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The U.S. Treasury has released an FAQ document for potential uses of the county American Rescue Plan (ARP) monies. Providers should take note of sections 2.5 through 2.11 for possible health and human services applicability.

If you have any questions, please contact Jack Phillips.

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RCPA Members are invited to attend this FREE webinar Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST offered by Beacon Health Options and Anthem. Register here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it is becoming more and more evident that it is taking a toll on our nation’s mental health and wellbeing. To learn more, Anthem Inc. and its affiliated health plans issued a report based on behavioral health claims analysis. The report’s broad takeaway is that there is a disconnect between self-reported distress and diagnoses in 2020, which could have implications for the nation’s long-term mental health.

Speakers:

  • Neil Leibowitz, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Cheryl Perkins, Chief Clinical Officer, Behavioral Health
  • Rowland Pearsall MD, Staff VP, National Behavioral Health Medical Director, Commercial Business Division
  • Shantanu Agrawal, MD, Chief Health Officer, Anthem, Inc., Moderator of the session

Join them for a virtual discussion on Thursday, June 17 at 1:00 pm EST as their expert behavioral health panelists provide insights about the findings of this inaugural report, State of the Nation’s Mental Health. The webinar will provide a national context to help healthcare organizations and other stakeholders make decisions at the local level. Attendees will learn about the populations most and least affected by the pandemic, the dominant diagnoses, and what these findings suggest we do to improve behavioral health services in post-pandemic years.

Register here today.

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It’s always worth celebrating when someone is placed in the right job, but the depth of the employer relationship doesn’t need to stop there! True engagement with business partners can take advocacy and experience and turn it into real social change. Learn how to find mutual mission matches with businesses in your community and how it can lead to deeper levels of support for you and for their businesses as well.

RCPA Members are reminded that they are invited to attend this FREE webinar Thursday, June 24, 2021 from 2:00 pm–3:30 pm. Register here.

Presented by Jeannine Pavlak, CEO of New England Business Associates

As a part of the NEON project, RCPA is offering this webinar presented by Jeannine Pavlak. Pavlak is the President and CEO of New England Business Associates (NEBA), a community provider known nationally and internationally for its work in the supported and community-integrated employment field. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nonprofit Management and has 32 years of practical experience in designing, planning, evaluating, and delivering individualized employment services for people with significant disabilities. Pavlak is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) with the NEON Project through the Office of Disability Employment Policy.

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On June 14, 2021, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) resubmitted to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) its Final-Omitted Regulations on Standards for Drug and Alcohol Recovery House Licensure. As of yesterday afternoon, they are publicly available on IRRC’s website.

The submitted regulatory package includes:

  • the updated regulations (p. 49–78);
  • a regulatory analysis (p. 1–11);
  • a preamble that includes public comments and DDAP response to comments (p. 13–48);
  • a sample recovery house licensing application (p. 79–80);
  • a sample recovery house licensing checklist (p. 81–88);
  • additional DDAP forms (p. 89–101); and
  • a description of forms that must be provided by the recovery house (p. 102–112).

DDAP expects that the new regulations will be in effect by July 2021 and will require compliance with the new regulations by January 2022. More information on drug and alcohol recovery house licensing is available on DDAP’s website.

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Image by Dirk Wouters from Pixabay

From ANCOR:

The CDC and CMS have asked ANCOR to provide input on infection control practices and needs within the ICF program. The specific first round of questions for input relates to vaccination and are outlined below. ANCOR is offering two options to collect input from ICF Providers:

1. Complete linked survey (responses requested by Monday, June 21 at noon)
Feedback to CDC on ICF/IID Infection Control Practices and Needs

2. Workgroup session scheduled for Thursday, June 17 at 2:00 pm ET.
Join Session: us02web.zoom.us/j/84238000555
Meeting ID: 842 3800 0555
Dial  +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

CDC Questions for ICF/IID Stakeholder Engagement:

  • How do individual ICF/IIDs currently track vaccinations for clients? What about Staff?
  • To what extent are ICFs/IIDs required to report vaccination data for clients and/or Staff to local or state surveillance systems?
  • To what extent would ICFs/IIDs be able to report vaccination data for clients and/or Staff to designated surveillance systems?
  • What kinds of challenges will/are ICFs/IIDs face(ing) as they seek to implement the new COVID-19 vaccination offering and education requirements from the Interim Final Rule “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs-IID) Residents, Clients, and Staff.”?
  • What kinds of guidance, education, training, tools or assistance will/do ICFs and IIDs need to implement the new COVID-19 vaccination offering and education requirements?

