RCPA Member KenCrest President and CEO Marian Baldini recently received a Biomedical Sciences Graduate Recognition Award from Drexel’s College of Medicine’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies. She is first non-PhD graduate they have honored with this award. Congratulations Marian!
Message from MITC:
Alex is a DSP working for an agency managing HCBS and Group Home programs. Learn how workforce management & EHR software supports Alex and delivers greater across-the-board operational effectiveness.
Watch the new training video “Day in the Life of a DSP.”
Need a written copy? Download the ebook.
Join us for a webinar on Thursday, July 14, at 2:00 pm ET to learn how the right software can help your staff. Register here.
You can also email for more information.
RCPA is looking to gather information regarding your organization’s experience with electronic data systems and is requesting your assistance. This short survey asks questions regarding systems used for Time, Attendance, and Payroll; Electronic Health Records; Service Data Collection; Medication Management; and Billing services. Our goal is that, with your responses, we will be able to provide your colleagues with this helpful information!
RCPA will only share de-identified, aggregate data with members. We will not release any individual data unless given explicit permission to do so.
Please complete the survey here.
You are invited to join ADvancing States for the 2022 Home and Community-Based Services Conference on August 14–18, 2022! Register before July 1 to secure a discounted Early Bird rate.
The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Conference is ADvancing States’ annual national conference gathering leaders and policy makers in the aging and disabilities field. Every year, the HCBS Conference offers unparalleled learning and networking opportunities for our attendees.
The 2022 HCBS Conference will be a hybrid event, so if you are not able to join us in person, we hope you will join us virtually. Visit here to learn more about the event.
Lodging
We are thrilled to be at the beautiful Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. for this year’s conference. After registering for the conference, attendees will receive a link to reserve rooms at the Marriott Marquis in our conference blocks. Members will be able to reserve rooms at a government lodging rate of $172 per night. If you have any questions, please contact us via email.
Sponsorship and Exhibitors
Whether you have been an HCBS sponsor or exhibitor before or are new to the HCBS conference, we would love to have you join us this year! Sign up now to put your brand in front of a targeted audience of professionals working to improve LTSS systems and programs throughout the country.
Showcase your products and services with branded items, sponsored activities, and your virtual and in-person exhibit booths. Network with key influencers and industry leaders at your exhibit booth, over dinner, or on the conference app!
Visit here or contact Gabe Passos to learn more about sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities.
Learn more about the HCBS Conference.
If you have any questions about the conference or registration, please contact via email.
Message from the Department of Health (PA DOH):
With the recent rise in COVID-19 case counts across the Commonwealth and the country, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) wants long-term care facilities (LTCFs) to be aware of the multiple ways to access lifesaving COVID-19 treatment and preventive products.
We distribute the following outpatient therapeutics directly to LTCFs that enroll in the PA DOH network:
Stocking therapeutics on-site can help eligible patients access preventive protection and receive timely treatment, which must be initiated within a matter of days from symptom onset. Most patients who test positive for COVID-19 are eligible for treatment.
The one-page guide for LTCFs covers how to enroll in the PA DOH therapeutics network. The first step is to complete our therapeutics enrollment form. You will receive additional instructions after form submission. To enroll, your facility will need a pharmacy license and/or a licensed medical director to take responsibility. If you do not have either of these, please reference the guide for alternative options to access COVID-19 therapeutics.
In addition to reviewing the guide, we appreciate you sharing it with other relevant LTCF stakeholders.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out via email. Thank you for all that you do to protect vulnerable residents across the Commonwealth. We appreciate your partnership in the fight against COVID-19.
Gun Violence and Mental Illness
June 6, 2022
Our organizations write to express our deep concerns about false and harmful attempts to link mental illness and gun violence. The horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two adults on May 24 is just one in a long series of mass shootings throughout our country. These shootings have one thing in common – easy access to weapons that can kill with terrifying efficiency on a massive scale. Attempts to connect mental illness to mass shootings are a distraction that inflicts enormous damage by taking attention from solutions that could actually prevent such events. This perpetuates a false narrative that encourages stigmatization of and discrimination against the millions of Americans living with mental health conditions who are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it (i). In fact, persons with mental illness account for a very small portion of gun violence (ii).
While mental health conditions are common in countries across the globe (iii), the United States is the only country where mass shootings have become disturbingly commonplace. In fact, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States (iv). Not coincidentally, the U.S. is also alone in making firearms widely available with few restrictions.
Gun violence is a public health crisis, and the trauma and fear caused by mass shootings significantly worsen Americans’ mental health. A large majority of adults in the United States experience stress associated with mass shootings, and a third of U.S. adults say that fear of mass shootings stops them from going to certain places and events (v). Moreover, research has shown that victims and members of affected communities experience increases in posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and other signs of psychological concerns. Other studies have found that, after previous mass shootings, youth felt less safe and more fearful (vi). These findings, many of which are unsurprising, make it all the more important to take urgent action to prevent these shootings, particularly in light of our nation’s ongoing youth mental health crisis.
Our organizations welcome continued bipartisan efforts to improve our country’s mental health and substance use systems. These should be pursued because they will enhance our collective well-being, improve and save countless lives, and lead to a more vibrant and resilient country.
However, what these reforms alone will not do is address the epidemic of mass shootings. To prevent more carnage, policymakers must act now to address the national crisis of gun violence and work on a bipartisan basis to pass meaningful solutions that promote gun safety in all of our communities.
2020 Mom
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing)
All4Ed
Alliance for Quality Education
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (previously known as CPNP)
American Council for School Social Work
American Counseling Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Nurses Association
American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Clinical Social Work Association
Council of Administrators of Special Education
Crisis Residential Association
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
EDGE Consulting Partners
Global Alliance on Behavioral Health and Social Justice
Inseparable
International OCD Foundation
Learning Heroes
Mental Health America
MENTOR National
N.A.P.S.
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Eating Disorders Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Health Law Program
National League for Nursing
National Register of Health Service Psychologists
Partnership to End Addiction
Psychotherapy Action Network
RI International
School Social Work Association of America
The Advocacy Institute
The Jed Foundation
The Kennedy Forum
Well Being Trust
RCPA staff and the Conference Committee are gearing up for our long-awaited in-person conference to be held in Hershey, PA, October 11 – 14, 2022! We have a great lineup of speakers underway to cover a wide range of topics, including:
There will be sessions covering leadership, supervision, trauma-informed leadership, “how to” effectively advocate for legislation, and many sessions focusing on our members’ specialties — Intellectual Disabilities and Autism, Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, Children’s Services, Physical Disabilities and Aging, and more.
Registration will be opening in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for the Early Bird rates!
We would also like to thank some of our early sponsors. Thank you for showing your support of our 2022 Conference!
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We have additional sponsorship opportunities available and invite you to contact Carol Ferenz or Sarah Eyster for more information. You can also see our brochure for contract details.
We look forward to seeing you all Together this October!
This training is made available to RCPA members through the NEON Project, with the goal of assisting Employment Service Providers so they can offer effective services to the individuals they serve.
Improving operations and outcomes is the goal, but how do we decide what data to capture? This presentation will discuss important data metrics that improved the NEON Project’s bottom line and helped the organization improve its operations. They will also tell their story of why employment is so important.
This training will be held Friday, June 10, 2022, from 10:00 am – 11:00 am. You can register for the session here. The presenter will be Jeannine Pavlak, Chief Executive Officer at New England Business Associates.
If you have any questions, contact Carol Ferenz.
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