A.  The Legislature of Louisiana recognizes the right of people with significant disabilities to lead independent and productive lives.

B.  The legislature further recognizes that persons with significant disabilities require personal assistance to meet tasks of daily living and, in many cases, to avoid costly institutionalization.

C.  The legislature further recognizes that many times the expected return on state dollars invested in vocational rehabilitation training for individuals who cannot afford to go to work, resulting in immeasurable losses in terms of lost wages, dependency, social isolation, and unfulfilled human potential.

D.  It is the intention of the legislature to create a program of state personal assistance services for persons with significant disabilities in order to support and enhance their employability and/or to avoid inappropriate and unnecessary institutionalization of persons with significant disabilities.

Acts 1987, No. 781, §1; Acts 1990, No. 653, §1, eff. July 19, 1990; Acts 2006, No. 617, §1.