Louisiana Lawmakers will convene Monday, April 14th, at noon to begin the 2025 Regular Legislative Session. This session will primarily focus on fiscal matters and must end no later than June 12th at 6 PM. The Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council (Council) and LaCAN will be advocating for multiple issues impacting people with developmental disabilities:

  1. We will advocate to protect all services for people with disabilities from any cuts to the service delivery system. This past fall, it was reported Louisiana was facing a fiscal cliff for Fiscal Year 26 (FY26). The legislature met in November to address tax reform and the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, there are still many unknowns that could impact disability services such as potential cuts to Medicaid at the federal level and the failure of Constitutional Amendment 2 last month. What we do know is any reduction to the state’s revenue and/or operating budget could mean cuts to disability services.
  2. We will also advocate to restore funding for the nine Families Helping Families (FHF) Regional Resource Centers that contract with the Council. During the last four legislative sessions, $500,000 was added to the Council’s budget specifically for FHF Centers. Unfortunately, the Council’s request to include this funding in its FY26 budget was denied yet again. If this funding is not restored, Center funding from the Council will be cut in half.
  3. Finally, we will join other disability advocate groups to advocate for improved seclusion and restraint policies in Louisiana. In December, the Legislative Auditor released an audit evaluating the Louisiana Department of Education’s (LDOE) oversight of the use of seclusion and restraint for students with disabilities. The audit also looked at laws and regulations related to abuse and neglect of students with disabilities. Many of the concerns advocates have shared with LDOE over the years were highlighted in the audit and clearly showed how the lack of monitoring and oversight of special education services has left students with disability vulnerable to abuse and neglect. Read the audit here. Representative Shane Mack has filed HB237 to help address this issue.

Help Protect Disability Services from Budget Cuts

If any of the issues above are important to you, we encourage you to advocate this legislative session! More information about upcoming advocacy opportunities will be sent via email and shared on the Council and LaCAN’s social media pages. You can also reach out to your regional LaCAN Leader for more information about advocacy opportunities.
More information about the legislation and issues the Council and LaCAN will be following this session can be found HERE and on the Council’s website.

Friendly Reminder!

Public Testimony Yellow Shirt Day

WHEN: Tuesday, April 15th @ 8:30 AM (Agenda)
WHERE: House Appropriations – Committee Room 5 (Louisiana State Capitol – Baton Rouge)

Public testimony will be accepted on the state’s budget bill (HB1). If you are interested in providing testimony regarding funding for FHF Centers and/or disability services, please reach out to your regional LaCAN Leader today!

Contact Us
LaCAN is an initiative of the LA Developmental Disabilities Council. If there are any questions about
the information in this email, contact the Council by replying to this email, or calling the toll free number
listed below:
Phone: 1-800-450-8108
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lacanadvocates.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LaDDCouncil
Twitter: www.twitter.com/LaDDCouncil

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View all recent LaCAN Alerts HERE.

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