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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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ODP Communication 19-117 is to announce that the proposed amendment to the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) is available for public review and comment. There is a 30-day public comment period that started on September 7, 2019 and ends on October 7, 2019.

Whenever substantive changes are made to an approved waiver, ODP must submit an amendment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval. ODP proposes to amend the Adult Autism Waiver as follows:

  • Add a new service, non-medical transportation.
  • Revise provider qualifications for all employment-related services to require certification by July 1, 2020.
  • Revise the frequency of verification of provider qualifications from every 30 months to every 36 months.
  • Require providers to execute an ODP Waiver Provider Agreement to replace the current Adult Autism Waiver Provider Supplemental Agreement.
  • Add reserved capacity for participants to re-enroll in the Adult Autism Waiver after a stay in a hospital or rehabilitative care lasting more than 30 days.
  • Revise performance measures and terminology to align with the other ODP waivers.
  • Transition from an interest list to a waiting list based upon level of care determinations conducted by the Administrative Entities (AEs).
  • Revise the service definitions of employment-related services to add a provision for accessing those services during a period when the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) is operating under a closed order of selection.

View the proposed amendment to the Adult Autism Waiver here.

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed waiver amendment as outlined below. Comments received by 11:59 pm on October 7, 2019 will be reviewed and considered for revisions to the waiver amendment submitted to CMS. Comments should be addressed to Laura Cipriani, Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs, 625 Forster Street, Room 510, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Comments may also be submitted to ODP via email, using subject header “AAW Amendment.” Please note that the proposed effective date of October 1, 2019, will be pushed back after the conclusion of the public comment period.

ODP will also hold a webinar to receive comments on the proposed waiver amendment on Monday, September 16, 2019, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Use this link to register for the above webinar.

Participants may participate in the webinar by phone, but will need a computer to provide comments during the webinar. To assist ODP in accurately capturing comments provided during the webinar, individuals are asked to submit a written copy of their comments by email or by mail to the address provided above.

Persons with a disability who require an auxiliary aid or service may submit comments using the Pennsylvania Relay Service by dialing 711 or by using one of the following toll-free numbers:

  • 800-654-5984 (TDD users)
  • 800-654-5988 (voice users)
  • 844-308-9292 (Speech-to-Speech) or
  • 844-308-9291 (Spanish)

Copies of the proposed waiver amendment may be obtained by contacting the Bureau of Autism Services at this email or via US mail at PO Box 2675, Harrisburg, PA 17105. Questions about this communication should be directed here.

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Earlier this week, we asked members who provide ID/A services to complete the 2019 Pennsylvania ID/A Services DSP & Frontline Supervisor Compensation Survey. The purpose of this study is to collect reliable and current information regarding compensation practices for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and Frontline Supervisors.

The principal investigator, Dr. Scott Spreat, will collect responses on the online survey platform SurveyMonkey. There should be only ONE response per provider, even if you belong to more than one association. The survey should be completed by someone in the Human Resources area of your organization, getting assistance as needed from staff members. If you have any survey-related questions, Dr. Spreat can be reached via email or at 215-750-4015.

To assist you with gathering the information before submitting your response on SurveyMonkey, you can access a printable pdf version here. Thank you for helping us to collect this valuable information. Please complete the survey by the deadline of Tuesday, September 24! Please contact Carol Ferenz for any further questions.

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Empty vintage congress hall with seats and microphones.

ODP Announcement 19-114 provides information for Act 3 Hearings Regarding the Closure of Polk and White Haven Centers. On August 14, 2019 the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) announced the impending closure of Polk and White Haven Centers. Within 30 days after this announcement, the Department of Human Services (DHS) must hold an Act 3 hearing within the county where each facility is located. ODP has scheduled two public hearings to meet this requirement. This announcement provides a description of the hearing format as well as locations, dates, and times of those hearings.

Polk Center’s Act 3 hearing is scheduled for Monday, September 9, 2019. White Haven’s Act 3 hearing follows on Thursday, September 12, 2019. Each hearing is intended to provide an opportunity for any person to provide comments on the closure. In order to do so, commentators must register.

