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Authors Posts by Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

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The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) has released Bulletin 3490-19-02, entitled “Statewide General Protective Services (GPS) Referrals.” The purpose of this bulletin is to transmit to public children and youth agencies the requirements related to a statewide policy, establishing when a referral can be designated as a GPS report, screen-out protocols, and response times for GPS report assessments. This bulletin rescinds and replaces OCYF Bulletin #3490-12-01, “Statewide General Protective Services Response Times,” which was issued in April 2012. Please note the bulletin effective date has been established to align with the timeframe needed for making modifications to the Child Welfare Information Solution and county case management systems to support full implementation of the policies and procedures outlined in the bulletin.

Training for public children and youth agency staff who make decisions regarding response times, are a part of assigning response times, or respond to reports, will be made available through the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, Child Welfare Resource Center E-Learn system, and is scheduled for release in spring 2020.

Questions regarding the bulletin should be directed to your OCYF Regional Office. You may also reach out to Ms. Ashleigh Brunsink, Executive Assistant in the OCYF Deputy Secretary’s Office.

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This announcement is being sent to your agency to inform you that, at this time, The Chester County Departments of Mental Health/Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Drug and Alcohol Services will be conducting a competitive selection process for Student Assistance Program Services for FY 2020/2021. At this time, the Department is officially requesting “Letters of Intent” to submit proposals for Student Assistance Program Services in accordance with The Best Practice Guidelines for Drug & Alcohol/Mental Health Liaison Services.

Providers may submit their letters of intent to apply for the above services. Potential applicants are encouraged to express intent to apply for those activities in which they have demonstrated previous success in implementation, although it is not required that such has taken place in Chester County.

Letters of Intent must be submitted to the address below:

The Chester County Department of Mental Health/Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
Government Services Center
601 Westtown Road, Suite 340
West Chester, PA 19380
Attn: Candy Craig

Letters of Intent to respond to the RFP must be received by 4:00 pm on Friday, January 10, 2020. A Letter of Intent must be submitted in order for the RFP to be received upon release. Please note, if a Letter of Intent is not received by the established due date, any further responses to the RFP will not be eligible for consideration. If you have any questions please contact RCPA Children’s Director Jim Sharp.

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RCPA recently met with the BH-MCO Task Force as part of our ongoing efforts, and the Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) rate development process was discussed. This rate development process will require a partnership with the providers to capture the actual cost of care and implementation. RCPA is recommending the following for agencies intending to deliver IBHS Services;

  • Agencies should do a line-by-line review of the IBHS Regulations to determine current and future costs to implement a specific regulation.
  • Areas such as training, supervision, staff credentialing, infrastructure redesign, hiring, quality improvement requirements, and individual staff training plan development/tracking should be considered, but be sure to consider all regulations impacting the delivery of service platform.
  • The cost calculations should be shared with your BH-MCO so they have a full understanding of the actual cost of care that your agency will require to deliver the IBHS service(s).

RCPA and the Children’s IBHS Work Group continue to work on the implementation values for IBHS. If you have questions or feedback, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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In an effort to continue the work of justice reform in Pennsylvania, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania wrote to request the technical assistance of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ public safety performance project (Pew), as Pennsylvania undertakes a comprehensive assessment of our juvenile justice system. This interbranch initiative is charged to develop data-driven policy recommendations through stakeholder consensus with the goals of protecting public safety, ensuring accountability, containing costs, and improving outcomes for youth, families, and communities.

The initiative will be driven by a task force that will oversee the development of recommendations, along with technical assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The task force is set to begin in January of 2020, with a report due to the Governor, the Chief Justice, and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2020.

View the Pew Juvenile Justice Reform Request. Please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp with any questions or feedback.

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Tablet on a desk - Questions and Answers

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has released an updated version of the Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) FAQ. Additionally, there will be another FAQ update in early January. Please review the new version as the inquiries include OMHSAS responses on staff training / qualifications, licensing parameters, service delivery, and other key feedback brought forth by stakeholders. The new IBHS FAQ can be found here.

We have been informed that there will be new OMHSAS IBHS bulletins released in December, regarding the prior authorized services in the fee-for-service delivery system and the medical necessity guidelines. All new IBHS information provided will also be reviewed by the RCPA IBHS Work Group.

