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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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Registration for the RCPA Conference 2022 Together is now open! Together will be held October 11 – 14, 2022, at the Hershey Lodge in person this year. After two long years, we are looking forward to seeing everyone!

The 2022 event features more than 60 workshops, most of which will be recorded to allow participants to take advantage of viewing sessions after the event, over 90 continuing education credit options, Beacon Health Options Connections Hall, and networking events.

Keynote speakers include Dick Finnegan, a respected speaker, author, and CEO of C-Suite Analytics, providing his insight on “The Great Resignation;” Deborah Riddick, a public policy expert, to discuss how intentional collaboration, centered in curiosity, authenticity, and integrity, can help to address health disparities; and Dan Hilferty, a respected authority on health care, business, and civic engagement. Our final keynote session will be presented by conference favorite Michael Cohen, who has updated stories of unusual HR situations and strategies to resolve them.

Two plenary sessions, one with national updates from partners National Council President Chuck Ingoglia and Gabrielle Sedor of ANCOR, and the second featuring Meg Snead, Acting Secretary of the Department of Human Services, and Jennifer Smith, Secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Several sessions will focus on workforce development, workforce recruitment and retention, value-based payments, telehealth, and trauma-informed support. Learn how to effectively share your story with legislators.

Early bird registration is available now until September 9, 2022! Questions about the conference may be directed to Carol Ferenz or Sarah Eyster, Conference Coordinators.

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Capitolwire: New Year Dawns Without Budget in Place

By: John Finnerty, Capitolwire.com Bureau Chief

HARRISBURG (July 1) – The new fiscal year started this morning without a state budget in place to pay for it and no obvious signal that the Legislature will quickly get a budget to the governor.

Late Thursday, Senate officials announced that the chamber won’t even be in session on Friday, though the Senate has plans to be in session on Saturday and Sunday. The House is scheduled to be in session Friday and Saturday, though at the close of Thursday’s session, Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, reminded members to monitor their emails for updates on session days.

Despite the annoying aggravation of having to work through the holiday weekend, the broader immediate sting of failing to meet the state budget deadline doesn’t exist anymore due to a 2009 Supreme Court decision requiring that state employees must continue to receive their paychecks even if the budget hasn’t been passed.

Rep. Stan Saylor, R-York, the Majority chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that not having a budget in place has little, if any, immediate impact on state agencies.

Gov. Tom Wolf has been pushing for a dramatic increase in spending while Republicans have been trying to get the governor to agree to rollback controversial proposals including the bridge tolling plan (though a Commonwealth Court ruling Thursday ordered that the tolling plan be halted) and charter school regulations.

Alexis Campbell, a PennDOT spokeswoman, said that while the tolling plan has been met with objections, the administration is still waiting for lawmakers to explain how to pay for the needed bridge repairs and in the long-term replace the gas tax.

“To date, the legislature has failed to offer any solutions beyond their approval of this P3 initiative, that will assist the administration’s desire to phase out the gas tax. The Wolf Administration continues to welcome discussions with the General Assembly on alternative funding sources that can replace the gas tax, which is no longer a dependable source of funding to meet all bridge and highway needs in this commonwealth,” she said.

Republicans say they are interested in restraining Wolf’s spending proposals in order to position the state to better weather an economic slowdown.

“Senate Republicans continue to work towards a budget that invests in the people of Pennsylvania and ensures the financial stability of the Commonwealth as we face economic headwinds due to the Biden Administration’s inflationary policies,” Erica Clayton Wright, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, said in a statement released late Thursday night.

Amidst all of this, former President Donald Trump weighed in earlier this week, issuing a statement in support of a poll watcher bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, and calling for Republicans to refuse to pass a budget unless it includes other election integrity changes.

Groups lobbying for election access have called for Wolf to veto Mastriano’s Senate Bill 573, and a Wolf spokeswoman strongly hinted that Wolf would veto the legislation, saying the administration “strongly opposes” the bill.

