Family Engagement

STATEWIDE

Early Steps, State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC)
The Louisiana State Interagency Coordinating Council (LA-SICC) works in collaboration with the Louisiana Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, in an advisory capacity, to design and oversee the implementation of a family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, interagency system for infants and toddlers (birth through two years of age) who are eligible for Early Steps and their families. Our goal is to advise and assist the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), as the Lead Agency, in the monitoring and evaluation of this system to ensure that families are supported and the potential of each child is maximized.

Louisiana Department of Education, Special Education Advisory Panel (SEAP)
The Special Education Advisory Panel (SEAP) advises and assists the Louisiana Department of Education with the provision of free and appropriate public education for individuals with disabilities. It exists by authority of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide guidance on special education programs and services. Members are appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education after being selected from a pool of applicants by a committee that includes one member of the LDOE, one BESE member, and two current members of SEAP. SEAP members serve three-year terms.

Louisiana Rehabilitation Council (LRC) 
The Louisiana Rehabilitation Council listens to the concerns of those with disability issues, reviews, analyzes and evaluates the state rehabilitation program, collaborates with other state agencies, organizations and consumer groups.

LSU Human Development Center HDC Constituent Advisory Committee
The purpose of the Constituent Advisory Committee (CAC) is to advise the Human Development Center (HDC) director, faculty, and staff in a manner that supports the HDC in meeting its responsibilities in accordance with the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (2000). The HDC’s CAC is comprised of self-advocates, family members, and representatives of self-advocacy organizations, key state agencies, and community provider organizations from across Louisiana. Members shape the mission and vision of the HDC by offering input on emerging needs and priorities of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and by participating in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of results of the HDC’s activities and initiatives.