Louisiana
This bill authorizes the purchaser of a motor vehicle to be eligible for a tax rebate after they make vehicle modifications for the purpose of transporting a person with an orthopedic disability or enabling a person with an orthopedic disability to operate the vehicle.
This program enables individuals with disabilities, service providers and others to learn about, access, and acquire assistive technology needed for education, employment, and community living. Services include device demonstrations, reutilization, loans, and financing.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network (LATAN)
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program offers vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. This includes vocational guidance and career counseling, assistive technology services, job placement, and transportation.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
The Business Enterprise Program helps people who are blind become food service or vending operators.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
CAP helps individuals who experience problems when applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation or independent living services. This includes advising and informing individuals of their rights and providing advocacy services.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Louisiana
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program helps ensure underserved parents of children with disabilities, including low-income parents, parents of children who are English learners, and parents with disabilities, have the training and information they need to enable them to participate effectively in helping their children.
Operating Entity: Pyramid Community Parent Resource Center
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides a range of independent living services to people with disabilities at Centers for Independent Living across the state. Services include help connecting to local services, assistance with job searches, local transit skills training, assistive technology help, peer mentoring support, assistance with school-to-career transitions, self-advocacy help, and more.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This career and technical education program helps prepare students for continuing their education while earning certifications in high-wage career sectors. The program has been expanded to focus on students with disabilities in particular, through the New Skills for Youth grant.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program provides trainings and assistance to help Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities make informed choices about work.
Operating Entity: Louisiana State University, LSU Health Science Center Human Development Center
Entity Type: College / University
These interest-free loans (up to $1,000 per person) support individuals with disabilities in starting small businesses. The program is a collaboration between the Office of Aging and Adult Services and the Arc of Louisiana.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program supports Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers in 12 southern states. Services include one-to-one consultations, trainings and webinars, peer-to-peer mentoring, site visits, non-profit management tools, and more.
Operating Entity: Parent to Parent of Georgia
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program provides a variety of direct services for children and youth with disabilities, families, professionals, and other organizations that support them. This includes helping parents participate effectively in their children’s education and development and partnering with professionals and policymakers to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
Operating Entity: Families Helping Families
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This three-semester program enables students with disabilities to take classes at Delgado Community College related to specific apprenticeship areas, participate in career development activities, learn community and work skills, and gain employment experience through two 10-week paid internships or apprenticeships. It is a collaboration between the Louisiana State University Human Development Center, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, Delgado Community College, public school systems, and employers in the New Orleans metro area.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
These programs offer students with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to take college classes, engage in career development and independent living activities, and participate in the social life of a college campus.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Pre-ETS assist students with disabilities in identifying career interests and developing skills to be successful in the workplace. This includes five required activities: job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, workplace readiness training, counseling on comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs, and instruction in self-advocacy.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program for students with significant disabilities that includes classroom instruction, career exploration, and internship rotations. It is a collaboration between local businesses, state agencies, local school systems, and other entities, and is offered at several locations.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program protects individuals with disabilities by empowering them and advocating on their behalf. This includes providing information and referrals, providing training and technical assistance to service providers, and conducting self-advocacy training.
Operating Entity: Disability Rights Louisiana
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program the Rehabilitation Counseling program, which prepares graduates to work with individuals with disabilities and their families to achieve personal and vocational goals, and the Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program, which prepares graduates to work with individuals with disabilities treat and manage mental disorders. In addition, the program has received three long-term training grants from the Rehabilitation Services Administration, to offer specialized course in Independent Living, Supported Employment, and Assistive Technology. Southern University is a Historically Black University.
Operating Entity: Southern University and A&M College
Entity Type: College / University
This program offers technical assistance and advisement of training opportunities to help self-advocates and family members of people with developmental disabilities develop practices to promote self-determination, independence, and integration.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council
Entity Type: Other
This training teaches young adults ages 16-26 to be effective self-advocates, including through trainings and peer-to-peer support.
