';
Featured
Featured posts

The Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting was recently held on June 4, 2025. During the meeting, a number of presentations were given. In addition to the presentations, the agenda and a document that provided follow-up items from the May 7, 2025, LTSS Subcommittee meeting were provided.

Members should take time to review the PowerPoint presentations from the meeting below:

The next LTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for July 2, 2025. The meeting will be held from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm in the Forest Room at the Commonwealth Keystone Building, which is located at 400 North Street in Harrisburg, PA.

The option to participate virtually is also available. If attending virtually, please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The option to call in is also available by dialing: (631) 992-3221; Access code: 422-861-033#.

Remote captioning and streaming services will be provided. If you require these services, please visit this remote captioning and streaming services link.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) issued OMHSAS-25-02 Voluntary and Involuntary Commitment Forms on May 27, 2025. In response to concerns from stakeholders, OMHSAS will be pausing implementation of this bulletin for 90 days, through August 27, 2025. In addition to giving providers the opportunity to update electronic health records and print new forms, OMHSAS will use that time to continue to receive and respond to stakeholder questions and to schedule Q&A sessions. The department thanks stakeholders for the comments that have been provided so far and welcomes additional comments and questions, which can be sent electronically.

OMHSAS-25-02 and all forms can be found at links provided. As OMHSAS continues to work towards standardized Mental Health Procedures Act Forms that work across the Commonwealth, they appreciate your partnership and input.

Contact Emma Sharp with any questions.

Home studio podcast interior. Microphone, laptop and on air lamp on the table, close-up

In a recent interview with The Spark on WITF, RCPA President/CEO Richard Edley, Jack Poplar from Success Rehabilitation, Inc. and Ellie Lacasse, a parent of an adult with brain injury in long-term services are urging lawmakers to include a $13 million funding increase in the upcoming state budget to support residential rehabilitation services for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. An independent study recently commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services confirmed what providers have long warned: brain injury services are underfunded by 44%.
https://www.witf.org/2025/06/05/providers-push-lawmakers-for-13m-to-save-brain-injury-services/

The Mental Health Safety Net Coalition is a group of stakeholders participating in a joint advocacy effort to protect and preserve our mental health service delivery system. The Coalition’s first advocacy bulletin discusses the critical areas of funding for the FY 2025/26 budget, including community mental health, school-based services, crisis intervention services, psychiatric centers, and the Behavioral HealthChoices program.

The full letter can be read here.

RCPA invites all members, non-members, and systems-wide behavioral health stakeholders to participate in the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition meeting on Monday, June 9, 2025, from 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm. This meeting will serve to update the group on strategy, activities, and engagement opportunities.

Please contact Emma Sharp with any questions or if you would like to join the Coalition.

Photo by Mikael Blomkvist from Pexels

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25 Q3 Report. This is a temporary report format while ODP builds a dashboard for waiting list and program growth data to make this data more accessible for stakeholders. ODP anticipates this will be ready by August.

The report shows ODP has made great progress on tackling the adult emergency waiting list over the past year, noting a 24% reduction since the Governor’s announcement in 2024.

For Questions or Additional Information
Please contact Tim Sohosky for any follow-up or inquiries related to this update.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and its Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) technical advisors, in collaboration with the IM4Q Statewide Steering Committee, have begun partnering with provider association representatives to enhance provider agencies’ understanding of IM4Q and their role in the process. The IM4Q Provider Information Sheet outlines how the IM4Q process works, the ways providers contribute to interviews as well as follow up on identified considerations, and how to request IM4Q data to support their quality management efforts.

Please review ODPANN 25-050 for further details and information.

The Office of Development Programs (ODP) and its Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) technical advisors, in collaboration with the IM4Q Statewide Steering Committee, have begun partnering with Support Coordination Organization (SCO) representatives to enhance SCs’ understanding of IM4Q and their role in the process. The IM4Q SC Tip Sheet outlines the IM4Q process, SC responsibilities, how to inform the individuals they support, and what occurs after the interview. SCOs are encouraged to share the tip sheet as a reference when training new SCs and with experienced SCs as a refresher.

Please review ODPANN 25-051 for further details and information.

The Shapiro Administration has released a response to potential federal Medicaid cuts. This document provides information on the Medicaid and SNAP programs in Pennsylvania and offers a high-level analysis of the potential impacts of HR 1, Congressional Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill, on the commonwealth. As currently proposed, the legislation would kick over 300,000 Pennsylvanians off Medicaid, shift $1B in food assistance costs from the federal government onto our state budget, and strain our hospitals, potentially leading to the closure of as many as 25 rural hospitals across Pennsylvania. The legislation would also add significant new IT and administrative burdens for commonwealth agencies in the form of unfunded mandates from Washington.

Read the full report here. In addition, you can view this infographic for details on the impacts of implementing work requirements to SNAP benefits. Contact Emma Sharp with any questions.