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Audience:

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is excited to announce the Second Annual Pediatric Capacity Building Institute (PCBI). PCBI is geared toward professionals across child-serving systems that are interested in learning more about how to support young people with complex needs and their families in PA and in initiating system change.

Purpose:

The PCBI offers a unique nine month, in person, multi-disciplinary, interactive learning opportunity across the entire service partnership. The Institute’s overall goal is to increase the administrative and clinical capacity across all systems to better support these youth and their families. The PCBI curriculum will accomplish this by promoting and strengthening:

  • Clinical knowledge and understanding among participants from local, regional, and state government;
  • Clinical expertise of providers – specific to individuals with both mental/behavioral health and developmental disabilities;
  • Engagement of those with lived experience;
  • Local, regional, and state understanding of complex needs planning (organizing/facilitating/philosophy of approach);
  • Each system’s understanding of other system’s available resources, processes, setting/service types, rules, and funding; and
  • Networking across systems and regions.

The Institute will also encourage participants to explore ways to improve and change their local systems of support for children and their families. Individuals who have completed prior institutes have used this new knowledge to strengthen existing programs and create fresh approaches that achieve the best results.

PCBI will approach these objectives from an individual and systemic perspective through training, integration of knowledge into practice, and opportunities to build a statewide cohort to work together to effect change and build capacity.

Requirements:

The Pediatric Capacity Building Institute emphasizes the participation and collaboration of all participants. Structured group work participation and 100% attendance are required. Only the confirmed participant can attend PCBI; no substitutions are permitted after confirming attendance.

Interest Survey: To be considered for participation in Year 2 PCBI, please complete and submit this interest survey by October 9, 2024. Participants will be notified of their status by November 1, 2024, via email.

Discussion:

PCBI will be facilitated by two Co-Directors: Jonathan McVey, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the PA Department of Human Services and Paul DiLorenzo, ACSW, MLSP, a consultant to the Department. PCBI participants will hear from a variety of seasoned and successful speakers and practitioners who are implementing practical approaches to complex situations. The format of all sessions is designed to be highly interactive.

PCBI also strives to incorporate the lived experience of these children and families to ensure that supports and services offered are meeting the needs of families across PA. Finally, PCBI participants will join a growing network of individuals who are exploring fresh pathways to supporting children and families who are attempting to manage highly complicated situations.

The curriculum includes topics such as:

  • Infant Mental Health & Child Development
  • Trauma / Vicarious Trauma
  • Resiliency
  • Cross System Knowledge & Multisystem Planning
  • Change Management
  • Education in Non-educational Settings / Early Intervention
  • Psychiatric Diagnosis / Psychopharmacology
  • Communication / Sensory Needs
  • Diversity and Culturally Competent Support
  • Therapies / Services / Programming / Evaluation / Assessment
  • Understanding the Child and Family – Biopsychosocial Approach
  • Relational Health and Permanency Session Information, Requirements, and Confirming

Session Information, Requirements, and Confirming Attendance:

PCBI will accept 50 participants for the Year 2 Cohort. As such, each interested person must submit an interest survey by October 9, 2024. Participants will be notified of their selection status by November 1, 2024.

PCBI will meet once a month for nine months between March 2025 and November 2025, with one backup session reserved in December 2025. Each month, there are consecutive two-day sessions, in person, in Harrisburg.

The specific dates, times, and location are provided below. Participants, who are selected, will be required to register and submit a registration fee. The registration fee for the Pediatric Capacity Building Institute will be approximately $600 to $900 (we are waiting for an initial estimate), which must be paid prior to the first session in March. As a part of your paid tuition, coffee and a breakfast snack each morning, lunch, and an afternoon coffee break with snacks will be provided. Dinner will be on your own.

2025 Session Dates:

  • 3/12 – 3/13
  • 4/9 – 4/10
  • 5/14 – 5/15
  • 6/11 – 6/12
  • 7/9 – 7/11
  • 8/13 – 8/14
  • 9/10 – 9/11
  • 10/8 – 10/9
  • 11/12 – 11/13
  • 12/10 – 12/11 – Back up

Daily Schedule:

  • Session Day 1: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Session Day 2: 8:30 am – 2:30 pm

Location:

Weather permitting, all sessions are held in person at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) at 6340 Flank Drive Harrisburg, PA 17112. In the event of inclement weather affecting a session, a virtual option will be made available.

Hotel Reservations:

Participants can reserve a room using the list of local hotels found on PaTTAN’s website. No group rate is available.

Informational Webinar:

An informational webinar outlining the Pediatric Capacity Building Institute Informational was held on September 12, 2024. View the recording on the DHS website.

More information can be found here.

Please email DHS if you have any questions.

Novitas Solutions, the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Pennsylvania, will be conducting a three-day Medicare Compliance Matters Virtual Symposium. The symposium is free of charge and will be conducted September 17 – September 19. It will offer 44 webinars that include essential information, updates, and key information on Medicare compliance.

Members who are Medicare-certified providers are encouraged to review the agenda and register for sessions that you would benefit from. The full agenda and registration information is available here.

RCPA understands that it’s important to recognize those in health and human services who go above and beyond in their fields. That’s why, in addition to hosting the many workshops as well as keynote and plenary sessions, we are excited to present the following awards during our Wednesday Association Awards luncheon. RCPA is thrilled to honor and recognize these individuals for their dedicated commitment to health and human services.

