Governor Wolf Announces $10.5 Million for Preschool Students
Relias Informational Webinar on January 22
As you may be aware, RCPA has made a commitment to expand our business partnership with Relias Learning by entering into an agreement that will provide exclusive access to training content. A primary goal of the partnership is to facilitate access to trainings and other key professional development opportunities through an academy portal housed on the RCPA website. The training and professional development opportunities are available to RCPA members across all divisions. Wherever possible, RCPA will work with Relias to help our members realize cost efficiencies and access to high quality training.
Relias has a reputation for delivering high quality training in a variety of areas that helps behavioral health organizations provide value-driven care. Providers who utilize Relias have experienced improved quality of care, reduction in training costs, and improved hiring and development of a competent workforce.
You are invited to attend a webinar on Tuesday, January 22, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, hosted by the Relias team to introduce their solutions to include assessments, analytics, and learning. Relias currently provides training and analytics for more than 10,000 clients. They have demonstrated that use of online solutions results in lowered administrative costs, reallocation of internal resources towards mission-critical objectives, and a reduction in compliance issues. A copy of this announcement and link to registration was included in last week’s Weekly Digest.
If you are interested in learning more about the tools necessary to become an industry-leading, high-performing organization, please use the link provided below:
Register here for Introduction of Relias Solutions (Assessments, Analytics, and Learning)
Any questions, please contact Robena Spangler at RCPA. Thank you, in advance, for taking advantage of this offer.
REMINDER: ASD Seminar Survey
Take the ASD Seminar Survey!
Do you provide support to people with autism, intellectual disabilities, or other developmental disabilities?
We need to hear from you!
To support individuals living with autism and their families, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and The ASERT Collaborative are trying to learn more about training needs among providers who work with people who have autism, intellectual disabilities, or other developmental disabilities.
ODP is constantly building capacity by developing resources and trainings that are helpful to people who support these individuals.
By responding to this survey, you are helping ODP to create trainings and resources that will better meet your needs.
Please have your voice heard!
This survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Please complete this survey by January 18. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Child Welfare Placement Budget Documentation Training
The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is pleased to announce that it is providing training of the child welfare placement services budget documentation review process for Private Providers and any interested County Children & Youth Agencies (CCYA). The purpose of the FY 2019–20 training is to assist Private Providers and CCYA in completing the budget documents for the purposes of determining maximum levels of expenditure eligible for Federal Title IV-E and State Act 148 financial participation. Training will be provided at three regional locations and will encompass information related to those entities with the following licensures:
55 PA Code Ch. 3680
55 PA Code Ch. 3700
55 PA Code Ch. 3800
55 PA Code Ch. 5310
55 PA Code Ch. 6400
55 PA Code Ch. 6500
We are grateful for the organizations which have kindly agreed to host the FY 2019–20 Child Welfare Placement Budget Documentation Training. Training in each region will be held at the following locations and dates from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm:
CENTRAL: Monday February 4, 2019
Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program Center
403 East Winding Hill Rd.
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
MAX. CAPACITY: 144
WESTERN: Wednesday February 6, 2019
George Junior Republic in Pennsylvania
233 George Junior Road
Grove City, PA 16127
MAX. CAPACITY: 80
EASTERN: Friday February 15, 2019
Glen Mills Schools
185 Glen Mills Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342
MAX. CAPACITY: 80
Lunch will be available for purchase (Cash Only)
Reservations will be accepted beginning Thursday January 10, 2019. Seats will be reserved on a first come-first served basis until capacity is reached at each training location; a maximum of two attendees from each entity may be permitted.
OCYF strongly encourages each participating entity to send one representative with fiscal expertise and another representative encompassing expertise in the program(s) services.
*** Please keep in mind when making reservations, it is imperative that those representatives attending for either Private Provider or CCYA are the contacts responsible for completing budget documents or engaged actively in the Title IV-E/Act 148 reviews, respectively. ***
To RSVP, please email via the OCYF Contracts Resource Account ([email protected]) as follows:
SUBJECT:
(1) CCYA or Private Provider Name,
(2) identify the training location and
(3) the number of attendees (1 or 2)
BODY:
(4) Name(s) of attendee(s),
(5) include functioning e-mail address(es),
(7) indicate if any special accommodations are needed.
Please see an example below:
OCYF appreciates your valued efforts as they hope to continue this growing process toward consistency and overall quality each year.
Contact Robena Spangler, RCPA Children’s Division Director, with questions.
Children’s Division: 2018 Accomplishments & 2019 Priorities
Family First Prevention Act Training on January 30
The Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators Association (PCYA) is hosting a training on The Family First Prevention Act (FFPA) on January 30, 2019, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the CCAP Office, located at 2789 Old Post Road, Harrisburg, PA. The Office of Children, Youth and Families will provide an overview of Family First and update attendees on Pennsylvania’s implementation plans moving forward. Providers and county staff are encouraged to attend.
