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Members, Please Share With Anyone You Know Who May Be Interested/Qualified. Thank you for your consideration!
The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) is proud to be among the largest and most diverse state health and human services trade associations in the nation. Our mission is to represent providers of health and human services committed to effective, efficient, and high-quality care. To that end, RCPA is seeking a Policy Analyst – Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Division, who will support the IDD Director and RCPA members regarding policy, legislation, and support services locally as well as on a national level.
Duties will include:
Qualified applicants for our Policy Analyst – IDD Division opportunity will possess a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study, and two to four years related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Additionally, candidates should possess:
This is a full-time position that entails approximately 40 hours of work per week. RCPA is proud to offer a robust benefits package that includes paid medical and dental insurance, life, AD&D and disability insurance, as well as the opportunity to participate in the 401(k) benefit with company match.
Qualified applicants are encouraged to respond to this posting with their resume and salary requirements. RCPA is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
ODP Announcement 23-009 shares that MyODP’s redesigned navigation structure is now live. Resource pages now reside on MyODP’s home page without the need for a login. MyODP will continue to host all Trainings and role-specific resources that require login.
The website will now be the primary site to access ODP-related resources. Many resource pages that were on MyODP have been consolidated for simpler navigation on the home page and are accessible without the need for login. The home page will also be the main point of access for Everyday Lives content, news, and communications. The home page search bar will search materials on MyODP, ASERT, and AIDinPA.
If you have bookmarks to any resource pages, they will remain accessible until February 28, 2023. Please change your bookmarks to the new resource pages before this date.
Along with this announcement is a Navigation Guide. Please submit feedback through the following MyODP New Navigation Feedback Form.
Based on feedback that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has received, it has been determined that there is a need for people who are providing Behavioral Support to gather and discuss the service requirements and ODP’s Best Practice Standards, share resources, and develop a network of those providing this critical service.
In 2022, ODP provided this opportunity to Behavioral Specialist Supervisors in their first two cohorts of the Behavioral Support Roundtables. They are looking for more supervisors to participate in the third cohort. If you are willing to be a part of this cohort, they ask that you commit to:
a) Joining ODP virtually for three-hour roundtables once per month for three months (you must be able to attend all 3 sessions in their entirety):
b) Participating during the roundtable with your camera on — ready to share and engage.
If you are interested in participating in this cohort or think you would be interested in future cohorts, please fill out this survey by February 10. ODP will accept providers into the third cohort on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Please know that if you are unable to participate in the above dates or if ODP has closed registration, there will be additional opportunities to join — ODP intends to host cohorts on an ongoing, quarterly basis. Once they have finalized the BSS Roundtable Cohort, they will follow up with additional instructions and information.
Please note that ODP is only able to accept one Behavioral Specialist Supervisor per provider agency. If your organization has multiple supervisors, please choose just one to participate.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), requires State Rehabilitation Councils (SRC) to submit an annual report to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and to the Governor of the State on the status of vocational rehabilitation programs operated within the State. The report also provides an excellent resource to learn more about the PaRC.
Read the report here.
ODP Announcement 23-007 is to inform Providers, Supports Coordinator Organizations (SCOs), and County/Administrative Entities (AEs) that report or manage incidents in the EIM system, including those who are designated as Incident Management Representatives, that enhancements have been made to the EIM system.
On Saturday, January 14, 2023, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) released enhancements within the EIM system. With this release, EIM users will benefit from updates that have been made to the system related to medication errors. To facilitate medication error trending and oversight, updates were made to the Medication Error Incident Report and a medication error visual analytic dashboard was created. In addition, a new EIM Medication Error canned report was created to facilitate the use of the Medication Error Dashboard and the analysis of medication errors.
For more specific information related the changes, please reference the HCSIS Release 90.10 Newsletter, pages 25-31.
The PA Family Network has a wonderful series of events happening this March — five in-person Summits on Emergency Preparedness. These summits will be regional — happening in York, Wilkes/Barre, State College, Philadelphia, and Cranberry — and will provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities, families, and interested individuals to learn more about Emergency Preparedness, Safety, Interactions with First Responders, and more.
There will be no fee to attend, and breakfast and lunch will be provided. Each day will be from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.
The locations and dates of these events are:
For more information and to register for your local summit, visit here.
Seminar sessions each day will include:
Important Information:
ODP Announcement 23-008 announces that the amendment to the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW), effective January 1, 2023, was approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 13, 2023. The amendment to the AAW includes the following substantive changes:
The waiver application approved by CMS and the record of change document are available here.
ODP will be holding a webinar to discuss major changes made in the approved AAW amendment. Webinars specific to Remote Supports will be scheduled and communicated in the coming weeks. The date, time, and registration link for the general AAW amendment webinar are as follows:
Editor: Providers who care for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism are pummeled by a workforce shortage driven by low wages and high vacancy and turnover rates.
The Arc of Pennsylvania recently partnered with other social service associations to get a better picture of the state’s workforce in the field.
The survey evaluated critical data on pay practices, hourly wages, scheduled positions, filled positions and separations for more than 9,000 employees representing 40 different positions in 52 organizations, including many in Northeast Pennsylvania.
The findings are stark.
Wages for direct support professionals who help children and adults with their basic daily living needs average $16.61 per hour — less than wages at some fast-food restaurants. The turnover rate for direct support workers is 38% with providers reporting a vacancy rate of 28%. The numbers are similar for other residential and program supervisors.
The study also found that 14% of all direct support professionals’ hours are paid at an overtime rate, and 41% of providers now engage in a more costly practice of contracting for staffing services to manage the workforce shortage.
Because human services for those with intellectual disabilities and autism are funded primarily by Medicaid, providers cannot raise prices like private businesses to pay higher wages. So, chronic underfunding by the state only exacerbates these operational challenges.
Service providers simply do not have the staff they need to serve thousands of Pennsylvanians receiving or waiting for critical services. This is a system that is strained past its breaking point, and it needs our support now.
SHERRI LANDIS
THE ARC OF PENNSYLVANIA
HARRISBURG