Roundtables:
Increase your ability to be an effective advocate.
Meet legislators in your area.
Learn techniques for sharing your personal story to encourage positive changes.
Get current information on state issues.
2012 Roundtable Schedule
Click here to see pictures from 2011 Roundtables.
Legislative Visits:
Legislators represent us. Legislators typically want to hear the views and issues faced by their constituents. One of the most powerful ways to convince a legislator is to put a face on the situation.
LaCAN Leaders support LaCAN members with personal visits with their legislators by providing speaking points and helping members with their personal story and message.
LaCAN leaders are currently scheduling legislative visits. Please contact your regional LaCAN Leader and schedule a visit with your legislator.
In order to determine who your legislators are click here.
Legislative Session:
The 2012 Legislative session will run from March 12 – June 4, 2012.
During the legislative session, LaCAN members show up at key Legislative Committee meetings when critical decisions are being made. A bill must pass through committee meetings so it is important to let legislators on these committees know whether you support or oppose positions in these bills. LaCAN leaders coordinate members in their region to make a presence at committee meetings. This is a great way to watch the legislative process.
The 2011 Legislative Session ran on April 25, 2011 and ended June 23, 2011. LaCAN members were instrumental in advocating throughout the session for the restoration of drastic cuts to DHH imposed by the House Appropriations and House. Click Here for more information
Action Alerts:
Action alerts inform members of what action should be taken to address current decisions legislators are responsible to make that will impact them.
Actions typically involve sending e-mails or letters with a specific message to your legislators.
Actions are most frequent during the Legislative session but can occur anytime during the year that an issue of significance is identified.
It only takes a couple of minutes to respond to action alerts and legislators indicate these visits provide insight into how the laws they create impact people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Please contact your LaCAN leader if you have questions concerning an action alert.
Community First Disability Rights Rallies (2011):
Rallies will not be scheduled for 2012.
Nine regional rallies were held throughout the state between March 12 – 18, 2011 to promote Louisiana moving to a culture of supporting and accepting individuals with disabilities as full contributing and inclusive members of their communities. The rallies were a huge success as hundreds of LaCAN members expressed appreciation for Governor Jindal’s Executive Budget that spared waiver providers from additional rate cuts.
The Community First Disability Rights Rallies 2011 were organized and supported through the collaborative efforts of the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council, Centers, LaCAN, People First of Louisiana, the Arc of Louisiana, Local Arcs, CARSA, and other organizations and agencies. We would like to thank everyone involved in making the rallies a success.
Follow the link to view media from the 2011 Community First Disability Rights Rallies.
In order to view PDF files on your computer, you must have a PDF reader program installed. If you do not already have such a reader, you can download a free reader at Adobe’s website.
