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Children's Services

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RCPA is proud to be at the forefront of developments in health and human services, and we strive to present information covering a wide variety of aspects within the industry. At our 2025 Annual Conference Strive to Thrive, attendees will expand their knowledge of topics impacting their consumers, providers, insurance, IT teams, compliance, and more! Register today to reserve your seat, and view the Registration Brochure for complete details.

For your convenience, we have compiled the list of workshops by topic, highlighting just how much we plan to cover during our stay at the Hershey Lodge! Please note that some workshops may discuss more than one set of topics. Use this as a guide, see what interests you, and make sure you register today!

AI, Data, and Technology:

  • W16 | Organizational and Individual Benefits of Becoming Technology First
  • W24 | AI in Action: Empowering Better Care and Financial Health
  • W32 | Technology First: A Journey, Not Just a Destination
  • W38 | Using Video Monitoring Effectively to Promote Safety
  • W48 | Technology, Human Capacity, and an “Everyday Life” in Employment
  • W51 | Best Practices in Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Behavioral Healthcare
  • W56 | Beyond Metrics: Leading With Connection in a Data-Driven World
  •  W63 | Empowering Independence: Transforming Lives With Remote Support — A Provider’s Journey Through Person-Centered and Agency Perspectives

Autism and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities:

  • W18 | Growing Through Connection: Managers Leading With Heart, Building Relationship-Driven I/DD Services
  • W26 | Solving the DSP Hiring Crisis: Strategies for Recruitment and Retention Success
  • W29 | Life Sharing for Children With Medically Complex Conditions
  • W35 | Dual Diagnosis Treatment Team: An Integrated Community Treatment Model for Dually Diagnosed Individuals
  • W37 | Innovations in Family Engagement to Improve Experience and Outcomes
  • W47 | Health Equity for People With IDD in the Community
  • W54 | From Recognition to Intervention: Addressing Anxiety-Related Challenges in Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities
  • W59 | Independence and Wellness Through Employment

Behavioral, Children’s, and School-Based Health:

  • W05 | Research to Practice: Using an Evidence-Based Digital Tool to Improve Executive Function Among Students
  • W07 | Care Navigator: Helping the Community Transition Home After Inpatient Hospitalization
  • W08 | The Final Rule on 42 CFR Part 8: One Opioid Treatment Program’s Adjustments to the New Regulations and Q&A
  • W12 | Whether We Realize It or Not, FASD Affects Us All
  • W14 | The Power of Peers and Partnership: Response to Substance Use Crisis
  • W20 | Enhancing CCBHC Effectiveness: Four Essential Tools for Success
  • W22 | Quality Improvement Strategies to Adopt State-Wide Policy Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment
  • W28 | Staff Experience of Safety in a Civilian Crisis Response Program
  • W40 | Janus: A Reimagining of Mental Health Housing and Support
  • W55 | Where Did All the Meth Come From? Strategies and Tactics for Dealing With the Next Epidemic
  • W61 | Understanding Peer Support From a Clinical Perspective
  • W62 | Transformative Triage: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Crisis Intervention and Client-Centered Care
  • W64 | Moving Beyond Training: Strategy-Based Approaches to Decreasing Behavior Incidents

Brain Injury:

  • W44 | The Cutting Edge of the Neuroscience of Music: Clinical Applications in Neurorehabilitation
  • W52 | A Review and Discussion About the Funding Available for Brain Injury Services in PA
  • W60 | Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT): Developing Tools to Empower Individuals With TBI Throughout the Rehabilitation Process

DHS Offices and Items:

  • W01 | Office Of Developmental Programs Policy Updates and Forecast for 2026
  • W23 | PA Navigate: Connecting Pennsylvanians to Needed Social Services
  • W31 | Updates and Discussion With the Office of Long-Term Living
  • W42 | Behavioral Health Treatment in Pennsylvania: Where We Are, Where We Are Going
  • P01 | State of the State

Ethics:

  • W50 and W58 | Imposter! Ethical Practice, Competence, and Being a “Good Enough” Practitioner Parts I Part II

Financial Management, Medicaid, and Value-Based Purchasing:

