At that size, and in that location, it is probably a (faded) specimen of Dasymutilla occidentalis.

I don't know enough about velvet ants to really question anyones ID, I just thought Dasymutilla aureola might be possible.

Is the head too narrow for it to be Dasymutilla aureola? I'm just trying to learn more.

D. aureola only occurs in the west (usually California and Oregon), and the head is distinctly broader than the thorax. Also, its thorax is as broad as long. It's a bit hard to tell from this pic, but D. occidentalis' thorax is noticeably longer than broad. You can see it in other pictures.

The western populations of this species used to be called D. occidentalis var. comanche. Basically, any specimens from east of the Mississippi River are D. occidentalis occidentalis, and specimens from between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains are D. occidentalis comanche. They were separated by slight color differences, and have recently been sunk together. The western populations usually range from orange to yellow, while the specimens from farther east have that typical brilliant scarlet color.

Kevin, is the synonymy in your upcoming paper with Dr. Pitts?

I guess the "subspecies" are still valid at this point. I thought that they were sunk together in a paper on Dasymutilla by Manley & Pitts that came out earlier this year, but I was mistaken for a synonymy of D. vesta. The synonymy for D. occidentalis has been suspected for a while, but I guess it hasn't been formally published yet.
There have been at least 5-6 small papers and one very large one published on Dasymutilla in the last 3 years, and I have a hard time remembering which synonymies and associations have been published yet.

Is it common to see this in Louisiana. I took a picture of one in Basile, Louisiana yesterday that my 2 year old nephew was chasing around the yard. If he gets bite what exactly happens? Are they poisonous?

Mutillid venom has very low lethality or toxicity, but it can be extremely painful. Strangely, the Cow Killer's sting is much more painful, but much less harmful than that of a honeybee.

I don't know how long the pain would last for a 2 year old, but it would definitely be very painful for the child and I would do everything I could to prevent them from being stung.