Services and Programs
The Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) serves as the single point of entry into the developmental disability services system.
To apply for these services, contact your Human Resources Services District/Authority. Click here.
Below is a brief description of OCDD’s services and programs.
Early Steps
EarlySteps serves families of infants and toddlers up to age 2 who have medical conditions or developmental delays that may lead to developmental delays. To learn more about EarlySteps, click here.
Flexible Family Fund
OCDD provides monthly benefits to families of eligible children with severe or profound developmental disabilities, ages birth to 18, to help families cover extra expenses. These grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis. To submit an application, contact your social services district or agency.
Freedom of Choice Provider
This is the process by which OCDD ensures that each individual and/or their family has the right to choose the service provider that is best suited to meet their needs. It is important to learn as much as possible about potential providers in order to make an informed decision about which agency is best suited to meet the needs of you and your family. Click here to begin the process of finding a provider.
Home and community-based services
Medicaid home- and community-based waiver programs allow people more flexibility in choosing where to live and accessing the services and supports that best fit their needs. Services provided must be the least restrictive treatment option. Each home- and community-based waiver has a specific service package and eligibility requirements. Waiver opportunities are funding dependent and are provided based on individual needs and priorities from Screening for Urgency through the Service Request Registry (SUN).
To get more information about OCDD’s home- and community-based waiver services, click here. Or, for more information about each waiver OCDD offers, click on the links below:
Individual and family support
Individual and Family Support Services provide assistance not available through other resources to enable individuals with developmental disabilities to live at home or with their families in the community. These services include respite care, personal assistance services, specialized clothing, dental and medical services, equipment and supplies, communication services, crisis intervention, specialized utility expenses, specialized nutrition, and family education. Services are provided through contractual agreements by private provider agencies or through individual agreements with individuals and families who have their own service providers.
My Place Louisiana
My Place Louisiana is a state program of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Money Follows the Person (MFP) Realignment Demonstration designed to help states test new ways of delivering Medicaid services. The demonstration program is designed to help people move or “transition” from institutions to home and community-based living settings such as homes and apartments. To learn more about My Place Louisiana, click here.
OCDD Resource Center
The OCDD Resource Center provides technical assistance and consulting to build provider capacity to support individuals with DD living and working in the community, as well as direct specialty treatment to individuals with developmental disabilities in the community at their most at-risk situations. Through collaboration with both families and providers, the Resource Center’s services are designed to help individuals remain in community living settings and transition to more restrictive and sometimes more costly institutional placements. To learn more about the Resource Center, click here.
ICF/IID provides proactive therapeutic services and supports in a 24-hour residential setting, including ongoing assessment, planning, and coordination/integration of health and rehabilitation services and supports. ICF/IID services are provided in a variety of residential settings, including privately operated community homes (up to 6 people), group homes (9-15 people), small facilities (16-32 people), and large privately or publicly operated facilities (33+ people).
To access the currently licensed ICF/IID provider directory, click here.
Support Coordination
Support Coordination (formerly Case Management) is defined as a service provided to Medicaid recipients to assist them in accessing the full range of needed services including medical, social, educational and other support services within the OCDD. For more information on Support Coordination, click here.
Graduated exemption system
OCDD’s four Developmental Disabilities Home- and Community-Based Waivers, the New Opportunities Waiver (NOW), Residential Options Waiver (ROW), Supports Waiver, and Child Choice Waiver, are now operationalized into a tiered waiver system of service delivery that ensures individuals are supported with the waiver that is most appropriate for them. Click here for more information.