  • W02 | How To Survive a Payer Billing Audit — Straight From an Auditor’s Mouth
  • W27 | The Benefits of Measurement-Based Care and Its Economic Impact on Return on Investment
  • W34 | Expanding Revenue Beyond Medicaid: New Funding Strategies for I/DD Providers
  • W46 | Building Centralized Procurement for Decentralized Behavioral Health Organizations

Government and Advocacy:

  • W39 | Building Sustainable Community Advisory Councils for Impactful Legislative Advocacy
  • P02 | National Outlook: The Turbulent Landscape of 2025/26

Suicide Prevention:

  • W10 | A Systemic Focus for Treating Homicide-Suicide Behaviors

Trauma-Informed Care and Wellness:

  • W13 | Addressing Healthcare and Transportation Barriers for Vulnerable Populations
  • W19 | Creating a Trauma-Informed Workplace in a Tri-Pillared Organization
  • W43 | Trauma-Informed Care Works: Striving and Thriving in a Forensic Program

Workplace Culture, Leadership, and Management:

  • W03 and W11 | Leadership and Emotional Intelligence Parts I and II
  • W04 | Thriving Through Performance Development
  • W06 | Building a Team-Based Culture: Not Your Average Team Approach
  • W09 | The Role of Culture in Merger & Acquisition Strategy and Success
  • W15 | Promoting Staff Engagement and Growth Culture
  • W17 | Empowering Change Through Leadership, Workforce Development, and Innovation
  • W21 | Turning Internal Communications Objectives Into Action
  • W25 | The Shift of Trust: Reduce Turnover and Create a Culture of Collaboration
  • W30 | Leveraging a Multidisciplinary Team in the Development and Delivery of Treatment Outcomes
  • W33 | Whole Brain Living: Reflective Reacting as a Means of Achieving a Wiser Result
  • W36 | Generative Listening: A Transformative Approach to Developing Inclusive Leadership
  • W41 | Leadership Gold – How to Be a Leader Worth Following
  • W45 | Use of Self: Integrating Awareness, Recognition, and Mindfulness Into Everyday Practices at Your Organization or Agency
  • W49 | Mastering Difficult Conversations to Build Thriving Cultures
  • W53 | Empowering Neurodivergent Professionals: Supporting Disability Disclosure and Workplace Success
  • W57 | Future-Proofing Leadership: Succession Planning for Health & Human Services
  • K01 | Building Organizational Culture and High Performing Healthy Teams
  • K02 | Applying Resilience and Mindfulness to Enhance Leadership
  • K03 | The EEOC is NOT Messing Around: Harassment Prevention in 2025 and Beyond
  • K04 | Rediscovering You: How to Reconnect, Recharge, and Rise
View the Registration Brochure for a full listing of each day’s workshops and events as well as how to register!

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The FFY 2026/27 Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (CMHSBG) Draft Pennsylvania Application is now available for public comment. The CMHSBG is federal block grant funding that assists states in providing community-based services to adults with Serious Mental Illness and children with Severe Emotional Disturbance. This application provides a review of the current strengths and needs in the Pennsylvania mental health system and plans priority areas for improvement. The priorities were developed in consultation with representatives from the Pennsylvania Mental Health Planning Council. The CMHSBG Application public comment period will remain open until August 25, 2025.

Please access the application using the Webbgas Citizen’s login using the below credentials.

  • Login: citizenpa
  • Password: citizen

Submit any comments on this application to the CMHSBG Resource inbox.

RCPA is open to submitting members’ comments and feedback via our organization’s response to the public feedback process. If you would like to have RCPA submit comments on behalf of your agency, please contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp with any questions.

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The Mental Health Safety Net Coalition (MHSN) is a group of stakeholders participating in a joint advocacy effort to protect and preserve our mental health service delivery system. This week’s communication urges the General Assembly to end the budget impasse to ensure the system’s ability to provide care. Without a budget, community mental health services will not receive any payment, putting vulnerable Pennsylvanians at risk.

The full letter can be read here.

Please contact Emma Sharp with any questions or if you are interested in joining the coalition.

