Lafayette Parish forum outlines community transition services, waivers and vocational supports for students with disabilities

At a Lafayette Parish School System Community Resource Forum for parents and guardians of LEAP Connect high school students, program staff and community providers described local and state services that can help students with disabilities transition from school to adult life.

The forum’s presenters recommended that families register with state systems while students are still in high school, explained how Medicaid waivers and support programs work, and reviewed vocational services and job preparation available through Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS).

The meeting began with Ellen Castellanos, a program specialist in the Lafayette Parish School System Department of Special Education, explaining the forum’s purpose and introducing the presenters. Nicole Flores, director of Families Helping Families of Acadiana, described her organization as a “family directed resource center” and a free, peer-led “one-stop shop” for people with disabilities and their families. Flores said the center provides peer-to-peer support, education and training, and information and outreach. She listed partnerships and programs including Early Steps, the Bureau of Family Health, the Department of Education, the Developmental Disabilities Council and LA CAN, and noted FHF Acadiana serves Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes. Flores gave the center’s contact information as 100 Benman Road and 337-984-3458 and the web address www.fhfAcadiana.org.

Kathy Thomas, assistant director of services at Acadiana Area Human Services District (AAHSD), outlined how families apply for developmental-disability services and the benefits of early registration. “We are the single point of entry, the SPO,” Thomas said, urging parents to call AAHSD so staff can walk them through eligibility and documentation. Thomas described AAHSD’s family support grants, a crisis-oriented individual family support program, supported living and support coordination tied to Medicaid waiver offers. She said AAHSD can fund home modifications (ramps, roll-in showers, lifts), purchase communication devices in some cases, assist with limited dental needs and help with vehicle lifts when the family otherwise qualifies and when funding and vendors are available. Thomas repeated that the system requires documentation that a qualifying developmental disability affected the person before age 22 and said families should keep school evaluations and IEPs available because that speeds enrollment into the AAHSD system. She referenced a program known in the recording as “Act 421 / TEFRA” that can allow Medicaid eligibility without a family-income test and advised families to call AAHSD (262-5610 was shown on screen during the forum).

Crystal Romaine of Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS), a division of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, described vocational rehabilitation services focused on employment and community independence. Romaine said LRS helps people obtain or maintain employment through career counseling, assessments, purchase of needed equipment or assistive technology, job placement and short-term job supports; some items (for example many assistive-technology purchases and vehicle or home modifications) are not income-based. LRS also provides pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) for school-aged youth, and Romaine said the Lafayette Parish School Board will act as a third-party provider for pre-ETS beginning the next school year. Romaine added that LRS typically becomes more active in a student’s exit year from high school but that people can come to LRS whenever they need employment services.

Presenters and school staff took questions from parents and attendees. Topics included what professionals FHF staffs (peer support specialists and education liaisons), whether FHF attends IEP meetings (yes, with scheduling and preparation), how waivers affect family income calculations (Thomas clarified that some waivers waive parental income for eligibility), vehicle lifts and vendor availability, dental and respite supports, and how LRS coordinates benefits and counsels families concerned about how wages affect Social Security benefits. Romaine described an LRS benefits-planning specialist who helps families understand changes to Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance and other public benefits when returning to work.

Across presenters the main practical advice was consistent: call the agencies, register individuals early with AAHSD so records and qualifying documentation are on file, and use peer-support and coordinating agencies to navigate waivers, work-readiness supports and community services. Castellanos closed by reminding families that the Lafayette Parish School System main switchboard (337-521-7000) can direct callers to special education staff.

The forum included additional program names and acronyms referenced on-screen and during discussion: Early Steps (early intervention), Families Helping Families network, Developmental Disabilities Council, LA CAN, the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) programming administered locally through AAHSD, Medicaid waivers, and Louisiana Rehabilitation Services under the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the forum; it was informational and advisory.