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Authors Posts by Carol Ferenz

Carol Ferenz

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) held two informational webinars regarding the new waiver amendments that became effective in January 2023. Some of the changes will go into effect when Appendix K expires, most likely in November of 2023. Other changes are in effect now. The recordings of the sessions are available on MyODP.

The presentation from the February 6 “Adult Autism Waiver Amendment” webinar is available here.

The presentation from the February 9 “Waiver Renewals Effective January 1, 2023: Consolidated, Community Living, and P/FDS Waivers” webinar is available here.

In early March 2022, the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) embarked on its first ever national advocacy event, the 2022 Advocacy Symposium, Amplifying The Voices Of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Attendees participated in over 250 meetings with legislative staff to share the perspective of direct support professionals to the forefront of Congress during a time of unprecedented workforce challenges. The result of our attendees’ advocacy culminated in additional sponsors to the House of Representatives and US Senate bills regarding establishing a Standard Occupation Classification within the Bureau of Statistics for direct support professionals (S. 1437 / H.R. 4779).

NADSP is excited to announce the return of the Advocacy Symposium on May 3 – 4, 2023! Ahead of this two-day virtual event, attendees will receive comprehensive advocacy training along with planning sessions with state leaders. The success of our first Advocacy Symposium is directly a result of and informed by the people who are on the frontlines of supporting people with disabilities to live, work, and thrive in the community.

We’re looking forward to amplifying even more direct support professional voices in 2023. This event is free and open to direct support professionals, frontline supervisors, self-advocates, family members, and people with disabilities. Registration for this event will open on February 28.

NADSP’s Current 2023 Policy Priorities:

  • Establish a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for direct support professionals within the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
  • Assure effective implementation of workforce development initiatives authorized through legislation that leads to wages commensurate with the level of responsibility and the complexity of this work, as well as career ladder opportunities that lead to professional growth.

Learn More

Tuesday, March 7, 2023
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm ET
Join the Provider Integrity in Medicaid Home Personal Care Services webinar with Kirit Pandit, VP, Data and Analytics. Preventing fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) in the Medicaid market is an on-going effort, with many providers, payers, and vendors involved in the effort to improve the health care system.

During this session, you can expect to:

  • Learn about the analytics dashboards developed to mine data and identify these cases;
  • See our vision for application of analytics for program integrity in home personal care services; and
  • Understand how the development of the dashboards can lead to further insights and actions to support the efforts of state and compliance programs.

Reserve your spot today, and stay tuned for information about more upcoming Empower webinars!

Reserve Your Spot!

ODP Announcement 23-017 provides information regarding Remote Supports as a separate, discrete service in all four of the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) waivers. Remote Supports is no longer covered as a component of the Assistive Technology service in the Consolidated, P/FDS, and Community Living waivers.

Guidance in the announcement includes how to add remote supports to the ISP, necessary provider qualifications, and enrollment process. Please refer to Attachment A for more instructions on how to add Remote Supports services for the P/FDS, Community Living, or Consolidated Waiver. Please refer to Attachment B for more instructions on how to add Remote Support Services for the AAW. Additional information about the qualification of a new specialty is contained in ODP Announcement 22-122 “Provider Qualification Process.”

Existing providers must submit the approved DP 1059 (ID/A) or DP 1088 (AAW) along with the “PROMISe™ Provider Service Location Change Request,” which can be found on the MyODP website, to the ODP provider enrollment inbox and/or AAW provider enrollment inbox in order to add a new Specialty 364 to an EXISTING active service location with the same Provider Type. Providers that do not have a Provider Type 51 service location open in PROMISe will need to submit an application through the Provider Enrollment system.

Questions regarding ISP requirements should be sent to the appropriate ODP Regional Office. Questions regarding provider qualification requirements should be sent to the ODP Provider Qualification inbox and the AAW Provider Enrollment Lead.

ODP Announcement 23-001 has been updated with new information regarding Supports Coordination Organizations’ recovery payments. The performance standard has been changed so that SCOs must be accepting referrals of newly enrolled individuals in the ODP system as of 3/1/2023. Eligible SCOs must increase the number of individuals served between 3/1/2023 and 6/30/2023. An FAQ sheet is available.

All questions and comments related to this announcement can be sent electronically.

ODP Announcement 23-016 announces that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is requesting that qualified providers employing DSPs participate in the 2022 State of the Workforce (SoTW) survey. This important survey includes questions relating to the volume, stability, compensation, and benefits of DSPs serving adults 18 years of age and older. The data gathered from this voluntary and anonymous survey will help ODP, along with other policy makers and advocates, inform policy and program development regarding DSP workforce (DSPW) improvement initiatives and other important work in this area. Within the next two weeks, providers will receive an email from HSRI inviting them to participate in this SoTW survey.

In addition to the standard survey, ODP has added a series of questions to address several areas in which it has a specific interest. These questions are identified in the PA Supplement section and have PA attached to the question number. The data collected for these questions will not be analyzed by HSRI, but ODP will complete its own analysis.

Results of the survey will only be reported in the aggregate, and organizations will not be identified in any way. It is recommended that the Human Resources (HR) or Payroll Office complete the surveys and that answers should reflect DSPs who were on agency payroll during any period between January 1 and December 31, 2022.

The deadline to complete data entry is June 30, 2023. A copy of the survey is available to allow for preparation of data prior to completing data entry. It is a proprietary tool of NCI® and is to be used for reference only. ODP is eager to be a part of this important project again. Provider participation will help ODP to make sound policy decisions regarding Pennsylvania’s DSPs.

Any questions can be directed to Ms. Lee Stephens, ODP NCI Statewide Lead.

Message from the National Disability Institute:

Accessing capital can be essential for business growth, yet many founders with disabilities report experiencing significant barriers. Join our five-part webinar series to hear from community development financial institutions (CDFI) who have found ways to increase inclusion and from disability-owned businesses on how they obtained the capital they needed.

Who should attend:

  • Entrepreneurs with disabilities looking for information on accessing capital and how CDFI lending differs from that of traditional banks;
  • CDFIs with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion who wish to ensure they are meeting the needs of business owners with disabilities; and
  • Entrepreneurial and other support organizations looking for information to assist their customers to access capital and other financial health supports.

Register for the Introduction to CDFI’s session on February 28, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST.

Register for sessions 2–5, scheduled every other Tuesday from March 7, 2023, through April 18, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST. Each session will include CDFI and the experiences of business owners with disabilities.

ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided during the session. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email Alexis Jones. For more information, visit NDI’s website.