The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-018. This communication announces a PDF version of the Residential Provider Pay-For-Performance (P4P) Data Submission Tool. The tool is available here.
Please view the announcement for additional information and details.
Secretary Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) will host a webinar to discuss the proposed 2025/26 budget for the department. The briefing will take place at 10:00 am on Friday, February 7. If you are unable to attend, the briefing will be recorded and available for viewing afterwards on DHS’ YouTube channel.
Register here for the briefing. All who plan to attend must register individually. A link for the webinar will be sent Thursday evening. You are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the briefing so staff can prepare as much information as possible. Follow up will be provided on any questions that are unable to be answered during the webinar. Hope you are able to join and look forward to the conversation!
(If the registration link above does not work, please try copying this link directly into your browser: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=QSiOQSgB1U2bbEf8Wpob3tuk6VNEbjZIvvnDA4XOB-dUNVlFUVRMQUVBMzhPWVpRNjNFODQ1OUlaTy4u)
Advocate for yourselves and others by meeting with legislators directly! Take the opportunity to join RCPA as we hold our annual Capitol Day this year on Wednesday, March 26. We will hold a press conference in the Main Rotunda between 10:00 am – 11:00 am, which will include legislators and leaders in human services.
You can register for our Capitol Day press conference by contacting Christine Tartaglione. Please let us know if additional staff or colleagues within your organization are planning to attend Capitol Day with you.
RCPA requests that members schedule appointments with their Senate and House legislators directly to discuss the state budget, legislation, and regulations either prior to or immediately after our press conference. If you have issues scheduling an appointment with a legislator, please contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs.
We ask that you please use RCPA’s 2025 Legislative Priorities during your legislative visits. As an additional resource, members can visit the Pennsylvania Capitol website to locate parking and view maps of the building, and you may use the following resources for coordinating your day at the Capitol:
If you have questions regarding our 2025 Capitol Day, please contact Jack Phillips.
Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2025/26 budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly at the State Capitol in Harrisburg. The Governor’s $51B budget plan seeks more money for underfunded public schools and public transit in his budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, while he is also hoping to win support for legalizing marijuana and introducing taxes on skill games viewed as competitors to casinos and lottery contests.
A key factor is that the Pennsylvania revenue for the fiscal year has flattened out, and without the American Recovery Act surplus and the Rainy Day Fund, expenditures related to “cost to carry”; that is inflation, are not projected to be met. Once those sources are used, they are gone, but the legislature could decide to spend an additional billion or two of General Fund revenue on an infusion into the Rainy Day Fund. While the legalization of marijuana and regulation of skill games could address some of this, both sources have unpredictable revenue returns.
The Governor’s proposed budget priorities align with several of the RCPA strategies as outlined in the 2025 Legislative and Administrative Priorities.
What was not clear were the defined spending pathways or line item allocations. RCPA is hoping that the DHS Budget Address on Friday from Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh will provide clarification on the human services budget. It should be noted that at this point, while we understand the governor’s priorities, details are not yet apparent. In fact, many of the areas related to RCPA members have more questions than answers and will evolve as the discussion continues between the administration and the legislature.
Behavioral Health
As an example, one area of concern is that the Medicaid Behavioral Health Capitation system experienced a shortfall of several hundred million dollars in the current fiscal year. There are significant dollars noted in the various spreadsheets related to the capitation, but again the detail is not there. In one document, it is noted that “In total, over $2.5 billion is needed to meet actuarially sound rates in the remainder of the 2024/2025 fiscal year and into the 2025/2026 budget year.” Is it solely to replenish lost dollars for the primary contractors? What is the breakdown between behavioral health and physical health? RCPA will be looking for more clarity.
Legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana is a priority for the governor, who is estimating more than $500M in revenue in 2025/26. None of that revenue is projected to be shared, however, with the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
The proposed budget would also expand existing loan forgiveness initiatives, to incentivize more health care providers and behavioral health specialists to take jobs all across Pennsylvania.
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Additionally, there is no apparent delineation of funding for IDD services, and while it has a line item placeholder indicating a $175M increase, it remains unclear if this is new or previously allocated funds from last year’s budget. Or simply the cost of maintaining current programs but not new individuals or services.
School-Based MH Funding
Governor Shapiro is again proposing Physical Security and Mental Health funding in the FY 2025/26 budget, proposing $100M in funding to school districts across the Commonwealth. This proposal is flat funding from FY 2024/25 and, if enacted, new investments in school safety and mental health will total approximately $350M in the governor’s term to date.
County Funding
$20M is proposed in continued additional investment for county mental health based services funding. This would represent a total new investment of $60M over three years. While this marks the third year of increased funding to the counties, it remains far short of the needed investment for these critical services. It has been reported that there is the need to invest nearly a billion dollars to level set the current county based mental health system.
Early Intervention
Early Intervention will see a proposed increase after a year of no rate adjustments. OCDEL did complete a rate methodology study in 2024, but it is unclear regarding the impacts of the study on the new proposed budget. The overall proposed funding for Early Intervention Part C represents an increase over FY 2024/25 of $16M (+3.5%), including $10M to provide a rate increase for early intervention providers in Part C, birth to age three programming.
Other DHS Related Human Services Funding Areas:
DHS Budget Briefing Friday, February 7, 2025
Secretary Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) will host a webinar to discuss the proposed 2025/26 budget for the department. The briefing will take place at 10:00 am on Friday, February 7. If you are unable to attend, the briefing will be recorded and available for viewing afterwards on DHS’ YouTube channel.
Use this link to register for the briefing. All who plan to attend must register individually. A link for the webinar will be sent Thursday evening. DHS encourages submission of questions ahead of the briefing so they can prepare as much information as possible. They will follow up on any questions that are not answered during the webinar.
(If the registration link above does not work, please try copying this link directly into your browser: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=QSiOQSgB1U2bbEf8Wpob3tuk6VNEbjZIvvnDA4XOB-dUNVlFUVRMQUVBMzhPWVpRNjNFODQ1OUlaTy4u)
RCPA will continue to update members as further details develop on the proposed budget, including information on specific policy areas. If you have additional questions, please contact your respective RCPA policy director.
Join RCPA as we host the 2025 Annual Conference Striving to Thrive from September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge. The event is a highlight for the Pennsylvania behavioral health, brain injury, children’s, intellectual and developmental disabilities, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging provider communities. RCPA staff and the Conference Committee are excited to release this year’s Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertiser Brochure, which features new opportunities to get in on the action and network with providers. Booth self-selection will also be available for exhibitors and exhibiting sponsors. In order to be considered for self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted.
Network and Compete in Connections Hall
Connections Hall activities take place during the two busiest days of the conference, and many networking opportunities are available throughout the event. You’ll also be able to compete and have a chance to win “Best of Show!”
Exciting New Sponsorship Opportunities
RCPA is privileged to have the backing of the finest organizations in the field for our conference. Through the use of sponsorship circles, RCPA is able to honor all supporting organizations.
Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by August 20.
The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.
Tomorrow, February 5, the House Human Services Committee will hold a second informational meeting on the treatment and support for Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). The meeting will be held at 9:00 am in Room G-50 in the Irvis Office Building of the Capitol.
The hearing will include testimony to be provided by the PA Department of Health, NeuroRestorative, Woods Services, Penn State Health, and Penn State College of Medicine. Following the testimony from the panelists, they will receive questions from the members of the Committees.
The meeting will be livestreamed, which can be accessed from the Human Services website here.
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