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Today is your last chance to take advantage of early bird registration rates for the RCPA 2025 Annual Conference Strive to Thrive! Register today to reserve your seat and guarantee your access to:
  • Over sixty workshops that tackle the latest in technology, workplace culture, and health care initiatives;
  • National keynote and plenary speakers who will discuss issues ranging from the federal landscape to personal well-being;
  • Networking opportunities in Connections Hall, featuring over 90 exhibitors with the latest industry products and services (as well as some exciting game prizes!); and
  • Opportunities to connect with RCPA staff and other industry leaders to discuss all that is happening in health and human services.
View the Registration Brochure to see a full listing of events, workshops, and activities. Additionally, by registering today, you will be able to access the mobile app prior to the conference, gaining the ability to view webinar recordings, create your personalized schedule, and make early connections with sponsors and exhibitors.
Early bird registration ends TODAY! Register here!
Opportunities for sponsorships and advertising are still available to organizations that are interested, but EXHIBIT BOOTHS ARE OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT! We are grateful to all our sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who help make the conference happen. Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for more details.
View our sponsors and exhibitors at our Conference website!

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We are excited to announce Hill Day 2025!

Hill Day will span two days, with a Public Policy Institute Program on October 7 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, and meetings on Capitol Hill slated for October 8.

This is a unique opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the country and share your important stories directly with the people who represent you in Washington, D.C.

Last year, RCPA members received the opportunity to learn and develop their lobbying skills through the Public Policy Institute sessions and put them to work meeting with Pennsylvania legislators in a series of meetings and roundtables. The experience was invaluable and created a pathway to advocating in their home districts and events like the RCPA Capital Day.

While Hill visits are open to all, space will limit the Public Policy Institute to 400 registrants.

As RCPA will once more serve as Team Captains for the Pennsylvania delegation, we ask that, when you register, you also contact RCPA COO Jim Sharp. RCPA will be coordinating and communicating with members as the event proceeds.

Register Here

Attendees are responsible for their own travel and lodging; however, hotel rooms can be booked through the Omni Shoreham Hotel at a discounted group rate once you have registered. Group transportation between the hotel and Capitol Hill will be offered at set times.

Note on potential shutdown: If Congress does not reach a spending agreement by September 30, there may be a government shutdown starting October 1. D.C. offices will remain open, however, and staff meetings can still occur. More updates will be provided if a shutdown appears likely.

More details will be forthcoming.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions:

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The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) has entered into a Settlement Agreement to resolve a federal class action lawsuit concerning mental health and child welfare services for Pennsylvania youth who are adjudicated dependent and have mental health disabilities. This case affects all Pennsylvania youth under the age of 21 who now, or in the future, are adjudicated dependent and have diagnosed mental health disabilities. The settlement will involve additional requirements from county children and youth agencies, county mental health systems, as well as requirements on the Primary Contractors and Behavior Health Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (BH-MCO). BH-MCOs, Primary Contractors, and County Mental Health Administrators have been separately notified.

The settlement will impact community-based as well as residential children’s services for this population of youth, and it has not been determined fully how these services will be funded in the County or Health choices system, though DHS is charged with requesting CMS to cover these or a portion through Federal funding.

The proposed settlement agreement can be read here. The settlement agreement will not be finalized until objections have been heard and the agreement receives approval by the judge. PA DHS will communicate more details and timelines in the coming weeks as the settlement is finalized.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO Jim Sharp.

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Pennsylvania’s Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) Deputy Secretary Sally Kozak has been featured in the Center for Health Care Strategies’ Lessons in Leadership series, which shares stories from public sector leaders from across the country. Deputy Secretary Kozak shares how she has prioritized mentorship in her career to ensure sustainability beyond any one person and offers a blueprint for how intentional, adaptive mentoring can create lasting change for individuals and the institutions they serve.

Read the full article here.