The Act 3 hearing schedule and registration contact information is as follows:

Polk Center’s Act 3 Hearing – Monday, September 9, 2019, 5:00 pm at Atlantic Avenue Church, 160 Atlantic Ave., Franklin, PA 16323. Those wishing to provide comments must register and may do so as follows:

White Haven Center’s Act 3 Hearing – Thursday, September 12, 2019, 5:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Church, 411 Allegheny St., White Haven, PA 18661. Those wishing to provide comments must register and may do so as follows:

DHS will be seeking public comment on: the estimated timelines for closure; the types and array of services that will be available to Center residents once they transition out of the facilities; the rights of individuals with disabilities and their families; the process used to develop a community living plan; health and safety, individual and community monitoring; the responsibilities of state and local government; any identified issues which may affect individuals with disabilities and their families, employees, and the community; and what may occur with the properties on which the centers are located.

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Governor Tom Wolf joins us in promoting Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week September 8–14, 2019 in his Proclamation. This week is a great opportunity to highlight the important work of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and the difference they make in the lives of people with disabilities and their families. The often unsung work of DSPs is critical to the quality of care provided to individuals who are counting on them for assistance in living an “Everyday Life” in the community. Please visit ANCOR’s online toolkit.

To support your efforts to acknowledge DSPs, this toolkit offers ideas and resources you can use to say “thanks” and raise awareness about the role DSPs play in helping people with disabilities be part of the community. The toolkit includes a high-resolution version of the DSP Recognition Week 2019 logo (for use in or on any materials you see fit), customizable social media posts (for use in spreading the word), and links to ANCOR’s DSP Recognition Week Store.

Please share stories of your celebration with Carol Ferenz so we can include them on our social media pages and support your efforts, and tag us with your Twitter posts — @paproviders.

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The ID/A Coalition, along with other provider associations in Pennsylvania who collaborated on the 2018 wage study, is once again asking providers to participate in a survey collecting data from fiscal year 18/19, regarding wages and benefits for staff providing supports to individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A). Last year’s study was extremely valuable for our advocacy around the DSP workforce crisis and helped provide the basis of our arguments for wage increases.

This year’s survey will gather information similar to the 2018 survey and will be very important for our FY 20/21 budget advocacy! Please support the efforts of RCPA, MAX, PAR, TPA, The Alliance CSP, The Arc of PA, and UCP of PA by taking the time to complete the survey by Tuesday, September 24, 2019.

The survey can be accessed at this link. Please contact Carol Ferenz if you have any questions.

 

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ODP Announcement 19-112 provides information regarding Residential Individual Support Plan (ISP) Staffing face-to-face training sessions available during October and November 2019. This training will provide information on revisions to the annotated ISP and its impact on the documentation of staffing support provided to people receiving residential habilitation services in waiver-funded settings.

These changes are intended to replace the need for residential habilitation service staffing ratios by standardizing how risk factors are discussed using person-centered thinking skills, where they will be documented in the ISP, and ensuring there is a description of what technology, environmental supports, and staff supports will be provided to mitigate those risk(s) during specific activities and situations.

The 18 face-to-face training sessions are geared toward key residential provider and SCO staff who regularly attend team meetings, supervise staff who attend team meetings, or train staff that attend team meetings, and AE staff who review and approve plans. It is expected to be conducted in “mixed” audience groups (provider, SCO, AE reps, and ODP) to better assure exposure to a variety of perspectives and roles.

One person per entity is invited to attend to provide a maximum of 30–35 people per session. Participants and their agencies will need to commit to the understanding that, upon completion, they will be a resource at their home agency. The training will be interactive. Examples will be used to apply the concepts in small groups and to reinforce understanding.

All training participants must complete the following prerequisites located on MyODP in the course where registration is available.

  • Residential ISP Staffing Webinar;
  • Health Risk Screening Tool Webinar;
  • Addressing Day-to-Day Risk with the Team; and
  • Person Centered Thinking Mini Modules.

For those who have participated in a face-to-face session or attended a live webinar on any of the topics, it is advised they refresh their knowledge of the content before attending this training.

During the face-to-face training, there will be an opportunity for people to express their interest in becoming an ODP Designated Trainer. Selected volunteers must be endorsed by their CEO/Director and commit to conducting at least two external trainings in 2020. If an agency is interested in identifying a person to become an ODP Designated Trainer, it is recommended that the agency consider sending this same person to one of the 18 sessions. Nomination forms will be available at the face-to-face training sessions for those who are interested in becoming an ODP Designated Trainer. Once all face-to-face sessions are completed and ODP identifies individuals to become an ODP Designated Trainer, ODP will host a train-the-trainer session.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your ODP Regional Office.

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