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ODP Announcement 21-040 shares that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is seeking your valuable feedback and comments on Appendices I and J of the renewal of the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW), as well as the proposed Fee Schedule Rates, the proposed Department-established Fees for residential ineligible services, and the rate setting methodology.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approves waivers for a five-year period. The current AAW expires on June 30, 2021; however, CMS has granted ODP a 90-day extension on the currently approved AAW through September 28, 2021. The renewal of the AAW, as well as the final rates, will be effective September 29, 2021.

The following substantive changes are proposed to Appendices I and J:

  • Homemaker/Chore will be added as an AAW service and has been added to the services for which there will be a Medical Assistance Fee Schedule rate effective September 29, 2021.
  • The factors related to estimated annual average per capita Medicaid costs in Appendix J have been updated to reflect the most recent data available. These factors are Factor D’ Derivation, Factor G Derivation, and Factor G’ Derivation.
  • The 5-year average cost per unit of service estimates in Appendix J have been updated to reflect the proposed Fee Schedule Rates contained in the public notice.

A public notice regarding these proposed changes can be found in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, Volume 51, Number 21, published on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Appendices I and J, the proposed Fee Schedule Rates, the proposed Department Established Fees, and the assumption logs used to develop the rates and fees are available on the DHS website.

Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding Appendices I and J of the AAW as well as the proposed rates. Comments should be addressed to Laura Cipriani, Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs, 625 Forster Street, Room 510, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Comments may also be submitted to ODP. Use the subject header “AAW Rates.” Comments received by 11:59 pm on June 21, 2021 will be reviewed and considered for revisions.

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ODP announcement 21-016 states that:
Any individual who begins receiving services at a Community Participation Supports (CPS) facility on or after July 1, 2021 will be considered a new admission. CPS facilities must comply with the regulations exactly as written for all new admissions. We asked for the criteria to determine if services were provided in 20–21 since some individuals have not come face to face with staff; however, provider staff have maintained contact with them and their families or residential provider, participated in their Individual Service Plan (ISP) meetings, and completed their annual functional assessment and quarterly reviews throughout the year.  

ODP’s answer is as follows:
ODP acknowledges that viewing individuals whose CPS facility services were suspended due to COVID-19 such that the individuals were never discharged as “new admissions” can be challenging. However, many of these individuals have not received CPS services in a facility for over a year. It is highly possible that individuals will not recall their rights, fire safety procedures, and information about working hours, benefits, etc. Also, CPS facilities must recognize that individual’s needs may have changed over the past year, and a new assessment of those needs is essential to providing safe and effective services.

For this reason, all of the requirements relating to admission practices must be followed for individuals who begin receiving services on or after July 1, 2021 even if the person was never discharged from services. The exception is 55 Pa.Code § 2390.111 (relating to admission decisions).

Individuals do not have to be discharged and readmitted for the provider to be deemed compliant with regulatory requirements.

It is important to acknowledge that requirements relate directly to individual health, safety and rights; continued suspension of these regulations pose a significant threat to health and safety as well as create the potential for human rights violations. Please note that ODP analyzed the impacted regulations and has determined that compliance can be achieved with minimal administrative effort.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Department of Human Services (DHS) issued an update regarding the implementation of an Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system to support the administration and management of various DHS-supervised programs.

A primary goal of ECM is to provide a complete picture of the DHS services provided to participants and families through multiple DHS program offices, regardless of the human services program or county providing the service. ECM will be implemented on a common technology platform that will be configured for various case management system needs across DHS programs. ECM will provide DHS staff and business partners with the tools needed to effectively serve participants by eliminating redundancies, lessening administrative burden, and streamlining core processes. ECM will mostly affect the Offices of Administration (OA), Children, Youth and Families (OCYF), Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), Long-Term Living (OLTL), and Developmental Programs (ODP). When implemented, ECM will support a statewide child welfare case management system; enrollment and case management for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS); intake and management for hearings and appeals; and application, enrollment, and support services for programs administered by OLTL. ECM will replace several legacy systems across program offices through the implementation of one common solution, composed of the following four major subsystems:

  • Home and Community-Based Services Subsystem (HCBSS): The HCBSS will replace what is currently known as the Home & Community Services Information System (HCSIS). It will serve as the enrollment and case management system for the DHS program offices, counties, and providers supporting the HCBS programs, including Medicaid waivers.
  • Hearings and Appeals: The Hearings & Appeals subsystem will replace the collection of legacy systems DHS uses to manage appeals under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals (BHA).
  • Office of Long-Term Living Enrollment Services: The OLTL Enrollment Services subsystem will be used by an Enrollment Services Entity and DHS to manage the process to assist individuals/participants in exploring and applying for Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS).
  • Child Welfare Case Management (CW CM): The CW CM subsystem will create a single, statewide Child Welfare Case Management System for all Pennsylvania Counties.