As the IBHS implementation moves forward, we ask that RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp be included on questions sent to the IBHS RA account or directly to OMHSAS regional offices. We will continue to maintain our own member inquiry repository. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Jim Sharp.

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As we approach the conclusion of the Governor’s Council on Reform public comment period on December 16, 2019, RCPA would like to ensure that each member has the materials for providing their public comments, feedback, and support. RCPA will be submitting commentary within each policy director’s purview, and we strongly urge your agency to submit your thoughts to the Council, including areas and issues that may not be represented in the current recommendations.

If you would like to send your submissions to your respective policy director for inclusion in the RCPA public comment, please have them submitted by close of business on Wednesday December 11, 2019.

Below you will find the links to important documents relating to the Council on Reform, including the Public Comment Submission Form. If you have further questions, please contact your respective RCPA Policy Director.

  1. Governor’s Executive Order
  2. November 1 Press Release
  3. Recommendation Document
  4. Public Comment Form

Thank you for your efforts and partnership to bring these recommendations to the forefront of your work.

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As a result of the Rate Methodology Task Force of 2014 and 2016, one of the key recommendations was the implementation of a statewide standardized time study process. The purpose is to ensure consistency across providers, as well as eliminate challenges experienced by private providers whose own time study process or other quantifiable methodology is not accepted by the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) during the review of the budget documentation, which ultimately reduces Federal Title IV-E funding.

The implementation of a standardized time study should reduce provider time and resources spent on developing, conducting, and analyzing methodologies to support the allocation of time spent on the Title IV-E program. Additionally, it should improve the efficiency of the budget documentation review process.

Over the next several weeks, providers will begin to receive communication from OCYF regarding their individual staff requirements for time study participation. Training on the standardized time study process will be provided January through March 2020. The initial time study periods will be conducted in April/May 2020. The time study data collected in 2020 will be used to support the budget documentation reviews for state fiscal year 2021/22. Please review the full correspondence from Acting OCYF Deputy Secretary Jon Rubin for all details of the Standardized Time Study Process.

For questions on this process, OCYF has set up an RA account. Please copy RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp on submitted questions or feedback.

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To:             All LEAs

From:
Secretary Pedro A. Rivera, Department of Education
Secretary Teresa D. Miller, Department of Human Services

Date:         December 2, 2019

Subject:     Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is pleased to unveil the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework.

This “framework” is a collaborative initiative between PDE’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and includes family engagement resources and information for local education agencies (LEAs) aligned with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The framework is a tool to guide learning communities in the implementation of effective practices, use of shared language, and application of a family engagement continuum for families across their child’s educational lifespan.

  • Purpose: Effective family engagement, beginning with early learning programs through K12, are important to supporting a child’s learning and development. The framework fosters a clear path and identifies a set of common standards for how learning communities can plan and implement family engagement practice.
  • Audience: Many members of Pennsylvania’s learning communities can employ this framework. A learning community is defined as programs and schools to which PDE, including the OCDEL and OESE, provide funding, guidance, and monitoring. It also includes LEAs, such as school districts and associated community partners.
  • Goal: Research has demonstrated that regardless of socioeconomic background, when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children perform better academically, enjoy school more, remain in school longer, and have better long-term outcomes such as higher graduation rates and improved postsecondary educational attainment and career readiness.

Additionally, PDE is collaborating with the Mid Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) to launch a new state family engagement center — the Collaborative Action for Family Engagement Center (CAFE) — which is an online resource to provide opportunities for collaboration, learning, and to promote high-impact, culturally responsive family engagement. CAFE will serve diverse families who reside in Pennsylvania. More information on CAFE is forthcoming.

More information on family engagement and the framework can be found on PDE’s website.

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The Juvenile Court Judges Commission (JCJC) and the Pennsylvania Council for Chief Juvenile Probation Officers (JPOs), along with input from systems stakeholders, has released two operational reference guides that will go into effect immediately:

Work groups consisting of JCJC staff, representatives from juvenile probation departments, providers, and others, worked diligently to develop these resources. The resources have also been vetted by various groups to ensure the appropriate individuals were actively involved with the development of these guides. Their feedback was invaluable and incorporated wherever appropriate.

Each document includes introductory language describing the purpose of the resource. You will also note the JPO Reference Guide for Dispositional Hearings has a companion checklist that may be used by JPOs and judges during dispositional hearings.

If you have any questions or feedback as you begin to implement these processes, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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