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ODP Announcement 21-090 is to provide guidance to licensees that operate Community Homes for Individuals with an Intellectual Disability or Autism, licensees that operate Life Sharing Homes, ODP-enrolled providers of licensed or unlicensed Residential Habilitation, ODP-enrolled providers of licensed or unlicensed Life Sharing, and/or ODP-enrolled Supported Living providers (“Providers”). This guidance is about the use of assistive technology and remote supports to achieve individual’s goals and outcomes while balancing the benefits of technology use with the requirement to protect each individual’s right to privacy.
ODP has developed a Residential Technology Evaluation Tool to assist providers in determining whether a privacy violation will or may occur. The tool is not a required form, although ODP strongly recommends its use. Providers may develop their own tool to determine whether a privacy violation will or may occur.
ODP is holding a webinar to discuss requirements and best practices for the use of assistive technology and remote supports in residential settings. The date, time, and link for registration to attend the webinar are as follows:
Deputy Secretary Ahrens presented an overview of the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) plan that was conditionally approved by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for use of the ARPA funds during a webinar on December 9, 2021. While the infusion of funds will be beneficial to the system of support in PA, RCPA staff will be carefully monitoring the details of the plans as they are released, particularly the rate refresh, and will continue to advocate for fiscal policies that will allow for stability in the service system.
Highlights include:
Visit the DHS web page to view the full spending plan.
ODP Announcement 21-089 informs stakeholders that additional incident extension notifications can be entered into the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) directly by providers and SCOs who initiate incidents.
In recognition of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Office of Developmental Program’s (ODP) commitment to supporting providers, ODP is adjusting the limits that were introduced on September 11, 2021, to allow for additional internal notifications of the need for extensions in EIM. Effective December 7, 2021, providers and SCOs can enter a total of six 30-day extensions for each incident they initiate, regardless of primary category. Providers are advised that ODP monitors all facets of incident management standards, including those that are not managed in accordance with timeframes and standards established in policy. This also includes when final section documents are initiated, reasons for extensions, patterns of extension use, and patterns of incident disapprovals by management reviewers. Providers with a notable volume of such incidents or that demonstrate patterns indicative of concerning practices will receive technical assistance directly from ODP.
Included with this announcement are the following resources:
Competence and Confidence Partners in Policymaking — C2P2 2022
A Leadership Development Training Program
C2P2 is designed for:
C2P2 participants make a commitment to attend multiple two-day training sessions throughout the course of the year.
C2P2 2022 Schedule: Session Dates
Session Times:
Fridays 1:00 pm–9:00 pm and Saturdays 8:00 am–3:00 pm
Session location: Harrisburg Hilton, 1 N 2nd Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
Information and Application can be found on the Institute on Disabilities’ C2P2 2022 Information and Application web page.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 5, 2022
All applicants will be notified via email whether they were accepted during the week of January 17, 2022.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact Cathy Roccia-Meier
Email | Tel: 215-204-1772
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is sending out this reminder to get immunized against the flu. The current flu season is underway and can last until May 2022. While influenza activity is still low overall nationally, an increase in influenza A (H3N2) viruses has been detected in recent weeks nationally and in Pennsylvania.
It was recently reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) that 80% of flu cases so far this year have been in children and young adults with the H3N2 influenza virus. This virus has been associated with a more severe flu season in the past for individuals age 65 and older and young children.
A flu shot will help protect you against the flu viruses that are circulating. This season, flu shots (quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine [IIV4], recombinant influenza vaccine [RIV4]) and the nasal spray (live attenuated influenza vaccine [LAIV4]) are available.
Read the full Alert here.
ODP Announcement 21-088 announces the release of an updated Certified Investigator Peer Review Manual and notifies providers that Temple University will begin its 2021–2022 peer review process on December 1, 2021.
This document replaces the manual that was published in 2018. All prospective and current CIs, Administrative Review Committee (ARE) members, and other administrative staff are required to be familiar with the peer review process guidelines that are outlined in the manual. Prospective and current CIs, ARE members, and other administrative staff should review the entire 2021 Certified Investigator Peer Review Manual to ensure their understanding and use of the standards and protocols contained within it.
To align with Incident Management (IM) Bulletin 00-21-02 (which was issued March 1, 2021, and became effective on July 1, 2021) and the Enterprise Incident Management (EIM) system, several new or expanded topics have been added to the manual. The 2021 Certified Investigator Peer Review Manual can be found on MyODP by using the following path:
In addition to the release of the 2021 Certified Investigator Peer Review Manual, Temple University will begin its 2021–2022 peer review process on December 1, 2021. Provider investigations will be selected at random, and notifications will be sent by Temple University to inform providers of the incidents selected for review.
If you have any questions regarding the 2021 Certified Investigator Peer Review Manual or Peer Review process, please contact Temple directly.
All Train-the-Trainer Face-to-Face classes will be virtual through June 30, 2022. Classes for New Trainers and Recertifying Trainers will be held separately. View the announcement for the class schedule and further details.