The ECM At a Glance document contains a high-level overview of DHS’ ECM initiative, positive impacts to participants, goals and objectives, scope and interfaces, and the anticipated timelines for subsystem implementations.

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ODP Announcement 21-039 outlines changes to the implementation plan for the Incident Management Bulletin. In response to the current national healthcare workforce crisis affecting a majority of provider agencies within the ODP network, ODP will not be requiring incidents of “abuse to an individual by another individual” and “injury requiring treatment beyond first aid as a result of an accidental injury” to be investigated by a Department-certified Investigator, in accordance with §6100.402.

However, the reporting agency may want to implement these changes now, as it is best to practice to get familiar with the new requirements contained in the bulletin. Additionally, ODP or its delegated management review entities may require an investigation to be completed by a Department-certified Investigator. Guidance and review criteria will be provided to management reviewers.

ODP will continue to evaluate the impacts of this delay. ODP will also provide notification to incident-reporting entities six months prior to when system changes will become effective that require these incidents to be investigated by a Department-certified Investigator.

Please note: Individual-to-Individual Abuse that involves sexual abuse will be required to be reported in EIM as “Sexual Abuse” starting on July 1, 2021. When the target of the investigation is another individual receiving services, this will be identified using the target identifier screens in EIM. There is no delay for reporting and investigating incidents of sexual abuse. These incidents currently require an investigation to be completed by Department-certified Investigation, and this requirement will continue after July 1, 2021.

Additionally, the secondary categories of verbal abuse and psychological abuse have been combined; therefore “verbal” is no longer a secondary category listed in the EIM system.

In 55 Pa. Code §Chapter 6000, “Injury Requiring Treatment Beyond First Aid” is a primary category that is currently used to report in the EIM system. Starting July 1, 2021 this primary category is changing to “Serious Injury” with a secondary category of “Injury Accidental,” which is to be indicated when the injury is the result of an accident. The requirement to have a Department-certified Investigator conduct the investigation for accidental injuries when treatment beyond first aid was necessary will also continue to be delayed.

Specific to incidents of “Serious Injury—Injury Accidental” where treatment beyond first aid was provided in an urgent care setting, emergency room, or other healthcare setting, ODP will be expecting healthcare treatment summary documentation to be scanned and uploaded into the EIM as part of the Incident First Section submission. This will allow incident management reviewers to understand the nature and extent of injuries and to confirm that appropriate response and health and safety protections for the individual have been put in place. This information will be used to determine that the incident is classified correctly, that an investigation is not mandatory, and that additional actions are not necessary.

For questions regarding this communication, please contact your ODP Regional Office or the Incident Management Policy division via email.

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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 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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The Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, and the JCJC Awards Committee are pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2021 JCJC Awards Program. Award nomination forms can be found on the JCJC website. This year’s program categories for which your program may be eligible include:

Residential Program of the Year Award: Available to any public or private sector program serving alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth in a residential setting. This includes foster homes, group homes, residential treatment programs, general childcare facilities, shelter care facilities, detention centers, independent living programs, and other programs providing out-of-home, overnight care to children. Award Winners prior to 2016 are eligible for nomination.

Community-Based Program of the Year Award: Available to any public or private sector program, not operated by the court, which provides community based, non-residential services to alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth including, but not limited to, day treatment programs, in-home services, Boys and Girls Clubs, Education Services, and out-patient services

Meritorious Service Award: Available to a volunteer committed to furthering the development of at-risk, alleged and/or delinquent youth (Examples of volunteer work may include youth aid panels, youth commissions, anti-violence programs, school-based programs, diversionary programs, mentoring programs, faith-based programs, community centers or other similar programming).

As in previous years, all nominations must be submitted by county juvenile probation departments. Therefore, if you would like to have your program or volunteer nominated, please contact a Chief Juvenile Probation Officer to discuss the possibility of submitting a nomination. Formal professional award nomination materials must be submitted via email by Monday August 16, 2021.

Youth Awards: In addition, the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission will once again sponsor a Youth Awards Program as part of this year’s Annual Awards Program to honor the youth selected as winners.  The Youth Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the Outstanding Achievement Contest and the Creative Expression Contest both of which are described below.