Operating Entity: Families Helping Families
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This program enables eligible individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-exempt account that may be used for qualified disability expenses while keeping their eligibility for federally-funded, means-tested public benefits. Eligible expenses include education, employment training and support, and assistive technology.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Board of Regents, Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
The STEP Program introduces teenagers who are blind to positive blind role models and provides them with summer work experience. Participants work 15-20 hours a week at a local business earning minimum wage.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Center for the Blind
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This initiative seeks to develop the capacity of transition specialists, including through a two-day Transition Summit that covers transition policies, legislation, and best practice models. It also includes a three-day Transition Specialist Core Training, to provide practical strategies around site development, student career assessment, jobsite and community instructional support, jobsite analysis, and developing student portfolios and resumes. It is a collaboration between the Louisiana State University Human Development Center and the Jefferson Parish Public School System.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program provides culturally relevant vocational rehabilitation services to assist Alaska Native and American Indian individuals with disabilities residing on or near reservations in the state to prepare for and engage in gainful employment. Program services are provided under an individualized plan for employment.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program provides a range of services to help people with disabilities overcome employment obstacles. It includes job readiness training, job placement, supported employment, job coaching, and Pre-Employment Transition Services.
Operating Entity: UpLIFTD
Entity Type: Non-Profit / Community Organization
This one-stop career program offers individuals with disabilities a range of services to help them develop the skills and attitudes needed to develop a lifetime career. Services include work evaluation and job readiness services; assessment for and provision of assistive technology; job counseling services; and medical and therapeutic services.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services
Entity Type: State Agency / Office
This program help out-of-school and in-school youth with one or more barriers to employment (including having a disability) prepare for and secure employment and postsecondary education opportunities. Services include tutoring; work experiences; occupational skills training; leadership development opportunities; and postsecondary education and training preparation activities.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This program helps individuals with disabilities who are receiving Social Security Disability benefits make informed choices about work and make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.
Operating Entity: --
Entity Type: Multi-Stakeholder Project
This reference sheet provides information about the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Behavioral Health's hotline staffed by trained counselors to provide mental health and substance abuse counseling support. It also lists other, local numbers to contact for support.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Health
Topic(s): Mental Health
This document is a direct service guide that allows for schools to help develop and implement learning plans that address direct services. The document focuses on three steps: assessing family need and providing online learning resources and technology if necessary, developing either a high-technology or a low-technology approach to the student's learning environment, and implementing remote education. The document also includes additional online resources for students with disabilities, such as telehealth services.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
This document includes information on academic resources, continuous education, a family toolbox on how to support children with disabilities, and IDEA timelines, for the extended school closure during COVID-19.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
The Louisiana Department of Education developed an online page to share resources for families, as well as up-to-date information and guidance for schools and centers. These resources cover topics including distance learning, IEPs, technology and family engagement.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
This webpage includes general preventative COVID-19 information, with a section focused on social and emotional learning guidelines to help students develop their mental health, including links to relevant resources.
Operating Entity: Well-Ahead Louisiana
Topic(s): Mental Health
To ensure a Strong Start to the 2020-2021 school year, the Louisiana Department of Education is focused on helping school systems address unfinished learning from the 2019-2020 school year, set the foundation for continuous learning in 2020-2021 and prepare for potential modified operations in the future. The Department of Education developed a Start Strong 2020 web page which addresses these concerns and provides numerous resources specifically regarding special education services.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
This document helps ensure that school systems will provide special education and related services in a distanced environment and maintain special education compliance. It provides specific information on when IEP meetings will occur, the medium over which they will occur, and considerations for additional services for students with disabilities, such as compensatory education programs.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Education
This campaign focuses on increasing public awareness of the impact of and unknowns associated with Long-COVID and features testimonials from a diverse group of people ages 18-29 who are suffering from long-term complications of COVID-19 infection.
Operating Entity: Louisiana Department of Health
Topic(s): Long-COVID