Louisiana Disability Office: Agencies, Legal Help, and Complaints

If you’re looking for the Louisiana disability office that handles your situation, there isn’t just one. The state splits disability services across several offices, and the right starting point depends on what you need: the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) for intellectual and developmental disability services, the Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS) for adult long-term care, Disability Determination Services (DDS) for Social Security medical decisions, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS) for employment help, the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) for mental health and addiction, and Disability Rights Louisiana (DRLA) for free legal advocacy. The Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs (GODA) coordinates policy across all of them.

Which Office Handles What

Before calling anyone, match your need to the office. Picking the wrong door usually means weeks of waiting before being told to try somewhere else.

Developmental or intellectual disability services, waivers, EarlySteps for babies and toddlers: OCDD.
Nursing-home level care at home for adults 21 and older: OAAS.
Applying for SSDI or SSI: the Social Security Administration, not a state office. DDS only reviews the medical file after SSA sends it over.
Vocational training, job placement, assistive technology for work: LRS.
Mental illness or addiction treatment: OBH.
Discrimination, abuse, or neglect, including institutional rights: DRLA.
ADA complaints against a state agency: the Office of the State ADA Coordinator and the federal agency that covers the setting.

Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD)

OCDD sits inside the Louisiana Department of Health and is the “Single Point of Entry” for developmental disability services in the state. You don’t contact OCDD directly to start services. You go through your Local Governing Entity, the regional human services district or authority covering your parish.¹

OCDD runs four Medicaid home and community-based waivers:

New Opportunities Waiver (NOW), the largest, with 6,960 participants as of June 30, 2025.
Children’s Choice Waiver, 3,140 participants.
Supports Waiver, 2,620 participants.
Residential Options Waiver (ROW), 2,167 participants.²

Waiver slots are offered based on the Screening for Urgency of Need (SUN) assessment. OCDD requires that anyone scoring at the urgent or emergent level receive an offer, and the state’s DD Request for Services Registry listed 13,841 individuals in mid-2025.²

Beyond waivers, OCDD operates EarlySteps (early intervention for infants and toddlers from birth to 36 months with developmental delays), Flexible Family Funds (monthly stipends for families of children with severe developmental disabilities), My Place Louisiana (helping people move out of institutions into community living), Intermediate Care Facilities, and a Resource Center for specialized treatment and consultation.³ The office’s toll-free number is 1-866-783-5553.¹ A bill from the 2026 session, HB 1092, would rename the office to the “Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disability Supports”; as of early June 2026 it was awaiting the governor’s action.⁴

Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS)

OAAS is the LDH office for older adults and people with adult-onset disabilities who need long-term care.⁵ Its main program is the Community Choices Waiver, which serves adults 21 and older who meet nursing-home level of care and long-term care Medicaid eligibility. Covered services include personal assistance, adult day health care, home modifications, therapy, home-delivered meals, respite, and nursing home transition.⁶

Opportunities are offered on six priority levels. Abuse or neglect cases and people with ALS go to the top; others are served first-come, first-served.⁶ The 2026 state budget added 750 Community Choices Waiver opportunities.⁴ OAAS can be reached at 1-866-758-5035.⁷

Disability Determination Services (DDS)

DDS is a state agency inside LDH, but it’s federally funded and does one specific thing: it makes the medical determinations on Social Security disability claims.⁸⁹ It does not take applications from the public and does not issue benefit checks.

If you want to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you file with the Social Security Administration: online at ssa.gov, by phone at 800-772-1213, or at a local SSA field office. After SSA confirms non-medical eligibility, your file is sent to Louisiana DDS, where staff review your medical records and, if needed, schedule a consultative exam with an independent provider at no cost to you. The examining provider gathers information but doesn’t decide the claim; trained DDS staff do.⁸ If you’re denied, you can appeal, but you must file before the deadline in your SSA notice.⁹ Louisiana DDS office numbers are 800-256-2288 (Baton Rouge), 800-256-2299 (New Orleans), and 800-256-2266 (Shreveport).

Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS)

LRS is the state’s vocational rehabilitation agency, housed under the Louisiana Workforce Commission. It helps people with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and keep competitive employment.¹⁰ Services are delivered through an Individualized Plan for Employment developed by you and a rehabilitation counselor. The plan can include vocational guidance, job placement, assistive technology, physical or mental restoration services, training, and personal help such as interpreters or readers.¹¹

To qualify, you must have a physical or mental disability that creates a substantial barrier to employment and must be able to benefit from rehabilitation. LRS has operated under an “Order of Selection” since 1988, which means people with the most significant disabilities are served first.¹¹ After you apply at a regional office, you should be contacted within seven calendar days, scheduled for an initial appointment within 30 days, and receive an eligibility decision within 60 days.¹² LRS also runs specialized services for people who are blind or visually impaired.¹⁰ Reach LRS at 225-342-3111 or TDD 800-259-5154. The 2026 state budget added $2 million for the agency.⁴

Office of Behavioral Health (OBH)

OBH is the LDH office for treatment, care, and support for people with mental illness and addictive disorders.⁵ It can be reached at 225-342-1435.⁷

Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs (GODA)

GODA is the executive branch’s coordinating office for disability policy. Its job is to promote equal opportunity, remove barriers to independence and self-determination, and educate state agencies and the public about disability rights law compliance.¹³¹⁴ GODA doesn’t deliver services; it works at the policy level alongside the Governor’s Advisory Council on Disability Affairs, a nine-member body re-established by Governor Jeff Landry through Executive Order JML 24-42 on March 22, 2024. The Council identifies needs and solutions, assists GODA with state disability issues, and monitors ADA compliance across state agencies. The Council holds public meetings quarterly; 2026 dates are February 25, May 20, August 19, and November 18.¹⁵

Free Legal Help: Disability Rights Louisiana

Disability Rights Louisiana is the federally designated Protection and Advocacy organization for the state. It protects the rights of people with disabilities through monitoring, investigations, and legal action against discrimination, abuse, and neglect.¹⁶ DRLA provides free legal assistance, technical guidance, and referrals, but demand exceeds capacity, so the organization prioritizes cases involving home and community-based services, accessibility, education, employment, voting, institutional rights, disaster resilience, and affordable housing.¹⁷

DRLA does not handle divorce, criminal cases, child custody, bankruptcy, auto accidents, debt collection, or Social Security applications. Call 504-522-2337 or 1-800-960-7705 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or submit an online intake form. Walk-ins are not accepted.¹⁸

Families Helping Families

Families Helping Families is a statewide network of nine family-staffed regional resource centers that provide free information on services and technologies, teach self-advocacy, explain your rights, and connect families with peer support.¹⁹ Each center covers a group of parishes, with locations in Baton Rouge, Thibodaux, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Pineville, Bossier City, Monroe, Covington, and Harahan (serving greater New Orleans).²⁰ If you don’t know where to start, calling the Families Helping Families center for your region is often the fastest way to find the right program.

Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council and The Arc of Louisiana

The Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council is a federally mandated planning body that runs LaCAN (Louisiana Citizens for Action Network), a grassroots legislative advocacy network coordinated with Families Helping Families centers.²¹ Reach the Council at 1-800-450-8108. The Arc of Louisiana is a grassroots organization with more than 6,000 members across 21 local chapters, focused on supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.²²

Filing an ADA or Discrimination Complaint

The Office of the State ADA Coordinator (OSADAC), inside the Division of Administration, oversees ADA compliance by state agencies, making sure they maintain ADA policies, complete training, and file annual reports. OSADAC does not adjudicate individual complaints. The State ADA Coordinator is Miranda Hughes, reachable at 225-342-1243.²³

Formal discrimination complaints generally go to the federal agency that covers the setting: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for employment, the Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing, the Department of Transportation for transportation, and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division for state and local government services and public accommodations. DOJ accepts complaints online or by mail, and review can take up to three months. Some cases are referred to the DOJ’s voluntary, confidential ADA Mediation Program.²⁴ For legal help with an ADA issue in Louisiana, contact Disability Rights Louisiana or Southeast Louisiana Legal Services.²³

Phone Directory

OCDD: 1-866-783-5553
OAAS: 1-866-758-5035
DDS (Baton Rouge): 800-256-2288; (New Orleans): 800-256-2299; (Shreveport): 800-256-2266
LRS: 225-342-3111; TDD 800-259-5154
OBH: 225-342-1435
Social Security Administration (for SSDI/SSI applications): 800-772-1213
Disability Rights Louisiana: 504-522-2337 or 1-800-960-7705
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council: 1-800-450-8108
State ADA Coordinator: 225-342-1243

1
Louisiana Department of Health. Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities
2
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council. OCDD Quarterly Report, 2nd Quarter 2025
3
Louisiana Department of Health. OCDD Services and Programs
4
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council. 2026 Legislative Session: What Happened and Why It Matters
5
Louisiana Department of Health. Disabilities
6
Louisiana Department of Health. Community Choices Waiver
7
Louisiana Department of Health. About LDH
8
Louisiana Department of Health. Disability Determination Services
9
Social Security Administration. Disability Determination Process
10
Louisiana Workforce Commission. Louisiana Rehabilitation Services
11
Louisiana Workforce Commission. Vocational Rehabilitation Program
12
Disability Rights Louisiana. Knowing the Road: A Guide to Vocational Rehabilitation
13
Louisiana Division of Administration. Governor’s Advisory Council on Disability Affairs
14
Louisiana Division of Administration. Executive Order JML 24-42
15
Governor’s Office of Louisiana. Disability Affairs
16
Disability Rights Louisiana. Disability Rights Louisiana
17
Disability Rights Louisiana. Get Help Now
18
Disability Rights Louisiana. Legal Assistance
19
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council. Families Helping Families
20
Louisiana Department of Health. Families Helping Families
21
Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council. 2026 Legislative Advocacy Agenda
22
The Arc of Louisiana. Developmental Disabilities Resources
23
Louisiana Division of Administration. Office of State ADA Coordinator
24
U.S. Department of Justice. File a Complaint