Please note that in an effort to recognize the expanding and creative artistic talent of youth, the Creative Expression Contest category will once again include either a Written, Poster, or Video entry in two age categories, fifteen (15) and under and sixteen (16) and over. The requirements of each nomination are listed below and included in the attached nomination forms. Please note that these forms will also be available on the JCJC website. This year’s theme is “Moving Forward in Unity”. The winners and their chaperones will be honored guests at the 2021 Youth Awards Program and Dinner. Individuals submitting nominations will be responsible for ensuring that winners attend the Youth Awards Program. Winners will have the opportunity to say a few words upon receiving their award. All youth award nominations must be postmarked by Monday August 16, 2021.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT CONTEST:

The Outstanding Achievement Contest consists of a narrative description of a youth’s outstanding qualities of community service, victim reparation, academic accomplishments, citizenship, attitude, extra-curricular activities, peer relationships and positive changes in behavior, submitted by a counselor, teacher, or juvenile probation officer.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION CONTEST:

The Creative Expression Contest submission consists of a Poster, no larger than 22” H X 28” W with a 1” border as a picture, drawing, painting, or collage; or a Written essay, poem, story, etc. entry typed and limited to one page in length; or a Video entry on a USB Flash Drive, DVD or CD, in a mpeg, mov, wmv, mp3, or avi format of no longer than 2 minutes. This contest has a fifteen (15) and under category and a sixteen (16) and over category.

The Awards Committee encourages you to present the Youth Awards theme and requirements to the youth in your program for their participation in the contest.

Thank you for your interest and support of the 2021 JCJC Awards Program. Please contact JCJC Awards Liaison Angel R. Stewart at 717-783-7835 or via email or contact Keysla Rodriguez at 717-783-6263 or via email for questions or further assistance.

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

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Today, Governor Tom Wolf signed a renewal of the Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 vaccinations have increased dramatically in recent weeks, and we are making significant progress in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Governor Wolf. “As previously announced, we are lifting all mitigation measures on Memorial Day, but we need just a little more time under this current disaster declaration to ensure that we do not risk valuable resources that will help Pennsylvania recover from the pandemic.

“The disaster declaration allows more medical professionals to administer vaccines, ensures families harmed financially by the pandemic have access to healthy food through SNAP benefits, and ensures Pennsylvania counties and businesses remain eligible for federal disaster recovery dollars.

“We will continue to monitor vaccination rates and adjust mitigation orders accordingly. I have been in touch with the General Assembly regarding this extension, and we will continue to collaborate on the future of this disaster declaration and any future declarations that become necessary to help Pennsylvanians in the midst of an emergency.”

The emergency disaster declaration renewed today provides for increased support to state agencies involved in the continued response to the virus and recovery for the state during reopening.

The disaster declaration has allowed for waivers and extensions to continue to provide for Pennsylvanians and businesses under the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic, including the ability to waive the one-week waiting period to receive unemployment compensation and the registration requirement with PA CareerLink for applicants and allowing the commonwealth to suspend numerous training requirements and certification and licensure renewals for health care professionals, child care workers, direct care workers, direct support professionals, among other professional groups who provide life-sustaining services to our children, seniors, and vulnerable residents. The flexibilities available because of the disaster declaration have allowed many more health care professionals to provide services virtually during the pandemic, expanding opportunities for individuals to seek needed physical and mental health services. It allows the commonwealth to increase the number of vaccine providers and improve vaccine distribution.

Through the disaster declaration, PEMA has been able to assign the National Guard to provide various types of support for long term care facilities, including providing direct patient care support, ancillary support, and testing, and at community-based testing sites. It also provides PEMA with the ability to leverage continued federal support such as non-congregate sheltering.

You can view the announcement at the Governor’s website. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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Wednesday, June 23, 2021 from 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
REGISTER

Join us to learn about StudyMoney.us, an exciting new financial education website for people with disabilities and families that makes learning about money management fun, effective, and engaging!

StudyMoney.us was originally created in 2017 as a companion to Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation’s book, Cents and Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management, the first comprehensive financial education curriculum developed specifically for people with disabilities. The newly rebuilt StudyMoney.us, launched in May 2021, features new content, a new look, full accessibility, and activities and quizzes to motivate and challenge learners.

Attendees will learn about:

  • The content covered in StudyMoney.us and why this information is important for the disability community;
  • How StudyMoney.us can best be used by both learners and instructors;
  • Fun, informative, and interactive activities available on StudyMoney.us;
  • Additional financial education resources available for both learners and instructors; and
  • A case study using StudyMoney.us and Cents and Sensibility with college students with disabilities.

This webinar is part of Money Talks, a free series hosted by Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation on financial empowerment for people with disabilities. If you are a person with a disability, a family member of someone who has a disability, an advocate, an educator, or a service provider, this series is for you. Sessions will include 30-45 minutes of interactive learning and 15 minutes for questions. Each session will be fully accessible, and recordings and slides will be made available.

Learn more, view previously recorded webinars, and register for this month’s webinar at PATF.

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