Louisiana Governor’s Recently Finalized Budget and What it Means for Developmental Disabilities Programs and Home-Based Care Funding

There is good news for Louisiana residents or family members who have developmental disabilities. Governor Bobby Jindal signed Louisiana’s annual budget bill, also known as HB 1, on June 26, 2013. Within his final reports, there have been no cuts to programs for people with developmental disabilities. This also includes developmentally disabled people who are currently receiving waiver services, such as those we often see at CareInc.com.

“The truth is, more people than ever before in Louisiana are now being served by programs for people with developmental disabilities (more than 20,000), and we’re providing more funding for New Opportunity Waiver (NOW) slots than at any time in our state’s history by committing $417 million in funding for the current fiscal year, a $91.3 million increase since I took office.” – Gov. Bobby Jindal (source)

On the same fiscal year, the Governor of Louisiana has also enacted a full 109.7% increase in state funding allocated for specific Home and Community-Based Services, also called (HCBS) waivers. In actual dollar amounts, that equals to approximately $98.6 million more dollars available for Louisiana-based general fund resources. This is great news for the families who are in need of home based care services, especially for those with developmental disabilities. More people will have access to the care they need, such as those offered by our own professional staff of care givers.