Representative Eric Nelson: 2024 Legislator of the Year Award
For Consistent Support and Advocacy in Human Services

Mike Hopkins: 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award
For Dedication and Commitment to the Human Services System in PA 

Kim Sonafelt: 2024 Outstanding Leadership Award
For Your Leadership, Innovation, and Commitment to Excellence

Register today to attend the luncheon and more! Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, or RCPA with any questions. We look forward to seeing you at the Hershey Lodge!

Register to Attend the 2024 RCPA Conference!

The next Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Subcommittee meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, via webinar with remote streaming, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. Register for the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you need an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and/or another accommodation, including an alternative method for submitting questions or comments about meeting topics, please send an email to the LTSS Subcommittee inbox no later than September 18, 2024, so an ASL interpreter or other accommodations can be scheduled.

Remote captioning and streaming services will be provided. You can request these services here.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has announced they will be hosting Transportation Summit 3 (via Zoom) on September 17, 2024, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm.

The Transportation Summit is an open forum for anyone interested in discussing transportation-related issues in the Community HealthChoices (CHC) Program. There will be staff from various programs on the call, including the managed care organizations (MCO) and transportation brokers, Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP), and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). They will be on the call to listen to feedback and answer questions as they can.

During the webinar, there will be three ways for individuals to ask questions.

  1. You can submit your questions to OLTL in advance by emailing Cortney Alvord.
  2. They can be read during the meeting, where you will use the “Raise Hand” feature during the meeting, be unmuted, and ask your question.
  3. You can type your question into the “Chat” box located on the right side of your screen during the meeting.

To participate in the Transportation Summit, please register using this registration link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) has shared information on their PA Labor and Industry (L&I) OVR hybrid quarterly board meeting, which is being held on Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. Attendees can participate online or in-person at The Alloy (DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton), located in 301 West Dekalb Pike, King of Prussia.

The meeting agenda is available here. Online instructions for attending are available below:

Zoom for September State Board Meeting
Passcode: 721818
Or One tap mobile:
    +13092053325,,86438463268#,,,,*721818# US
    +13126266799,,86438463268#,,,,*721818# US (Chicago)
Or Telephone:
    Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
    +1 309 205 3325 US, +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago), +1 646 931 3860 US, +1 929 205 6099 US (New York), +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC), +1 305 224 1968 US, +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose), +1 689 278 1000 US, +1 719 359 4580 US, +1 253 205 0468 US, +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma), +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston), +1 360 209 5623 US, +1 386 347 5053 US, +1 507 473 4847 US, +1 564 217 2000 US, +1 669 444 9171 US
Webinar ID: 864 3846 3268
Passcode: 721818

CART and sign language interpreters will be available during this meeting. Those using a screen reader can connect via this link. Additional auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Please send your request to the inbox for Additional Auxiliary Aids and Services.

The 2024 RCPA Conference Embracing Challenges, Empowering Success will be certain to educate and inspire all attendees when it comes to thinking about the challenges in health and human services. Online registration closes next Friday, Sept. 13, meaning time is running out on reserving your seat and seeing our impressive lineup of speakers. View our keynote and plenary speaker schedule below, which promises a wide variety of topics and lively discussions.

Tuesday, Sept. 24:

  • Listen to a Pennsylvania State of the State from DHS Secretary Val Arkoosh, which will touch on key topics such as performance-based contracting and telehealth.

  • Learn about data modernization and implementing AI/ML-enabled Cloud technology with Carlos Rivero of AWS.

Wednesday, Sept. 25:

  • Hear from Lee Yaiva of Scottsdale (AZ) Recovery Center as he openly speaks on addiction treatment and navigating recovery as a Native American.

  • Raise your awareness of human trafficking and its impacts with Amy Thurston and Melissa Knechel of Hope Inspire Love.

Thursday, Sept. 26:

  • Fan favorite Michael Cohen returns to declare how employers can set themselves apart by going above and beyond the status quo.

  • National updates will be provided from RCPA’s Association Partners the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and ANCOR, featuring Reyna Taylor and Donna Martin, respectively.

Friday, Sept. 27:

  • Craig Dietz, who was born without limbs, will round out our conference on a high, humorous, and heartening note with tips on finding your inner potential and challenging yourself.

Register Here for the 2024 RCPA Conference 

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, or RCPA with any questions. We look forward to seeing you at the Hershey Lodge!

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain feedback from both the industry and the public about the potential consolidation of four Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) jurisdictions into two jurisdictions, as well as to obtain feedback on extending MAC contracts to ten years.

MACs are private health care insurers that have been awarded a geographic jurisdiction to process Medicare Part A and Part B medical claims or Durable Medical Equipment (DME) claims for people with Traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. Information on the role of MACs can be found here.

RCPA’s Physical Disabilities and Aging Division meeting is scheduled next Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm. The agenda is now available and can be viewed here as well as on the RCPA website calendar. Included in the agenda will be an introduction to RCPA members of Aetna Better Health, the newly awarded MCO, as well as an open forum with current CHC-MCOs.

We would ask that you send any questions you may have for the CHC-MCOs to Fady Sahhar by COB Monday, September 9, 2024.

If you have not yet registered for this meeting, please register here.