sets provider rates, handles property and manages its housing program. The state of California placed the agency on probation in January 2011 and ordered improvements. The auditors found the work environment fostered fear of retaliation for speaking out. Changes were made to policies, and communication measures increased, but some employees said that the work environment actually became worse. Lake Elsinore state Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries unsuccessfully introduced legislation to split the agency and increase transparency.[9]

In 2012, the organization received $247 million from the Department of Developmental Services for delivering services.[9] A rail station next to the center was planned to open in 2020 as part of the Arrow commuter rail service.[10] However, as of November 2016, the station location is no longer planned to be adjacent to the center due to heightened security after the 2015 shooting.[11][12]

Terrorist attack

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On December 2, 2015, husband and wife Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik perpetrated a terrorist attack at the center, which consisted of a mass shooting and an attempted bombing and resulted in 14 dead and 22 injured.[13][14][15][16][17] The shooters targeted an event for employees of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, held in an auditorium with about 80 people. The county had rented the conference center portion of the three building complex.[18][19] The shooters fled in an SUV.[20][21] The perpetrators were killed by police after gunfire was exchanged with the occupants of the SUV.[22] Farook, who worked for the public health department as an environmental health inspector, had earlier attended the event.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "About IRC". Inland Regional Center. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Board of Trustees". Inland Regional Center. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Bylaws of Inland Counties Regional Center, Inc" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  4. ^ Chuck, Elizabeth. "San Bernardino Shooting: What Is the Inland Regional Center?". NBC News. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  5. ^ "Contact Us". Inland Regional Center. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Our History". San Bernardino, California: Inland Regional Center. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Kern Regional Center". Kern Regional Center. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Kern Regional Center". Kern Regional Center. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. ^ a b Zimmerman, Janet (June 18, 2012). "Employee with autistic son sues Inland Regional Center". The Press-Enterprise. Riverside, California. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Redlands Passenger Rail Project Fact Sheet (December 2015)" (PDF). San Bernardino Associated Governments. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  11. ^ Emerson, Sandra (16 November 2016). "Redlands Passenger Rail Service to be Called Arrow". Redlands Daily Facts. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Newsletter". Redlandsrailproject.org. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  13. ^ Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2015). "Authorities identify couple who they believe killed 14 at San Bernardino Christmas party". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Rosenfeld, Everette. "Upwards of 14 people dead in San Bernardino mass shooting: Police department chief". CNBC. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "California Shooting: Live Updates". The New York Times. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  16. ^ Southall, Ashley; Santora, Marc (December 2, 2015). "Chaos in a Suburban Neighborhood". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  17. ^ Myers, Amanda. "14 dead, more than a dozen wounded in California shooting". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  18. ^ "14 people killed in shooting at San Bernardino social services facility". ABC Eyewitness News. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  19. ^ "At Least 14 Dead After California Shooting". Sky News. December 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "12 people killed in shooting at San Bernardino social services facility". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  21. ^ "California shooting: 'Multiple deaths' at San Bernardino centre". BBC News. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  22. ^ a b (December 3, 2015). Suspects in San Bernardino mass shooting identified as Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. ABC7. Retrieved: December 3, 2015.
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