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Catherine Thibedeau
Orono, ME
(207) 866-3769 (103)
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Message from the Department of Human Services:

As you may know, the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARP) provides a temporary 10% increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for home and community-based services (HCBS). The funding must be used to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS beyond what is available under the Medicaid program as of April 1, 2021.

On Monday, June 14, the Department of Human Services (DHS) submitted a preliminary spending plan to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that serves as a foundation for Pennsylvania’s planning efforts by outlining our principles and overarching priorities. The preliminary plan encompasses many of the stakeholder recommendations that have been made to date. The overarching priorities include:

  1. Increasing access to HCBS;
  2. Enhancing HCBS provider payment rates and benefits;
  3. Protecting the health and well-being of direct care workers and direct support professionals through the provision of supplies and equipment;
  4. Recruitment and retention efforts to support the workforce;
  5. Supporting caregivers;
  6. Assistive technology and other supports to improve functional capabilities of persons with disabilities;
  7. Supporting the transition of individuals to community-based living arrangements;
  8. Investing in activities to address Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder treatment and recovery needs of Medicaid beneficiaries; and
  9. Building HCBS capacity and rebalancing Long-term Services and Supports.

With these priorities in mind, we hope to hear more from stakeholders about Pennsylvania’s efforts as we continue to flesh out the details of our plan to strengthen, enhance, and expand HCBS. Comments must be submitted by close of business on July 6.

Please visit the public comment overview as well as Pennsylvania’s preliminary spending plan for further information. Your comments can be submitted via email. Additionally, a live virtual public comment session will take place on Wednesday, June 30 at 10 am for those who are unable or prefer not to submit written feedback. More information about how to RSVP for this session will be available soon.

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    ODP Announcement 21-045 serves to announce an opportunity for Community Participation Support providers to participate in a free virtual training jointly funded by the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). The training will be provided by national experts and focus on how Community Participation Support services providers can transform from a facility-based model to a competitive integrated employment business model. This initiative also includes the opportunity to receive technical assistance and participate in regional learning collaboratives facilitated by a national expert to assist in developing and implementing concrete and targeted measures to make the transformation.

    The Transformation Training will be held virtually and is free to providers enrolled with ODP to provide Community Participation Support. The training will be limited to 30 provider agencies that are selected through an application process. Providers interested in participating in the training must be willing to commit at least two executive-level staff to participate in all three days of training.

    The training will take place virtually July 19, 2021 through July 21, 2021 from 9:00 am–1:30 pm. Breaks are built in to the sessions.

    After the conclusion of the Transformation Training, 15 providers will be given the opportunity to receive at least 12 hours of virtual technical assistance and consultation from the national experts. Five providers each, in three regions of the state (West, Central, East), will be selected. Each provider will be asked to identify no more than three executive-level staff to participate, for a total of no more than 15 people in each Transformation Regional Learning Collaborative. The team must consist of any combination of the organization’s Executive Director/CEO, Finance Director/CFO, Senior Program Director/COO, or Board Officer, preferably the President.

    Providers will receive assistance with developing and implementing a strategy and action plan to transform their business model at no cost to the provider. Each provider will be afforded a 1:1 consultation with the national expert in addition to the Transformation Regional Learning Collaborative.

    Providers that are interested in applying to be part of the Transformation Training and Regional Learning Collaborative and receive technical assistance from a national expert must do the following:

    1. Complete and submit the attached application to Laura Cipriani no later than Friday, July 2, 2021.
    2. ODP will notify each provider applicant whether they have been selected for the 3-day Transformation Training. Notification will be sent via email to the email address that was used to submit the application.
    3. After the 3-day training, ODP will notify the 15 providers that have been selected to participate in a Transformation Regional Learning Collaborative.

    If you have any questions, please contact Laura Cipriani.

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