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Authors Posts by Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

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As part of DHS Secretary Teresa Miller’s update, please see this latest message regarding DHS’ actions in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This contains the information shared by Secretary Miller during the stakeholder call on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. The document highlights responses to ongoing questions and answers asked during the webinars and includes updated information on funding, regulatory waivers, reopening guidance, and other resources. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) today reminded people needing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background checks as a condition of employment that the December 31 deadline to obtain this clearance is approaching, and strongly encouraged anyone needing this clearance to start the process now. Earlier this year, Governor Wolf signed Act 18 of 2020, which extends the time period for certain professions required by the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) to obtain an FBI background check upon hiring…”

In order to receive an FBI background check, fingerprints must be submitted as part of the criminal history check. Fingerprint scans can be taken at an IdentoGO location in the Commonwealth. A map of all open IdentoGO locations is available here, and this map is updated as new offices begin to reopen. Anyone seeking fingerprinting services should call IDEMIA’s customer service at 844-321-2101 to ensure the location is still operating, schedule an appointment, and discuss necessary COVID-19 safety precautions.

If employers have a large number of employees needing new or renewed clearances, arrangements can be made to have fingerprinting occur at the workplace. Mobile fingerprinting services are available for an additional fee through IDEMIA for groups of 20 or more needing clearances. Agencies with this need should contact IDEMIA to schedule.

Under Act 18 of 2020, individuals who are required to obtain an FBI background check were given additional time to meet this requirement because of closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension for new hires to obtain the FBI background check lasts until 60 days following the expiration of the disaster emergency declaration issued by Governor Wolf or December 31, 2020, whichever is sooner. Individuals seeking a renewal of the FBI Criminal History Background Check have until December 31, 2020 to obtain the check. All individuals required to obtain additional clearances, including the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check and the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, must still obtain these clearances prior to employment. Both of these clearances can be obtained online.

Act 18 of 2020 applies to individuals who must get their FBI Criminal History Background Check prior to beginning employment as found in Section 6344 of the CPSL and those individuals required by Section 6344.4 of the CPSL that are due to have their fingerprint checks renewed. The law does not extend the fingerprinting and background check requirement for new volunteers under the CPSL, public school employees prior to employment, and others required to receive FBI background checks under different departments.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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The Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) is preparing to launch its special recruitment initiative, Direct Care Works. The website is already live, with the social media component set to start October 26. This pilot project focuses on Allegheny County and some of the surrounding regions, and includes a job portal for RCPA members and partners to list job openings that potential applicants can review for opportunities. The job portal can be accessed through the Direct Care Works official site and is also available directly here.

The Direct Care Works job portal will be open to all RCPA members, and we would like to include your organization in this part of the initiative, along with a soon to be released Direct Care Works Toolkit to bolster and support your current recruitment efforts.

We encourage RCPA members who may have openings to contact us through this email to be included on the job portal. The information we will need is as follows:

  • Organization’s name and one line program description (see job portal for examples)
  • List of counties where your programs are operated
  • Contact person
  • Website link where potential candidates can view organization information and employment openings

If you have questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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The Office of Children Youth and Families has released a bulletin (DHS Bulletin 14-Bul-109 Complex Case Planning) providing guidance to all child-serving state and county agencies, family and youth advocacy organizations, and both physical and behavioral managed care organizations that are involved in case planning for children and youth with complex needs up to age 21.

The Department of Human Services (department) seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to serving children and youth, birth to 21 years of age, through programs that focus on early intervention, long-term prevention, and services that support family stability, safety, community protection, and the child/youth’s healthy development and permanent connections. In order to meet the needs of children, youth, and families with complex challenges, clear structures are necessary at the county, regional, and state levels so that resources, expertise, and collaboration can be maximized.

The bulletin can be accessed at this link and the Complex Case Planning Referral Form can be found here. If you have any further questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance has created a resource with helpful tips on how to recognize abuse and/or neglect when interacting with children virtually as well as other helpful information and resources. For any questions regarding this resource or mandated reporter training, visit their website at www.pa-fsa.org.

