Our start to FY 2026-27 is strong across all three pillars: Best Place to Work, Deliver Exceptional Services, and Have a Thriving Business Model. That is not an accident. It is the result of intentional decisions about where we grow and how we position ourselves, in service of our mission: creating and supporting opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Pillar 1: Best Place to Work
OFA puts people first, and it shows. We are the highest-rated organization among nine comparable providers on Indeed, where most prospective candidates research us before applying.
• Highest overall rating: 4.0/5, top score in our competitive set
• Highest Work Wellbeing score: 82 (High), the only org rated High on every dimension
• Highest CEO approval in our competitive set
• Best single-year rating yet: 4.93 in 2026
Our FY2026 eNPS came in at +65, our highest in four years. 72% of team members are Promoters, only 6.7% are Detractors, and 96% say they are satisfied at OFA, well above nonprofit and industry benchmarks.
Our focus now: turn the 44 employees who rated us a 7 or 8 into Promoters, through stronger leadership development, career growth, and communication, especially in NorCal.
Pillar 2: Deliver Exceptional Services
We received DOR approval to expand employment services statewide through DOR's Remote Services Unit, a deliberate step in our statewide vision. Thanks to an introduction by Diane DeRudder, we are also piloting a partnership with the USS Midway, connecting candidates to retail and gift-shop roles, with potential to expand across San Diego and, eventually, California.
Pillar 3:
Have a Thriving Business Model
FY 2026-27 started strong: more than $550,000 in operating income in the first month, ahead of budget. Community Engagement led all programs on margin, attendance, and billing utilization, while expenses stayed well below budget. Strong performance, built on discipline.
Positioning
Ourselves in a Changing Landscape
Sacramento delivered real progress: Governor Newsom signed the FY 2026-27 state budget, protecting IDD services and avoiding the safety net cuts originally proposed.
California is also preparing for H.R. 1's new work requirement and exemption rules. Our Attorney General is joining other states in a lawsuit, and DDS is coordinating a streamlined exemption process. Anyone who misses the paperwork risks losing services, exactly what the federal government is counting on. We are determined no one falls through the cracks, so OFA is now checking exemption status at every IPP check-in.
The DDS trailer bill also delivers wins we advocated for directly: QIP technical assistance, a two-year remote services extension through 2028, and removal of the CARF requirement, along with updates to regional center oversight, vendorization, grievance, and case management that we will keep tracking
Note: effective July 1, 2026, the IRS mileage rate rose to $0.76/mile; we are updating our rate and issuing retroactive payments for eligible mileage.
Brian
OFA PILLARS
Best Place to Work
Employer Reputation Benchmark | July 2026
Executive Summary
Our reputation as an employer continues to be a meaningful competitive advantage in one of California's most competitive labor markets. Based on Indeed employer review data, Options For All is the highest-rated organization among nine comparable service providers. This strengthens our ability to recruit and retain talent while reinforcing our position as an employer of choice.
• Highest overall employer rating: 4.0/5
• Highest Work Wellbeing score: 82 (High)
• CEO approval: Highest of organizations in our competitive set..
• Strongest multi-year improvement, reaching 4.93 in 2026, the highest single-year rating in the benchmark.
• OFA is the only organization rated High across every workplace wellbeing dimension.
Key Visuals
Figure 2. Five-Year Rating Trend
Figure 3. Work Wellbeing Heat Map
There are an unusually high number of new provisions in this trailer bill. DDS proposed a lot of trailer bill language (TBL) this year and the Legislature added more during negotiations. The final language contains the following actions of note for members:
• Adjusts regional center governing board oversight, adding new training for board members and a requirement to retain an attorney for legal counsel by July 1, 2027
• Requires DDS and the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) to establish an interagency agreement to create a seamless employment services system between DOR and regional centers
• Authorizes the delivery of individual supported employment and tailored day services on the same day
• Provides DDS with the statutory authority required to transition regional centers’ financial and case management information to the Life Outcomes Improvement System (LOIS) upon final development and implementation.
• Requires the Department to issue guidance to regional centers by March 1, 2028, on ending the process of courtesy vendorization to remove barriers to statewide accessibility of services
• As of January 1, 2027, removes the requirement for a vendor to maintain a physical location within a regional center’s service area unless required for delivery of services
• Codifies a new grievance process for individuals and requires DDS to convene stakeholders and legislative staff for input on implementation
• Exempts DDS from public contract process requirements to allow continued use of Health Management Associates (HMA) for rate study services through 2030
Federal Level
Mileage Reimbursement Rate Update
Effective July 1, 2026, the IRS increased the standard mileage reimbursement rate from $0.725 to $0.76 per mile in response to rising fuel costs.
Options For All will update its reimbursement rate accordingly and issue retroactive payments for eligible mileage submitted since July 1. We will continue to monitor any future IRS adjustments as fuel prices and broader economic conditions evolve.
PROJECT HORIZON
Project Horizon is our Board-approved effort to identify like-minded, mission-centric, and culturally aligned organizations that we might merge with. The idea is straightforward. We have spent years building an operating model, a level of program quality, and a culture that our peers recognize as among the best in the field, and we believe we can extend that impact by bringing another organization into the OFA family and applying what we have built at scale.
This is not about growth for its own sake. We are not interested in merging simply to get bigger. We are interested in expanding our reach, strengthening our influence at the state-level, achieving real efficiencies, and giving another mission-aligned organization access to our best practices, our systems, and the kind of employee experience and benefits that set us apart.
