Pathways Volume 18 | March 2025

The Lily Pad's journey began in 2012 as Running for Lily, a platform to help spread awareness and acceptance for people with Down syndrome within the community. Two exceptional children, Hayden Elliott and Lily Lape, are the initial inspiration for two families to begin their journey. Both Hayden and Lily rock an extra 21st chromosome, better known to most as Down syndrome. 

For the first few years of their annual fundraising event, the Run Up for Downs, they raised over $62,000 for the Central Mississippi Down Syndrome Society and The Little Lighthouse of Central Mississippi. Looking to the future for their children, they spoke with several families about what their adult children are doing after high school. More times than not, the answer was “nothing” or that there were no opportunities available.

There may be a handful whose children with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities have jobs. Some businesses may not understand the capabilities or full potential of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This is where their new venture, the Lily Pad Foundation, came to fruition. Like a frog using a lily pad, The Lily Pad aims to be a stepping stone to the next path.

The Lily Pad is a not-for-profit restaurant focused on employing and training individuals with IDD to give them the work skills and confidence necessary to obtain employment with other businesses. The restaurant became an affiliate partner of Hugs Cafe Inc., out of McKinney, TX, in February of 2024. This partnership allows them to leverage Hugs Cafe’s 9 years of experience to support our organization in inclusive hiring and training.

The Lily Pad's training program started in June of 2024 with 11 students. These students were trained in all phases of food service and hospitality and were officially hired as interns in December of 2024. The Lily Pad officially opened to the public on December 5, 2024, and is open for lunch Tuesday-Friday (+ the 1st Saturday of each month) from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

All of The Lily Pad's interns are paid over minimum wage and handle every task in the restaurant from hostessing, taking orders at the register, cooking food orders, pouring drinks, and running food to customers' tables. The Lily Pad's next step will be to evaluate all of their interns and decide who is ready to move on to working at a local restaurant in their community and who might need a few more months to stay at The Lily Pad and hone in on some specific skills. In addition, The Lily Pad will start interviewing and training its second cohort of students and prepare them for their internship.

To learn more about The Lily Pad, visit them online at www.thelilypadms.com.

Mark your calendars for April 12th to attend the 13th Annual Leap 4 The Lily Pad! Register today at www.leap4thelilypad.com. The event will take place at the green space in front of Methodist Rehab in Ridgeland. Enjoy live music by The Lonely Hearts, a kid zone including a sensory tent, characters + much more! All proceeds will go towards operational costs of The Lily Pad. With YOUR help, over $750,000 has been raised to help bring The Lily Pad to fruition.

The Trump administration is cutting the U.S. Department of Education’s staff by half and reducing its functions. The ultimate goal is to close the department. That’s not something the president or the department itself can do alone, however. The agency was created by law, and only Congress can close it or move major responsibilities to other agencies. It’s not clear if, how, or when the department would be shut down under the plan.

The president also can’t cut funding for education. The amount of funding is set by Congress. Instead, the executive branch, led by the president, determines how the money gets spent, which programs to support, and any rules and regulations that aren’t required by law.

In that way, the president’s plan could affect some programs related to special education, but not the core rights laid out in the law. Special education is a federal statute and a state mandate. Even if the U.S. Department of Education is reduced, the law is still in place.

On March 28, 2025, the Mississippi Autism Resource Collaboration (MARC) Conference was held in Tupelo, Mississippi. Leslie Junkin, Project Director of the Mississippi Parent Training and Information Center (MSPTI), presented a session titled “Tips for Effective IEP Meetings,” offering valuable strategies to enhance Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Additionally, Regina Moffett, MSPTI’s Data and Transition Specialist, provided resource information to parents and professionals attending the conference.

The Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities held its annual Torchbearer's Celebration in November. We want to thank all our sponsors and contributors, and especially all the volunteers who helped make the night a success! We honored six people and organizations who do so much to improve the lives of people with disabilities!

On March 11, advocates joined the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities to plead with our leaders to protect vital Medicaid services that help 1 in 4 Mississippi families, and provide life-sustaining care for 3 in 8 people with disabilities. Medicaid brings much-needed funding into the state that supports our struggling rural hospitals and healthcare providers. It's also the fiscally responsible thing to do because, for every $1.00 we spend, the state is reimbursed .77 cents. Medicaid expansion (which our Governor refuses to do) is reimbursed at 90%. If people with disabilities lose their homes and community-based services, they'll be forced into nursing homes for TWICE the cost.

MSPTI needs your input to help ensure that the information, training and support we provide meets the needs of Mississippi families. If you have used our services, please take a few minutes and complete our survey!

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