The Council is committed to supporting people with developmental disabilities and their family members in gaining capacity to advocate effectively. The Council’s leadership development initiatives provide people with information and skills so they are able to advocate for their needs and engage in systems change advocacy activities.
Advocacy 101
Advocacy 101 is the portion of the Council’s website dedicated to helping individuals with developmental disabilities, their family members and other concerned citizens to become stronger advocates for systems change.
Current Initiatives
LaCAN
LaCAN is the Council’s statewide grassroots network advocating for systems change in home and community-based services, education, and employment to improve the quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
FAMILIES HELPING FAMILIES
Families Helping Families are one-stop resource centers that provide information and referral, education and training, and peer support to individuals with disabilities and their families. Regional resource centers are unique in that they are staffed by people with disabilities and parents or family members of people with disabilities to offer help and understanding from people who have been there.
Partners in Policymaking
Partners in Policymaking is a national leadership training program for people with developmental disabilities and parents of young children with developmental disabilities. It provides the most current knowledge about disability issues and develops the competencies necessary for effective advocacy to influence public policy at all levels of government.
Supporting Self- Advocacy
The Council supports self-advocates and family members of persons with developmental disabilities to advocate for policies and practices that promote the self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life.
Past Initiatives
People First of Louisiana
People First is a statewide self-advocacy organization made up of and run by people with disabilities, to provide opportunities for self-advocates to speak for themselves on the issues that most impact and affect their lives.
Stipends
The Council provided financial support for persons with developmental disabilities and/or their family members to participate in training, conferences, meetings and events to advance their knowledge of individual and family supports and services and to promote advocacy leadership.
Legal Advocacy for Adults
In collaboration with the Advocacy Center, the Council supported a project to expand the scope and capacity of volunteer-based programs across the state that provided court-appointed legal representation and advocacy to include appropriate representation for elders and adults with disabilities, eighteen years of age or older, who are victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation and as a result required a legal remedy.
My Choice
The My Choice project provided a new and innovative way to teach people with developmental disabilities about topics of their interest. The Arc of Louisiana developed a training model based on those topics that were identified as priority interest by people with developmental disabilities.