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PennDOT recently published Phase 1 of the Shared-Ride Transportation Study. The shared-ride public transportation system is available in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. As the 40-year-old system is currently designed, service providers rely on passenger fares to pay for their operating costs. By sharing a vehicle, the average fare per passenger is lower than it would be if the passenger rode alone. Passengers are commonly seniors, Persons with Disabilities, and low-income recipients of Medical Assistance (MA, Medicaid). Shared-ride provides Pennsylvanians with more than four million passenger trips annually to life-sustaining community services. The executive summary can be found here, and the complete text of the Phase 1 study can be found here.

This phase of the study concluded that the status quo is unsustainable. The most vulnerable citizens of Pennsylvania rely on shared-ride service, which is often the only form of public transportation in rural counties. A solution that ensures its sustainability must balance the needs and limitations of the customer, service provider, and funding partner.

The Shared-Ride Transportation Study Phase 2 will build on this effort to identify and evaluate a range of funding, service delivery, and customer experience alternatives, their tradeoffs, and the likelihood of remaking shared-ride service into a sustainable model.

PennDOT proposes to reconvene the Shared-Ride Pilot Steering Committee created by Act 89 of 2013 to evaluate alternative shared-ride models considering experiences over the last decade. The Steering Committee has representation from customer advocacy groups, service providers, the state legislature, and executive branch funding agencies. These perspectives will be necessary to find and implement tomorrow’s sustainable shared-ride funding and service delivery model.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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Please share these important PA Family Network workshops and support groups with your network! Register for upcoming events at PA Family Network’s website.

Good Life Group, Support Groups

LifeCourse Workshops

Basic Waiver Workshops

Advanced Waiver Workshops

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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) today issued Licensing Alert 01-2025 to update statewide exceptions granted to narcotic treatment programs (NTP) in September 2024 to expand access to medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder (MOUD). Specifically, this alert expands the exceptions to allow expanded use of telehealth in initial screening and physical examinations consistent with medical practice regulations of the State Board of Medicine.

Effective December 21, 2024, the State Board of Medicine amended its regulation regarding prescribing, administering, and dispensing controlled substances. The updated regulation mirrors federal regulations by allowing regulated practitioners in NTPs to conduct initial physical examinations by telehealth and initiate treatment with buprenorphine or methadone in compliance with federal requirements and requires an in-person physical examination to be completed within 14 days after admission. Therefore, DDAP is also granting an exception to 28 Pa. Code § 715.9(a)(4), which is the rule that requires a face-to-face determination be made as to whether a person has been dependent on a narcotic drug for at least one year prior to starting MOUD, provided that the NTP has a trained person to diagnose the client using medical criteria in accordance with 42 CFR § 8.12(e)(1) and documents the reason for admission for MOUD treatment in the record. DDAP will allow telehealth for the initial screening and medical examination provided that the clinician determines that they can complete an adequate examination through that method, that the mode of telehealth is permissible for the MOUD to be used in accordance with 42 CFR 8.12(f)(2)(v), and that the NTP completes a full in-person physical examination within 14 days of admission in accordance with 42 CFR 8.12(f)(2)(iii).

DDAP first granted statewide exceptions based on 42 CFR part 8 through Licensing Alert 07-2024. Today’s Licensing Alert 01-2025 rescinds and replaces Licensing Alert 07-2024.

Federal regulations continue to require NTPs and clinicians to comply with pertinent state laws and regulations.

To review all of the exceptions DDAP is granting NTPs, read Licensing Alert 01-2025.

There is no need for NTPs to submit exception requests or to inform the DDAP if they are using these exceptions.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared the Medication Administration (MA) April–June 2025 Train-the-Trainer Face-to-Face Schedule. This is for Medication Administration New and Recertifying Trainers.

Classes for New Trainers and Recertifying Trainers will be held separately. New Trainer classes are for first-time trainers designated as New Trainer and start at 8:30 am. Recertifying Trainer Classes are available in the morning and in the afternoon according to the schedule in the announcement. Morning classes are designated as AM Recertification classes and will start at 8:30 am. Afternoon classes are designated as PM Recertification classes and will start at 1:00 pm.

You may register for one of these sessions after completing the course materials in the Train-the-Trainer course on MyODP’s Medication Administration website. View the schedule here.

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Deadline, as Letters on a Clock

The Agreement for Provision of Residential Services requires all residential providers to provide information for tier assignment in order to be assigned to a tier on an annual basis. The Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) Data Submission Tool for the current contract year became available on February 15, 2025. All Residential Providers must submit data and documentation related to their organization’s performance no later than 11:59 pm Saturday, March 15, 2025. Providers intending to be in the Primary Tier must complete a PBC submission.

Providers that fail to submit data and documentation for tier determination by March 15, 2025:

  1. Will be in violation of their Agreement for Provision of Residential Services and will be required to take immediate corrective action. Without correction, they may be subject to sanctions up to and including termination of the Agreement for Provision of Residential Services.
  2. Will not be eligible for Pay-for Performance (P4P).

Please see ODPANN 25-020: Performance-Based Contracting Residential Provider Data Submission Tool Availability for submission instructions and details. Comprehensive information is available at the Performance-Based Contracting Resource Page on MyODP.

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