(Source: Capitolwire, July 1, 2022).

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From Kristen Houser, Deputy Secretary, DHS/Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services:

I am writing to request your participation to inform the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the PA Department of Human Services of the values and desired outcomes and objectives that you would like to see reflected in a crisis behavioral health response system of services.

On July 16, 2022, the new, easy to remember, three-digit phone number to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will become active. People experiencing mental health-related distress – whether that is thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress – will be able to call 9-8-8 to be connected to trained staff at a National Lifeline Crisis Call Center for immediate support and referrals to appropriate local resources, including mobile response teams or first responders such as law enforcement or EMS if needed.

We know that communities across Pennsylvania have access to very different local resources to help them during a mental health-related crisis, and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the PA Department of Human Services is about to embark on a multi-year plan to work with counties to enhance and expand the availability of mobile crisis response teams. Included in the plans for a full continuum of crisis intervention services is access to walk-in and crisis respite centers.

As a first step, we are reaching out to individuals across multiple disciplines to request input to ensure the values and desired outcomes and objectives we utilize to build these services is informed by stakeholders from across the Commonwealth.

Please take a few minutes to answer the questions within by July 8. The short survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

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ODP Announcement 21-031: UPDATE highlights that the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a temporary 10% increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for home and community-based services (HCBS). The funding is to be used to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS beyond what is available under the Medicaid program.

On June 3, CMS notified states that they have an additional year to use funding made available by ARPA, expanding eligible expenditures to March 31, 2025. To provide guidance about the process for providers to request one-time payments and address staff training, credentialing, and business associates programs for employment, the application deadline for this initiative has been extended to October 31, 2022.

Providers interested in applying will complete and submit the Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment Supplemental Payment Application and submit via email to Rick Smith. Applications will be accepted through October 31, 2022.

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ODP Announcement 22-076 serves to announce that the Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) Waiver renewals, collectively known as the Intellectual Disability/Autism (ID/A) waivers, will not be effective on July 1, 2022, as requested.

This extension does not apply to the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW). The currently-approved AAW was most recently amended on April 1, 2022.

Discussions between the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have been occurring since the submission of the waiver renewals. During recent discussions, it has become clear that the process to renew the waivers will not be complete by July 1. ODP requested a 90-day extension of the currently-approved waivers on June 27, 2022, since the Consolidated and Person/Family Directed Support waivers expire on June 30, 2022. CMS granted the extension request on June 27, 2022.

Until CMS approves the ID/A waiver renewals, the waiver amendments approved with an effective date of June 1, 2022, remain in effect. They can be found on the Department of Human Services website at the following links:

The ID/A waiver renewals submitted to CMS on April 1, 2022, are also available.

Additional changes will be made to the waiver renewals as a result of ongoing discussions with CMS. ODP will inform all stakeholders when the waiver renewals have been approved. The final approved versions of the waivers will be made available online at that time.

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Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Upcoming Meeting of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Thursday, July 28 | 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
Register for the meeting.

About the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities:

Initially established in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the PCPID advises the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on a broad range of topics that impact people with intellectual disabilities, as well as the professional fields that support people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Its goal is to improve the quality of life experienced by people with intellectual disabilities by upholding their full citizenship rights, independence, self-determination, and lifelong participation in their communities.

The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) will host a virtual meeting for its members to identify emerging topics to examine in the Committee’s Report to the President. All the PCPID meetings, in any format, are open to the public. This virtual meeting will be conducted in a presentation and discussion format. View more details published in the Federal Register notice.

Stakeholder input is very important to the PCPID. Comments and suggestions, especially from people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are welcome at any time. If there are comments or feedback you would like to share with the PCPID as it begins to prioritize its work, please share them through this form. Comments received by June 30 will be shared with the PCPID at the July meeting. Comments received after June 30 will be compiled and shared with the PCPID quarterly.

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