Action Needed
By removing a crucial part of the early intervention team from the equation, our most vulnerable children are at risk for missing out on beneficial early intervention, school systems may lose a vital component in the process of proactively planning for early childhood student needs prior to their entry, and communities will ultimately be impacted by limited access to an invaluable resource that allows them to thrive. Please read the information below and consider reaching out to let your concerns be known and get answers to critical questions. From a provider:
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🚨 LOUISIANA FAMILIES — IMPORTANT EARLYSTEPS UPDATE 🚨
Today, SPOEs(System Point of Entry) across Louisiana were told that their current contracts will end April 1.
This is a significant statewide change. SPOEs are the local teams that help families move through referral, intake, evaluation, eligibility, IFSP development, and into early intervention services.
When we are talking about babies and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities, timely services matter.
During today’s meeting, staff stated that they were not aware of public hearings, stakeholder meetings, or outreach to parent advocacy groups before these changes were developed. Louisiana’s published Early Steps policy says that policy updates require broad stakeholder input, public notice of proposed changes, and public hearings for public comment.
Families may want answers to questions including:
➡️ What will replace the current SPOE system?
➡️ How will the transition work?
➡️ How will Louisiana prevent delays in services?
➡️ What happens to the experienced local staff who already know these families and communities?
➡️ What opportunity were families, providers, advocates, and the public given to participate in the process?
For anyone who wants additional information or wants to ask state officials about the changes:
📞 Rep. Barbara Reich Freiberg
(225) 342-6945
District Office: (225) 763-3500
hse070@legis.la.gov
📞 Sen. Royce Duplessis
(504) 568-2741
SEN05@legis.la.gov
📞 Bruce D. Greenstein
Louisiana Department of Health
(225) 342-9500
📞 Blake Miguez
(337) 519-8720
You can also contact your own Louisiana State Representative and State Senator and request information about the EarlySteps SPOE contract changes.
Questions you may want to ask:
“What is changing with Louisiana EarlySteps and the SPOE contracts beginning April 1? What will replace the current system? How will timely services for children be protected during the transition? What public and stakeholder input occurred before this decision was made?”
This affects the people who work within the SPOEs, but most importantly, it affects the babies and families across Louisiana who depend on timely early intervention services.
❤️ Birth to three matters.
❤️ Early intervention matters.
❤️ Timely services matter.
❤️ Local SPOEs matter.
❤️ Louisiana families deserve clear information about changes affecting their children.