What Is Our Role as an FMS?

If you are in California's Self-Determination Program (SDP), you must use a Financial Management Service (FMS). Families hear the term at orientation, but are not always told what the FMS actually does. The short answer: the FMS pays everyone who provides services under your spending plan, keeps the books, and reports to your regional center. You keep the decisions.

Your caregivers work for you, not for Sentinel Four. You are the managing employer: you choose who is hired, set the schedule and direct the work. Sentinel Four is the co-employer for payroll, taxes and workers' compensation, so the paperwork is handled and you stay in charge.

Why the program requires an FMS

The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) requires every SDP participant to use an FMS. The FMS must be DDS-certified and vendored by a regional center. It is the only vendored service the program requires.

The cost of the FMS does not come out of your individual budget. Since July 1, 2022, the regional center pays for it separately. DDS recommends interviewing more than one FMS before you choose; we cover what to ask in how to choose an FMS.

What the FMS does

Sentinel Four is your financial and administrative partner. Our job is to make sure spending follows your approved spending plan and the rules set by DDS and your regional center. In practice that means:

• Payroll for your caregivers. We calculate wages and taxes, withhold and remit them, file with the IRS and the California Employment Development Department (EDD), and make sure workers are paid accurately and on time.
• Vendor payments. We pay agencies, therapists and other vendors for approved services and supports.
• Budget tracking. We track spending against each line of your plan so you stay within your approved limits.
• Reporting. We report spending to your regional center and give you a monthly expenditure report showing what was allocated, what was spent in the last 30 days and what remains.
• Employer compliance. We verify provider qualifications, direct new direct-care caregivers to fingerprinting for the required criminal background clearance, and keep the employment and tax records the program requires.

These functions let you focus on choosing the supports that fit your needs while we handle the financial and technical details.

What the FMS does not do

This part matters just as much. Sentinel Four does not:

• Decide how your funds are spent. That authority stays with you, within the spending plan.
• Approve or deny services. Your regional center does that when it reviews your spending plan.
• Set your budget. Your Individual Program Plan (IPP) team sets the individual budget.
• Supervise caregivers or provide care. You hire, schedule and direct your own staff.

Our role is to make sure approved spending is handled correctly, caregivers are paid according to labor law, and program rules are followed.

How the model changes what we do

SDP offers three FMS models, and the model you choose sets how much of the employer role we carry.

• Bill Payer (service code 315). No caregivers. We pay vendor and agency invoices, track spending and report to the regional center.
• Co-Employer (service code 316). You recruit, hire, schedule and supervise your caregivers. Sentinel Four handles payroll, tax filings, workers' compensation coverage and employer compliance. This is the most common model. See understanding the Co-Employer model.
• Sole Employer (service code 317). You or your representative are the legal employer of record. Sentinel Four acts as payroll agent, handling timesheets, paychecks, tax filings and employment records.

Our models page compares the three side by side.

Why this matters

Managing an SDP budget means running a small payroll, paying vendors on a schedule and keeping records that a regional center can audit. Done wrong, it puts a family at risk of unpaid taxes, late wages or disallowed spending. The FMS exists to take that risk off the family without taking away the choice. Think of it as the bridge between choice and compliance.

How Sentinel Four handles this

• Every family has a dedicated case manager, not a call center. Your case manager reviews your spending plan and regional center authorizations before you start, and is the person you send invoices and purchase requests to afterward.
• A signed and approved spending plan needs to reach us by the 10th of the month before your intended start date. Onboarding usually takes two to three weeks once documents and authorizations are in.
• We collect onboarding documents and wage notices from caregivers, set them up in ADP, withhold and remit taxes, and issue W-2s at year end. Payroll runs weekly, with paydays every Monday.
• Vendor invoices are validated against your service codes, rates, dates and authorizations, then paid by ACH or check on a predictable cycle, with a remittance notice and 1099s where required.
• Your secure online portal shows your budget, invoices, approvals and payment records at any hour.
• We offer all three models, and there is no minimum or maximum budget size.