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The field of health and human services is shifting at a rapid pace, and it is vital for providers, advocates, and legal experts to remain up-to-date on policy as well as involved in the advocacy process. Among the over sixty workshops available, the RCPA 2025 Annual Conference Strive to Thrive will be holding several workshops tackling the federal landscape. Register today and join us at the Hershey Lodge September 9 – 12, 2025, to gain access to these informative workshops, which include:

  • National Outlook: The Turbulent Landscape of 2025/26
  • How To Survive a Payer Billing Audit — Straight From an Auditor’s Mouth
  • Expanding Revenue Beyond Medicaid: New Funding Strategies for I/DD Providers
  • Building Sustainable Community Advisory Councils for Impactful Legislative Advocacy

At a local level, the RCPA Conference is working with the Department of Human Services to bring information straight to attendees, with workshops such as:

  • State of the State
  • Office of Developmental Programs Policy Updates and Forecast for 2026
  • PA Navigate: Connecting Pennsylvanians to Needed Social Services
  • Updates and Discussion With the Office of Long-Term Living
  • Behavioral Health Treatment in Pennsylvania: Where We Are, Where We Are Going

Early bird registration rates end this Friday, August 8, so don’t delay in reserving your spot for these workshops and more! View our Registration Brochure for complete details of the conference schedule and speakers, and be sure to check the RCPA Conference website regularly for details and updates to the schedule, registration, and sponsors/exhibitors. Register today!

Opportunities for sponsorships and advertising are still available, but EXHIBIT BOOTHS ARE OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT! We are grateful to all our sponsors and exhibitors who help make the conference happen. If your organization is interested in sponsoring or advertising at our conference, all information is available in our Sponsor, Exhibit, and Advertise Brochure. Contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, for more details.

Thank you to our Sponsors and Exhibitors! We are grateful for your support!

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H.R. 1 created a $50 billion fund called the Rural Health Transformation program in an attempt to offset the losses that rural health providers will experience associated with the other devastating cuts to health care in the legislation.

Each state must complete a one-time application for the five-year program to be reviewed by CMS. Many aspects of the application are still undecided, including the submission period, due date, state entity that must submit the application, and the form of the application. The RHTP application must include a plan to describe how the state would use the funds to:

  • Improve access to hospitals and other providers for rural residents;
  • Improve health care outcomes of rural residents;
  • Prioritize the use of new and emerging technologies that emphasize prevention and chronic disease management;
  • Initiate, foster, and strengthen local and regional strategic partnerships between rural hospitals and other providers to promote quality improvement, increase financial stability, maximize economies of scale, and share best practices;
  • Recruit and retain clinicians,
  • Prioritize data and technology driven solutions that help rural providers furnish health care services as close to the patient’s home as possible;
  • Outline strategies to manage long-term financial solvency and operating models of rural hospitals; and
  • Identify specific causes that are driving standalone rural hospitals to close, convert, or reduce service lines.

The funds will be distributed between 2026 and 2030, allotting $10 billion each year. $25 billion of this fund will be allocated equally among all states with an approved application by CMS. Assuming that all fifty states are approved, each state will receive a minimum of $100 million per year for five years. The other $25 billion will be distributed to states with an approved application in an amount determined by CMS based upon the state’s rural population, proportion of healthcare facilities in rural areas, and the situation of hospitals that serve a high proportion of low-income patients.

The bill lists several allowable uses of the PHTP funds:

  • Promoting evidence-based, measurable interventions to improve prevention and chronic disease management;
  • Providing payments to health care providers for the provision of health care items or services as specified by CMS;
  • Promoting consumer-facing, technology-driven solutions for the prevention and management of chronic diseases;
  • Providing training and technical assistance for the development and adoption of technology-enables solutions that improve care delivery in rural hospitals, including remote monitoring, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies;
  • Recruiting and retaining clinical workforce talent to rural areas, with commitments to serve rural communities for a minimum of five years;
  • Providing technical assistance, software, and hardware for significant information technology advances designed to improve efficiency, enhance cybersecurity capability development, and improve patient health outcomes;
  • Assisting rural communities to right-size their healthcare delivery systems by identifying needed preventative, ambulatory, pre-hospital, emergency, acute inpatient care, outpatient care, and post-acute care service lines;
  • Supporting access to opioid use disorder treatment services, other substance use disorder treatment services, and mental health services;
  • Developing projects that support innovative models of care that include value-based care arrangements and alternative payment models as appropriate; and
  • Additional uses designed to promote sustainable access to high quality rural health care services, as determined by the Administrator.

RCPA will continue to share information on the program and applications as it becomes available. Contact Emma Sharp with any questions.

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