One of our fellow ANCOR members in Ohio shared a template they developed to track employees and visitors to their programs. The form explains that the individuals served at the location are at risk and in order to protect individuals, they are asking people entering the building to disclose if they have any symptoms associated with COVID-19, including a temperature check. The attached template is available for anyone interested in utilizing the tool.
In an effort to provide feedback to CMS, ANCOR sent this letter to CMS Administrator Verma and Director Lynch regarding the COVID-19 crisis and assistance for I/DD service providers.
The letter identifies additional FAQs needed around state flexibility, funding, technology, and more. ANCOR has been closely following what you and your states are doing. The intention of the letter to CMS is to fortify the statewide asks and to expedite the emergency response waivers that are starting to be submitted.
ODP Announcement 20-024 provides information regarding the implementation of an online resource for providers (including SCOs) providing ODP services within the ID/A waivers and the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW), to capture important information related to COVID-19 planning.
This online COVID-19 Provider Information Tool is designed to gather service specific information related to the impact of this emergency on providers. Specifically, the purpose of the tool is to:
The tool was designed to take approximately 7–10 minutes to complete. Once complete, an email will also be sent to the provider for your record. Providers can make multiple submissions to the tool as emergency plans change and new situations arise.
ODP will be reviewing information collected in real-time and reporting daily to regional offices, while working with Administrative Entities to mitigate risks and support providers.
From our national partner, ANCOR:
As we work to speak up on behalf of people with I/DD and the providers who support them – especially in times of unprecedented crisis – I am writing to seek your help. Can you please take two minutes today to respond to the action alert below. Doing so will send a message to your members of Congress urging them to prioritize resources for people with I/DD when considering how to distribute federal aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ask: Use our email tool to remind your members of Congress that I/DD supports and services are essential lifelines to people with I/DD and their families. They must be funded so that their delivery is not compromised during this public health crisis.
The Details: Congress is working at breakneck speed to address the unique needs of various populations in our country through three different funding packages, one of which is expected to be focused on health care. We need your voice right now to ask Congress to include I/DD supports, including Home and Community Based Services, in that package.
It is crucial for Congress to understand that disability supports are a key component of health services for people with I/DD, and to understand the implications for people’s lives in the community after the crisis if community supports cannot remain financially viable during this crisis.
The COVID-19 crisis is exposing key vulnerabilities in I/DD supports. As people are asked to stay home as community centers and day programs close to try to limit the spread of COVID-19. In turn, providers of those programs face uncertain futures. When the dust settles and we return to life after the pandemic, will there be any place for people with I/DD to go? We need Congress to ensure the answer is yes.
The I/DD workforce is already in crisis. These staffing shortages will be significantly exacerbated as DSPs fall sick or have to tend to loved ones. This is the time for Congress to work on strengthening disability supports through funding for key provisions such as overtime and hazard pay to incentivize DSPs to stay and other workers to join the field; priority access to protective gear and training; financial relief for supports such as day services so they remain viable after the outbreak; and more.
Most importantly, we need Congress to include I/DD services in any stimulus package to ensure there are supports to return to once the current pandemic subsides. With 700,000 people on states’ waiting lists for services, now is not the time to lose critical capacity.
Please speak up TODAY for the inclusion of disability supports in any package Congress prepares to address COVID-19 today, to help ensure people with disabilities have the support they need, when they need it the most.
Shannon McCracken
ANCOR Vice President of Government Relations
The situation across the Commonwealth is evolving day to day, and no one is sure how long or how severe the impact will be. As you are primarily focused on the care of the people you serve and doing everything to meet their individual needs, AZTAC staff wanted to remind you that it is also important to monitor the associated costs that might increase during a pandemic. Fortunately, the ICF/ID program has a longstanding regulatory process by which you can request additional funding for such increased costs.
Now is the time to be sure you are tracking these costs. Following are some suggestions to think about in case you need to submit a request for a waiver (of the standard interim rate) for additional funding. Documentation is very important toward receiving approval of your request. Having all of your information well documented and compiled in one place will 1) enable you to determine if you need to submit a request; and 2) the information will enable you to clearly describe the issues, your efforts, and the costs in your narrative justification. If you submit a waiver request for additional funding, you will need to document your costs both before and after the impact of the Coronavirus. You will only be able to ask for the increase in costs, not necessarily the full costs, above and beyond what you are already funded for.
