• Home
  • About Us
    • Council Members
    • Council Staff
    • Partners
    • Current Initiatives
    • Council Plans and Annual Reports
      • Application for Funding
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
  • Council Meetings
    • 2023 Meetings
    • 2022 Meetings
    • 2021 Meetings
    • 2020 Meetings
    • 2019 Meetings
  • LaCAN
    • Advocacy 101
  • Resources
    • Agency & Organization Resources
    • Disaster Resources
Follow us on social media!
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
 Accessibility Options
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council

Promoting Independence, Self-Determination,
Productivity, Integration, & Inclusion

Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Council Members
    • Council Staff
    • Partners
    • Current Initiatives
    • Council Plans and Annual Reports
      • Application for Funding
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
  • Council Meetings
    • 2023 Meetings
    • 2022 Meetings
    • 2021 Meetings
    • 2020 Meetings
    • 2019 Meetings
  • LaCAN
    • Advocacy 101
  • Resources
    • Agency & Organization Resources
    • Disaster Resources
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Values and Vision

Values and Vision

Values in the DD Act

The values included in the DD Act are beautifully written and their meaning is the driving force behind the work the Council does each and every day.  Below are just a few of the values included in the Act.

“Disability is a natural part of the human experience that does not diminish the right of individuals with developmental disabilities to live independently, to exert control and choice over their own lives, and to fully participate in and contribute to their communities through full integration and inclusion in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream of United States society.”

“Individuals with developmental disabilities, including those with the most severe developmental disabilities, are capable of self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life, but often require the provision of community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance.”

“Individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have competencies, capabilities, and personal goals that should be recognized, supported, and encouraged, and any assistance to such individuals should be provided in an individualized manner, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of such individuals.”

“Communities are enriched by the full and active participation and contributions of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.”

“Services, supports, and other assistance should be provided in a manner that demonstrates respect for individual dignity, personal preferences, and cultural differences.”

Developmental Disabilities Assistance Bill of Rights Act of 2000, Public Law 106-402

The Value of Change

Historically, substantial financial resources were provided to house individuals with disabilities in institutional settings away from their families, homes, and communities.  Few resources were provided to assist families who chose to keep their children with developmental disabilities at home or to assist adults with developmental disabilities in achieving independence and employment in their communities.

Acknowledging the inherent fallacies of traditional service systems, Congress enacted legislation creating DD Councils to engage in advocacy, capacity building and systems change activities and contribute to a coordinated, individual- and family-centered, and individual- and family-directed comprehensive system of community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that enable individuals with developmental disabilities to exercise self-determination, be independent, productive, and integrated and included in all facets of community life.

In Louisiana, as in other states, services were traditionally provided in institutions or other congregate settings, while services available to people in their own homes in the community were basically non-existent.  That began to change in 1988 when the Council initiated the Community and Family Support Movement leading to the passage of Act 378 in 1989 (Community and Family Support System).  As a result of Act 378, Louisiana’s state-funded individual and family support programs and Medicaid home and community-based waivers are some of the best in the nation, affording people with even the most significant disabilities the opportunity to live in their own homes or with their families.  The state’s four waivers for people with developmental disabilities serve approximately 12,000 people with no one with current needs waiting for services.

Louisiana also reduced its state institutions from nine to one in seven years.  However, much remains to be done.  Thousands of people with developmental disabilities still live in private residential facilities (large and small).  Most adults with developmental disabilities don’t work in competitive jobs in the community.  There are new challenges for students with disabilities and their families in the educational system.

Values for The Future

The Council’s mission is to increase independence, self-determination, productivity, integration, and inclusion for Louisianans with developmental disabilities by engaging in advocacy, capacity building, and systems change.

Through advocacy, capacity building and systems change activities, the Council works to assure that all persons with developmental disabilities receive high quality and appropriate supports to meet their needs, and the opportunities necessary to enable them to achieve their maximum potential through increased:

  • self determination
  • independence
  • productivity
  • integration, and
  • inclusion in all facets of community life.

The Council seeks the adoption of flexible approaches – which match supports to a person’s age, needs and life circumstances – through the redirection of existing resources and the abandonment of segregated approaches where one lives, works, goes to school and spends their leisure time.

The Vision

We envision a system of services and supports in Louisiana which enable individuals with developmental disabilities to exercise self-determination, be independent, productive and integrated and included in all facets of community life.

The major resources of the Council are concentrated on initiatives that promote supports to enable children and adults with developmental disabilities to be fully included in all aspects of community life.

This focus shall continue until such time as this vision becomes matter of fact realities for every man, woman and child with a developmental disability in Louisiana.

  • About Us
    • Council Members
    • Council Staff
    • Partners
    • Values and Vision
    • Council Positions
    • Council Plans and Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Community Support Advocacy Initiatives

LaDDC News

See The Latest

LaCAN Alerts

See The Latest

Join Our
Grassroots Network

Get Involved

Stay Informed
Get Your E-Newsletter

Sign Up

Follow us on social media!
Follow us on social media!
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter

Phone: (225) 342-6804
Toll Free: (800) 450-8108

Post Office Box 14148
Baton Rouge, LA  70898

5615 Corporate Blvd. Suite 500B
Baton Rouge, LA  70808

Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council

Copyright © 2023 LADDC