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Children's Services

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services is pleased to invite stakeholders to an informational webinar. This webinar will highlight significant sections of the proposed Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) regulations that received the highest number of comments during the comment period. The proposed PRTF regulations will codify the minimum licensing standards, Medical Assistance (MA) participation requirements, and payment conditions for PRTFs that provide medically necessary behavioral health treatment to children, youth, or young adults under 21 years of age with a behavioral health diagnosis.

OMHSAS has worked collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth & Family Services (PCCYFS) and RCPA in planning for the May 21, 2025, meeting. RCPA has offered limited space for those who would like to attend in-person; the in-person meeting will be held at 777 East Park Drive, Suite G-4, Harrisburg, PA 17111. Virtual attendance through TEAMS is also an option. In-person attendance is limited to 55 individuals (no more than one individual per organization). Stakeholders may register for in-person attendance by contacting Emma Sharp.

Additional information will be distributed closer to the meeting date. We hope you will join us on May 21, 2025, at 10:00 am!

Questions or comments about this webinar should be sent electronically.

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Meeting ID: 293 767 570 019 7
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Phone conference ID: 333 559 543#

Contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp for in-person registration.

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Last year, RCPA met with its provider members regarding the provision of group psychotherapy services via telehealth in the client’s home. RCPA then met with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) to discuss the possibility of allowing this flexibility in an effort to fully realize the use of telehealth technology to enhance access.

Today, the Department of Human Services’ Medical Assistance (MA) Bulletin #99-25-02 outlines revisions to the MA fee schedule. The following changes are specific to behavioral services and are effective May 1, 2025:

  • Procedure code 99452 (Interprofessional Services) is now open for provider type (PT)/Specialty combination 08/184 (Outpatient Drug and Alcohol).
  • Place of Service (POS) 10 — Telehealth Provided in Patient’s Home is now available to use with the procedure code 90853 (group psychotherapy) for PT/Specialty combination 08/110 (Psychiatric Outpatient).

Please see the section titled “Behavioral Health Services” on page 6 of the bulletin for additional information related to these revisions.

If you have questions about these changes, please reach out to OMHSAS electronically or RCPA COO and Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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Free webinar for RCPA Members

Date: Wednesday June 4, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Registration Link

This session will address strategies for navigating system changes, such as integrated care, value-based purchasing, and performance-based contracting. By focusing on how these shifts impact organizational structures and employee performance, we will equip participants with the tools to manage transitions successfully. Attendees will learn how to leverage executive functioning skills like adaptability, planning, task prioritization, and time management to align employee goals with organizational targets and drive success in results-driven environments.

Join speaker Stina Borth, MA, Executive Function, Performance and Neurodiversity Specialist Stina Borth, the founder and CEO of Keymaker Services Inc., is a dedicated expert in productivity and life skills development, focusing on empowering youth and young adults to succeed academically, socially, and in their future careers.

Stina provides corporate training to organizations looking to optimize productivity and communication. Her approach to workplace training helps teams build more effective communication, streamline task management, and enhance collaboration, leading to increased productivity and employee satisfaction.

With a background grounded in both academic theory and practical, real-world application, Stina’s work creates lasting impacts across a wide range of individuals — from students to professionals—by helping them develop the tools and strategies they need to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Assess system changes in business practices, including integrated care and value-based purchasing, and evaluate their impact on employee performance and executive functioning.
  • Develop strategies for adapting to system changes that optimize organizational performance, focusing on skills such as adaptability, decision-making, and planning.
  • Create framework for supporting employees through performance-based initiatives, helping them develop the executive functioning skills necessary to succeed.

Certificates of attendance are available to RCPA members who attend this webinar; anyone interested in a certificate should contact Cathy Barrick. To apply for CEs, you will need to register for the RCPA Annual Conference Strive to Thrive and indicate you attended the webinar in your CE packet, which will be made available on the mobile app.

Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for details, or visit the RCPA Conference website for information on workshops, sponsors, exhibitors, and more!

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TrueNorth Wellness Services announces the appointment of Chuck Smith as Interim CEO, while the Board of Directors begins a search for the next Chief Executive Officer. Along with Chuck, the leadership team of Cheryl Jones (CFO), Elspeth Williams (COO), and Senior Directors Michelle Shearer, Erin Glenn, and Cori Reed will continue to be available to stakeholders and staff alike. During this transition, we remain committed to the same level of quality and responsiveness that you’ve come to expect from TrueNorth. As we recognize the milestone of delivering services for 50 years, we are looking forward to the exciting possibilities that the future holds for our organization.

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RCPA is excited to share our growing list of sponsors and exhibitors who are committed to supporting our 2025 Conference Strive to Thrive! This event, which will be held September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge, is a highlight for the PA health and human services fields. We would like to thank the organizations who have committed their support already; you can view them below as well as on our Conference website!

The conference is only four months away! We will soon be assigning booth numbers to exhibitors, and there are still many opportunities available for sponsorship and exhibit booths. Don’t delay! View this year’s Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertiser Brochure, which features detailed lists of all the ways your organization can thrive at our conference. These include networking opportunities in Connections Hall and new sponsorship items, such as the registration table!

Sign Up Now!
Sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by August 20. The association looks forward to welcoming you at the conference! Space and opportunities are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

View our sponsors and exhibitors at our Conference website!

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Trauma-informed care in the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) has emphasized the importance of trauma-informed approaches in providing technical assistance, training, policy, guidance, support, and monitoring procedures. OCYF has developed and collected many trauma tools and resources that may be helpful for child welfare stakeholders and providers as they proceed on their trauma-informed care continuum, such as their monthly Trauma Tip Sheet.

In the January 2025 Trauma Tip Sheet, the US Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing was introduced, and different topics have been explored in the following months. The May 2025 Trauma Tip Sheet highlights the topic of “Mattering at Work,” and can be read here.

Contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp with any questions.

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In a presentation to the Medical Assistance Advisory Committee today, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) Deputy Secretary Jen Smith shared data that shows a significant increase over the past three years in behavioral health managed care organization (BH-MCO) decisions to deny services to their members or contracted providers.

In addition to denial data for calendar years 2022 through 2024, the report also provides data on grievances and complaints and defines what each of those is. Notably, the 2024 data does not include the fourth quarter of the year.

The most egregious service type denials are seen in two categories: 1) non-hospital residential withdrawal management, rehabilitation and halfway-house services for drug/alcohol abuse or substance use disorders; and 2) IBHS for children and adolescents with mental health or substance use disorders. Although the IBHS denials appear down slightly in 2024, when the fourth quarter data is added, the number is likely to increase. On the SUD side, even without fourth quarter data, denials for the non-hospital residential substance use disorder treatment services are up 45 percent over 2023.

The presentation breaks down the number of denials per year per BH-MCO since 2022.

The increases in denials in 2024 occurred at the same time OMHSAS acknowledged a significant miscalculation of capitation rates, resulting in underfunding of the behavioral health system, including primary contractors and BH-MCOs, by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Deputy Secretary Smith cautioned that there are multiple factors to consider when reviewing the data and increase in denials, including Pennsylvania’s SUD treatment system’s ongoing alignment with ASAM Criteria and the increased BH-MCO scrutiny on providers and individual BH-MCO interpretation of ASAM Criteria.

The full presentation is available here.

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