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Authors Posts by Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

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Please join our friends at the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators (PCYA), an affiliate of the County Commissioners Association of PA, and the Pennsylvania Council on Children, Youth, and Family Services (PCCYFS) as they recognize the dedicated professionals and service providers who work to protect and provide services that support safety, well-being, and permanency for Pennsylvania’s children.

In light of the focus on the child welfare system in PA, RCPA Children’s Division will continue to provide additional advocacy and support of recommendations and activities that lead to comprehensive child welfare systems reform. RCPA children’s services providers are well-positioned to provide a diverse array of services that address child abuse prevention, intervention, trauma treatment, and when necessary, post-placement services.

For more information about the Providers’ Awareness Week and related activities, please contact Jennifer A. James at PCYA.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking comments on a draft bulletin regarding Consent to Mental Health Treatment for Minor Children. Please submit any comments you have on this draft bulletin via email no later than the close of business on Thursday, June 7, 2018. Should you decide to submit comments, please feel free to copy Robena Spangler, RCPA Children’s Division Director. Thank you for your interest and participation.

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CMS’ Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP) Maternal and Infant Health Initiative (MIHI) Value-Based Payment (VBP) team is hosting a national webinar on Thursday, May 17, 2018, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET about using VBP strategies to incentivize change in maternal and infant health care delivery models.

During this webinar, participants will learn about VBP and contractual approaches that incentivize the use of innovative maternal and infant health care delivery models within Medicaid and CHIP. The speakers will also describe the considerations for implementing VBP approaches to finance care delivery models that improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Finally, presenters from Ohio and New York will describe the opportunities and challenges they faced when aligning maternal and infant health care delivery models with VBP approaches.

To register for this webinar, please visit this link.

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Today, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an informational bulletin that discusses the importance of state Medicaid and CHIP programs properly implementing their pediatric dental periodicity schedules in order to ensure children’s access to critical dental coverage. In particular, two dimensions are discussed. First, states should ensure that fee schedules and payment policies are aligned with periodicity schedules. Second, the periodicity schedule should be treated as a “floor” for coverage of dental services, not a “ceiling.” The informational bulletin can also be accessed on this Medicaid.gov web page.

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We are asking everyone to share this link to the action alert urging our legislators to provide a 3% increase in funding for the Early Intervention Birth to Three program. The House and Senate leadership are currently preparing the 2018/19 budget. We need to encourage our local legislators to communicate to their leadership the need to address this critical funding for Early Intervention, especially considering there have been no rate increases in 8 years.

Our providers are truly struggling to retain therapists as they compete with higher paying hospitals. They are also challenged to find therapists to provide Early Intervention services to children in more rural areas of the state. Please feel free to broadly share this action alert.

Thank you to our partners at The Arc of PA for sharing this very important information!

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This statewide conference, scheduled for Wednesday, May 2 – Friday, May 4, 2018 in State College will examine responding to a crisis in the community, with a focus on trauma informed interventions. Topics will include grief, vicarious trauma, working with individuals with autism and other disabilities, LGBTQ, and lessons learned from those who have experienced or responded to a community crisis. The overall goal of the conference is to provide insight into community crisis response; it will also be an opportunity for people to interact with individuals they may not otherwise have contact with, unless a community crisis arises. View the conference agenda here. If you would like to register or have any questions, please follow this link.

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Thank you to our friends at Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) for sharing this very important announcement and opportunity with us!

House Bill 2133 was introduced at the same time that a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Caucus was created, with over two dozen members signing on in support as co-sponsors. The legislators will work together to learn more about challenges that these caregivers face and collaborate on legislation that will help. The House is now out of session until the week of April 9. The bill could move as early as that week!
What’s Next

Show your support for the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program by signing your organization onto PPC’s sign-on letter here.

PPC is working to collect the names of organizations who support HB 2133 and will be sending a joint letter to the House to express our support.

If you support HB 2133, please have your organization sign on to the letter here.

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Dr. Renee Turchi was recognized today by her fellow pediatricians and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as the Pennsylvania Pediatrician of the Year for 2017. Dr. Turchi serves as Medical Director of The Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and Director of the Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative. For more than a decade, Dr. Turchi has collaborated with RCPA staff and members to advance collaborative and integrated mental health and pediatric care for children and adolescents. She has worked with RCPA staff, families, and other stakeholders in statewide efforts to improve the care and treatment of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, children in foster and kinship care, and children with mental health conditions related to their complex health care needs in Pediatric Medical Homes across the state. RCPA is pleased to offer our congratulations to Dr. Turchi, a friend to RCPA, and champion for children with complex physical and mental health care needs!

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is in the process of reviewing state regulations for inpatient levels of care. The services included in the review are: private psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units in hospitals, extended acute care (EACs), residential treatment facilities for adults (RTF-As), and residential treatment facilities for youth under 21 (PRTF).

There is interest in involving individuals and stakeholders in the process. A variety of surveys have been developed in order to get input from individuals who may not have the opportunity to participate on statewide work groups and planning meetings. The surveys below are for the following groups:

Thank you in advance for circulating the surveys to the groups listed above. If you have any questions or concerns related to the surveys, please contact Sherry Peters.

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Lynn Kovich, Deputy Secretary at OMHSAS, held a budget briefing webinar for stakeholders. Topics included state mental health facilities, Community/Hospital Integration Projects Program (CHIPPs) / Southeast Integration Projects Program (SIPPs) summary, regulations overview, 1115 Waiver, Community HealthChoices (CHC), and more. Please see the PowerPoint presentation for details; thank you.

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