The landscape we operate in is crowded. There are thousands of providers doing work similar to ours, and nearly all of us are competing for the same shrinking workforce. We believe OFA has the financial strength, the operational maturity, the program depth, and above all the culture to pursue a merger successfully, and we will not compromise any of that, especially our culture or our client experience, to make one happen.
To do this well, we are engaging a third-party consulting firm to help us identify potential merger targets. Once that engagement is signed, the firm will begin a statewide search grounded in the preconditions and criteria I shared at our strategic offsite and that we have since built into a formal charter for this effort.
As targets are identified, we will move into initial due diligence to understand whether each is truly the right fit, values first, then operations and finances. My goal is to bring a list of potential targets to the Board at our midyear strategic planning offsite, along with an introduction to the consulting team, so the Board can weigh in and formally approve moving to the next stage. That approval will be our first real gate in this process, and nothing moves forward without it.
Work like this typically takes twelve to eighteen months under reasonable conditions, and we are not going to rush it just to check a box. We will move carefully and deliberately, and we will only move forward with an organization that fits who we are and who we want to become.
I look forward to continuing to work with the Board on this exciting work.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Supporting Inclusion in Our Community
GiGi's Playhouse: Roaring 20's Casino Night
Options For All was proud to serve as a sponsor of GiGi's Playhouse San Diego's Roaring 20's Casino Night, an evening dedicated to supporting free educational, therapeutic, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome and their families throughout the San Diego community.
The event brought together community members, partners, and advocates in support of a shared mission of inclusion and opportunity.
We are honored to have been part of such a meaningful evening, and this partnership has led to several opportunities for OFA to onboard new clients into our CE and F&M programs.
Collaborating with Event Network
Launching a New Employment Partnership
Options For All has launched a pilot employment partnership with Event Network at the USS Midway Museum, creating student internship opportunities within the museum's retail and gift shop operations. The pilot will allow us to refine the program model, evaluate best practices, and strengthen the experience before exploring expansion to additional Event Network locations throughout San Diego and, ultimately, across California.
We are currently partnering with the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) to identify students who will benefit most from this opportunity and ensure they receive the support needed to succeed. Looking ahead, this partnership has the potential to create a broader network of paid internships, work experience opportunities, and direct employment pathways for individuals served by Options For All across the state.
Introducing Our Newest Board Member
Matt Talley is a Senior Vice President at AtkinsRéalis, a global engineering, design, and program management firm, where he leads the Resilience and Emergency Management business and serves as the company’s Los Angeles Executive. With more than 25 years of experience, Matt has dedicated his career to designing and delivering community-centered recovery programs following disasters, humanitarian crises, and large-scale emergencies. He has supported more than 25 major events, overseeing programs that have delivered billions of dollars in recovery and assistance to impacted communities.
Matt brings deep expertise in high-volume case management, equitable service delivery, and the development of transparent, accountable programs that withstand public and regulatory scrutiny. His leadership spans multidisciplinary teams of 2,000+ professionals and includes close collaboration with private sector, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and federal agencies to provide recovery efforts are both effective and community driven.
Prior to AtkinsRéalis, Matt held senior leadership roles at AECOM, Jacobs, Booz Allen Hamilton, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he led large-scale disaster recovery, infrastructure, and humanitarian operations initiatives across the United States and globally. He began his career supporting post-9/11 recovery efforts in New York and most recently served as the Program Manager for the Palisades fire in Los Angeles working for the Mayor.
Matt holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Public Policy from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the College of William & Mary. In his personal time, Matt has served as a Guardian ad Litem and licensed foster parent, advocating for children and families in need. He lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Ricky, a teacher, and their 12-year-old son, Jerry.
Board Introduction Statement
I’m honored to serve on the Options For All Board and contribute to an organization that is deeply committed to expanding opportunities, independence, and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I’m especially excited to support the organization’s continued growth by applying my experience in building community-centered programs, scaling operations, and strengthening partnerships across the public and nonprofit sectors. From a personal perspective, in my work as a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem, I have seen what programs and assistance, like what is provided by OFA, can do for underprivileged and under-resourced people and communities. I look forward to helping advance OFA’s mission and providing impact to reach more individuals and families in meaningful and lasting ways.
IN OTHER NEWS... Recognizing Excellence in HR
Congratulations to Ciara Quinones & Justen Stevens
Options For All is proud to celebrate Ciara and Justen, who were recently recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as Leaders of Influence in HR. This honor recognizes professionals making a meaningful impact through leadership, employee engagement, and organizational excellence.
Ciara and Justen have each played an important role in advancing initiatives that strengthen the employee experience at Options For All. Their work across recruitment, onboarding, engagement, wellness, and employee recognition has helped build a workplace culture that reflects our values and supports our continued recognition as a Top Workplace.
This recognition reflects both their individual leadership and Options For All’s ongoing commitment to investing in our people and creating a workplace where employees can thrive.
SDRC Announces New Executive Director
Congrats to Kate Kinnamont
The San Diego Regional Center (SDRC) Board of Directors has appointed Kate Kinnamont as its next Executive Director, effective December 1, 2026, following the retirement of longtime Executive Director Mark Klaus. A 27-year SDRC veteran, Kate brings extensive leadership experience and a deep commitment to the individuals and families served by the regional center. Options For All congratulates both Mark on his retirement and Kate on her new role, and we look forward to continuing our strong partnership with SDRC under her leadership.
ON THE HORIZON
OFA Board Social Thursday, August 6, 2026 4:30 PM – 6:30PM insideOUT