If you have further questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Director Jim Sharp.

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The purpose of this bulletin is to transmit to public children and youth agencies (herein referred to as county agencies) requirements related to a statewide policy establishing when a referral can be designated as a General Protective Services (GPS) report, screen-out protocols, and response times for GPS report assessments. This bulletin rescinds and replaces the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) Bulletin #3490-19-02, entitled Statewide General Protective Services (GPS) Referrals, which was issued on December 20, 2019 and effective on August 1, 2020. County agencies that already have policies related to screening out GPS reports and response times which provide for more immediate responses than the policy contained in this bulletin are permitted to continue with their individual agency’s policy.

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The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is pleased to share information about two opportunities for interested providers to learn more about Specialized Settings and the related voluntary certification process. The Federal First Family Prevention Services Act has presented a new opportunities to develop, enhance, and deliver placement services in defined Specialized Settings. As shared last week by OCYF, a web-based informational overview of the voluntary Specialized Setting certification process has been scheduled for Friday, September 18, 2020 from 12:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

This presentation will include background information, an overview of the specialized settings options and requirements, and a review of the process to be followed to attain certification. While Pennsylvania currently offers an array of programming responding to the diverse needs of the population of youth most appropriately supported in congregate care settings, specialized settings offer an opportunity to refine and enhance services specifically for:

  • Children who are victims or who are at risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking activity;
  • Youth over age 18 in Supervised Independent Living settings which includes Transitional Living settings in Pennsylvania; and
  • Teen parenting programs that provide a specialized setting for pregnant youth and young parents and their child(ren).

This information was previously shared with placement service providers earlier this year in February prior to the first round of application submissions. Registration is open to any agency interested in learning about specialized settings and those needing a “refresher” review of the information included in OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03, entitled “Specialized Residential Settings for Children and Youth,” which provides the standards required for certification as a specialized setting.

In addition to this webinar presentation, a panel discussion with the four private agencies who have achieved voluntary specialized setting certifications is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2020 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. This discussion will provide the first opportunity to engage in discussion with staff from Delta Family Services, Abraxas Youth and Family Services, Bethany Children’s Home, and Carson Valley Children’s Aid about the process their agencies put into place to develop their program descriptions and the selection of their agency’s trauma informed practice, the challenges, surprises, and lessons learned in the certification process, and an implementation status check of their specialized settings at this point.

Both sessions will include opportunities to address questions posed by participants and the timing of these presentations allows for information presented to be used by agencies as they are preparing their letter of intent due to their OCYF Regional Office by September 30, 2020 and their application packet due between October 1 and November 30, 2020.

A registration form is included with this notice which can be used for one or both scheduled sessions. Participants are strongly encouraged to include questions in advance to support thoughtful and complete responses as part of the presentations. Instructions for submission of the registration and questions are contained within the registration form. Please note, registration responses are due September 15, 2020. An email with the details to connect with one or both sessions will be provided to individuals submitting registrations.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to be involved in this implementation effort and look forward to talking again with colleagues committed to advancing quality and responsive programming for children, youth, and young adults in Pennsylvania. Please feel free to direct questions to either of us at the emails and phone numbers below or contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

Roseann Perry, 412.565.5168            Bernadette Bianchi, 717.979.6503

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The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) will be holding an informational training session in advance of the upcoming submission timeframes for voluntary certification as a Specialized Setting. The training will occur on Friday, September 18, 2020. The training will be held through WebEx from 12:30 pm – 4:00 pm. Registration information will be forthcoming in the upcoming days and RCPA will distribute when received.

For your convenience, here is the OCYF Special Transmittal entitled “Voluntary Certification as a Specialized Setting,” specifying the timeframes and process for voluntary certification, and the OCYF Bulletin #3680-20-02, 3800-20-03, entitled “Specialized Residential Settings for Children and Youth,” which provides the required standards for certification as a specialized setting.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please submit to this email or your applicable OCYF Regional Office, or contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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