Human Development Center

HDC News

Human Development Center Awarded Federal Grant to Strengthen School-Based Services for Children with Disabilities

Plain Language Summary

 
LSU Health New Orleans' Human Development Center received a $1.25 million federal grant to help train more professionals who support students with disabilities in schools. The new program, called SHIFT, will prepare 50 graduate students in fields such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology, and counseling. These students will learn how to work together as a team to support children with complex disabilities. They will gain hands-on experience by working with students, families, teachers, and school staff in real school settings. The program aims to help address shortages of school-based service providers across Louisiana. It will also teach future professionals how to support students' learning, communication, movement, and social-emotional needs. By investing in training now, the program hopes to improve outcomes for children with disabilities and strengthen Louisiana's future workforce.

$1.25 Million Investment in Louisiana's Special Education Workforce

 

LSU Health New Orleans' Human Development Center (HDC), Louisiana's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), has been awarded a $1.25 million, five-year personnel preparation grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to address critical workforce shortages among school-based related service providers serving children with disabilities.

Human Development Center building viewed from Tulane Avenue

The grant, SHIFT: School-based, High-quality Interdisciplinary Field Training to Improve Outcomes for Children with Disabilities, will prepare 50 graduate scholars from the School of Health Professions including occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology, and counseling to work collaboratively in local school settings supporting students with complex disabilities.

Housed within the Human Development Center and developed in partnership with LSU Health New Orleans' School of Health Professions, SHIFT was designed to address a growing need for fully credentialed related service professionals equipped to serve students with complex needs in Louisiana schools.

Preparing the Next Generation of Interdisciplinary Professionals

 

Louisiana serves nearly 90,000 students with disabilities, including more than 6,000 students who participate in the state's alternate assessment system. At the same time, schools across the state continue to face shortages of occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and counselors. SHIFT aims to help address these workforce needs by preparing professionals with specialized expertise in interdisciplinary practice, family-centered supports, and evidence-based strategies that improve student participation in school, literacy, and mathematics instruction.

The SHIFT program will accomplish five major outcomes:

  1. Prepare 50 fully credentialed related service professionals across five disciplines over five years;
  2. Provide interdisciplinary training grounded in the nationally recognized Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies;
  3. Create authentic school-based capstone experiences in which scholars work directly with students, families, educators, and related service providers;
  4. Strengthen the capacity of future professionals to support literacy, mathematics, communication, mobility, sensory access, and social-emotional participation for students with complex disabilities; and
  5. Develop a sustainable and replicable training model that can be adapted by universities and UCEDDs nationwide.

"The SHIFT program is built on a simple premise: improving outcomes for children with disabilities requires a shift in how we prepare the professionals who support them," said Ali Kowitz, M.Ed., Project Director and Interim Director of the Human Development Center. "Students with complex disabilities depend on coordinated teams of professionals, and SHIFT brings future practitioners together to learn, problem-solve, and serve alongside one another in real school settings while working directly with students, families, and educators."

A self-advocate, a social work student, and audiology student work together.

Building Stronger Partnerships to Improve Student Outcomes

"One of the greatest strengths of this project is its emphasis on partnership," Kowitz said. "Families, self-advocates, educators, and related service providers all have a voice in the training process. Our scholars will learn not only from faculty, but from the people most directly impacted by the services they will provide throughout their careers."

The project builds on the Human Development Center's long history of workforce development, technical assistance, and interdisciplinary training. As Louisiana's UCEDD, the HDC maintains statewide partnerships with school districts, families, self-advocates, and disability organizations that will support scholar training throughout the grant period.

The initiative also expands LSU Health New Orleans' commitment to interprofessional education by bringing together scholars from five disciplines to address the complex and interconnected needs of children with disabilities.

"This award reflects our commitment to preparing the next generation of professionals to improve outcomes for children and families across Louisiana," Kowitz said. "By investing in interdisciplinary training today, we are building a stronger workforce for tomorrow."

 

 

 

About the Human Development Center

The Human Development Center (HDC) at LSU Health New Orleans is Louisiana’s University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. HDC and its programs build the capacity of professionals, service providers, and families to ensure that people with disabilities are able to participate fully in all aspects of community life.

Learn more about HDC