Our New Five-Year Plan Starts Today

Today is the start of a new five-year plan for the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council.

Every five years, the Council creates a plan to guide its work. The plan focuses on ways to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families.

Our new 2027–2031 Five-Year Plan begins October 1, 2026, and will guide our work through September 30, 2031.

The plan has three main goals:

• Advocacy and leadership: Help people with I/DD and their families get the information, support, and opportunities they need to speak up, become leaders, and help improve their communities.
• Health and community supports: Help people with I/DD and their families get the healthcare, services, and supports they need to live healthy and active lives in their communities.
• Education and employment: Help people with I/DD learn in safe and inclusive settings and find jobs they choose where they are paid fairly, included, and treated with respect.

Read the 2027–2031 Five-Year Plan

What Will the Council Work on This Year?

The five-year plan sets our goals for the next five years. Each year, the Council also creates an Action Plan that explains the work we will focus on during that year.

Our new FFY 2027 Action Plan also begins today and runs through September 30, 2027.

This year, the Council will continue important work that supports advocacy, leadership, families, education, employment, and community living.

This includes programs and activities such as:

• grassroots advocacy;
• self-advocacy;
• Partners in Policymaking®;
• Families Helping Families;
• the Louisiana Youth Leadership Forum;
• healthcare and community supports;
• emergency preparedness;
• special education;
• transition from school to adult life;
• early childhood supports; and
• employment opportunities for people with I/DD.

The Council will also begin new work this year, including:

• helping families and professionals better understand early signs of developmental delays;
• helping people build skills related to jobs and emergency preparedness;
• helping students, families, and educators better understand transition services and supports;
• looking at ways to help childcare providers and early learning centers better support children with I/DD; and
• creating tools to help employers understand the benefits of hiring people with I/DD and how to support them at work.

Read the FFY 2027 Action Plan

Your Voice Helps Guide Our Work

The Council’s plans are shaped by input from people with I/DD, families, advocates, and others across Louisiana.

As we begin this new five-year plan, we will continue listening to the community, sharing information, building leaders, and working to make sure people with disabilities can live, learn, work, and take part in their communities.