Parents and advocates press legislators to restore $500,000 recurring for Families Helping Families centers

Parents and disability advocates urged the House Appropriations Committee to restore $500,000 in recurring state funding to the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council to support Families Helping Families regional resource centers.

The nut graf: dozens of family witnesses, including parents of children with autism and other developmental delays, said Families Helping Families centers provide case navigation, advocacy at IEP meetings, help obtaining communication devices and links to therapies; several gave documented examples of the centers preventing school placement failures and helping children access services.

Charles Romero, a father and retired state employee, testified that family advocacy in his district helped him learn to navigate special education and secure services after a private evaluation showed his son’s reading level lagged significantly. "I could not have saved my son without family serving families," Romero said.

Multiple parents described Children’s cases where Families Helping Families staff attended IEP meetings, helped secure out‑of‑zone transfers, replaced broken augmentative communication devices, and guided parents through bullying complaints and other school disputes. Senior witnesses and disability‑rights groups also told the committee the centers are often the first contact for families and that they fill gaps not met by state agencies.

Ending: Families Helping Families leaders asked for recurring funding of $500,000 to avoid yearly fights for the appropriation; no formal vote or appropriation decision was recorded in the transcript.