(reprinted with permission from AZTAC. The full article from AZTAC is available here.)
Today Governor Wolf announced mitigation strategies to stop the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which include the statewide closures of day program facilities including Older Adult Day facilities licensed under 6 Pa. Code Chapter 11, Adult Training Facilities licensed under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2380, and Prevocational Facilities licensed under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2390. Closures are effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020 and are in effect until further notice. ODP Announcement 20-022 provides further guidance regarding these closures and policy adaptations effective March 17, 2020.
Webinar – COVID-19: Update for CPS Providers, a webinar outlining the impact of COVID-19 on CPS Providers – will be presented by Deputy Secretary Ahrens tomorrow (March 17, 2020) at 1:30 pm and will be posted on the ODP Coronavirus (COVID-19) website within 3 hours. Use this registration link.
Facility-based Community Participation Support (CPS) providers are being asked to communicate with individuals, families, Supports Coordinators, and other providers to help ensure coordination of care.
ODP advises CPS providers of the following:
For CPS providers who have residential, companion, or in-home support service offerings, prepare to redeploy staff from facilities to fill other essential staffing needs. Direct Support Professionals qualified under CPS may provide services in any other ODP service offering during the response to COVID-19. All staff must receive training on any participants’ ISPs for whom they are providing support. Training on the ISP must consist of basic health and safety support needs for that individual, including but not limited to the “Fatal Four.”
See the list of Chapter 2380 and 2390 providers affected by county.
ODP has announced that all Older Adult, Adult Training, and Prevocational Facilities are included in Governor Wolf’s statewide closure announcement, effective immediately. This action is taken as a precaution to assist with slowing the spread of the virus. It is recommended that providers consider redeployment of the staff who work in these facilities to needed areas like residential, in-home support, companion services.
Additional guidance will be coming from ODP shortly, and Deputy Secretary Ahrens will be offering a webinar tomorrow (March 17, 2020) at 1:00 pm. Further information will be shared as soon as it is available.
Also today, Governor Wolf announced mitigation strategies to stop the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the following counties:
Beginning Friday, March 13, in Montgomery County; Saturday, March 14, in Delaware County; and beginning on Sunday, March 15 in Bucks and Chester counties. The mitigation strategies will be effective for 14 days. The Governor’s mitigation plan for all counties includes: (1) a no visitor policy will be implemented for correctional facilities, nursing homes, and others to be evaluated, (2) schools and child care centers licensed by the Commonwealth will be closed, (3) adult day care centers will be closed, and (4) while travel is allowed, it is requested that people refrain from non-essential travel.
The purpose of this communication is to outline functions managed by the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) that will be suspended, and the essential functions that will continue, during the implementation of the above listed counties’ mitigation plan. If this mitigation strategy is applied in other counties/regions in the state, ODP will take a similar approach.
ODP has determined that the following functions and activities are being suspended in the above listed counties:
The following have been identified as essential functions by ODP. Additional operational guidance will be provided to staff involved in these operational areas.
ODP continues to evaluate information on a daily basis along with the Governor’s office. Please continue to be on Alert for updated information.
Harrisburg, PA – To help make the public aware of COVID-19 preparedness and procedures, the Wolf Administration has created a library of free outreach materials for businesses, organizations, and anyone interested in displaying important messaging on COVID-19.
The materials are available at PAcast.
“The goal is for everyone to have access to and be encouraged to share the information important to stopping the spread of COVID-19,” Gov. Wolf said. “Please help us share awareness while using caution and protecting yourself.”
Posters are available in multiple sizes and every Pennsylvanian is encouraged to make them accessible to their community of friends, community or religious group members, and business associates to print and post. The administration also expects the posters to be available in newspapers across the state for residents to tear out and post throughout their communities.
Properly sized graphics are available at PAcast for social media. Gov. Wolf also encourages everyone to make use of COVID-19 social media content on the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
The most up-to-date information, including video graphics, footage of all of the governor’s press conferences and b-roll, is also available at 08PAcast. Additional materials will be added to the library as they become available and as the situation evolves.
MEDIA CONTACT: Lyndsay Kensinger, 717-783-1116
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