The Act and the federal funding associated with it will dramatically change PA’s child welfare system. New requirements and new opportunities for use of Title IV-E and Title IV-B dollars to enhance prevention efforts will be included in the presentation.
The registration link is provided in this flyer.
If you have questions about the training, please contact:
Brian C. Bornman, Esq.
PCYA Executive Director
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
Phone: 717-836-4736 | Cell: 717-836-4267 | Fax: 717-526-1020
[email protected] | www.pcya.org
Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS) Providers
As we continue to work with the Department of Human Services (DHS) on the proposed Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) regulations, providers through the BHRS Work Group identified a potential solution to the real challenge of recruitment and retention of direct service staff. Providers experience varying degrees of difficulty with hiring Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS) and with recruitment of Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT). The letters below are intended to provide some guidance and assistance for those BHRS providers who need a solution to their staffing crisis.
The work group acknowledges that there are a number of other issues related to implementation of the proposed regulations and will continue to meet and collaborate on ways to address additional barriers. In the meantime, feel free to utilize these letters if necessary. Our members have reported that some of the County Oversight entities and the BH-MCOs are open to considering solutions and strategies to help address workforce challenges. If you have questions or additional input, please contact Robena Spangler.
Community Mental Health Services Block Grant Review Period
The Implementation Report for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (CMHSBG) is submitted to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) annually to report the outcomes of the grant. The report includes both financial reporting and updates on the priorities set forth in the CMHSBG Application. Changes to the priorities can only be made in the biannual application; the Implementation Report only tracks the progress of those priorities already set. The majority of the Implementation Report requires charts that are submitted separately through the National Research Institute and are not available for review at this time.
The OMHSAS Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Program Development submits the attached sections through the SAMHSA Grant site (WebBGas). Any comments or questions regarding the CMHSBG 2019 Implementation Report may be directed to Wendy Tucker or 717-705-8280.
OMHSAS and Mercer Seeking Input
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has contracted with Mercer to conduct an extensive analysis related to the factors involved in serving youth with co-occurring mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a primary focus on youth being admitted to Residential and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (P/RTFs). The goal of this project is to support identification, adoption, and sustained use of best and promising practices across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and across child-serving agencies for serving this population. Mercer will test numerous hypotheses to identify underlying root causes contributing to ongoing challenges in meeting the needs of this population successfully in the community. This process will be done through:
- Targeted interviews or focus groups with providers, behavioral health managed care organizations (BH-MCOs), primary contractors (PCs), family members, youth, and other identified system stakeholders;
- Data analysis; and
- Other targeted, investigative research.
Mercer will then offer actionable recommendations for systemic interventions to support sustainable improvements and provide ongoing technical assistance to support successful adoption and implementation.
The targeted interviews with the P/RTFs serving this population will be held via in-person focus groups. Mercer is requesting that, at a minimum, members from your leadership and clinical program teams are included as participants as well as any other folks that you deem responsible for the care of the population mentioned above.
It is important that all interviews are completed by the end of the calendar year. Therefore, in an effort to be mindful of possible time off for the holiday season, we would like to schedule in advance over the course of the next two months. Each focus group will be scheduled for two hours; below is the day and time scheduled for the session(s). Please place a hold on your calendars for this date/time. Focus group invite/instructions will be made available in the week.
Providers in the Southeast:
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 • 9:00 am – 11:00 am
OMHSAS Southeast Field Office
1001 Sterigere Street, Building #48, 2nd Floor
Norristown, PA 19401
Providers in the West:
Thursday, November 29, 2018 • 9:00 am – 11:00 am
George Junior Republic, Program Building
233 George Junior Road|
Grove City, PA 16127
Questions should be directed to Robena Spangler or Scott Talley.
National Council Offers Opportunity to Provide Input
The National Council for Behavioral Health is helping to connect some of our members with some researchers. Western Michigan University is conducting an NIH-sponsored study to better understand the usefulness of evidence-based program registries in behavioral health care.
Are you an executive or senior staff member who is involved in selecting and/or implementing behavioral health care interventions at your agency? If so, the study would like to conduct a short telephone interview with you. If not, we are asking that you forward this email to an appropriate colleague at your agency.
The interviews are confidential; no individual or agency names will be associated with responses. In appreciation, you or your agency can receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate, as allowable.
To schedule a telephone interview and/or for more information, please email
[email protected] and include your agency’s name and state. Responses will come from one of the study’s collaborating organizations: The Evaluation Center, Kercher Center, Rady Hospital, or DSG Inc.
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