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Children's Services

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Please join the Office of Long-term Living (OLTL) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) for an informational webinar on Community HealthChoices (CHC) on Friday, March 31, 2017 at 1:00 pm. The webinar will feature a presentation from OLTL’s Chief of Staff, Kevin Hancock. Kevin will provide an update on CHC, describe progress to date, and discuss next steps. There will be an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the presentation.

Background on CHC
The commonwealth is in the process of implementing CHC. CHC is a mandatory managed care program for eligible individuals, providing physical health services and long-term services and supports, such as attendant care services. CHC is being geographically phased in across the commonwealth beginning in January of 2018 in 14 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, followed in July 2018 by five counties in the southeastern portion of the commonwealth. The CHC implementation will be completed in January 2019, when the remaining counties are implemented. The move to CHC will assist DHS in continuing to provide quality services.  CHC managed care organizations will be required to coordinate covered services, Medicare, and behavioral health services for enrolled participants.

To register for the webinar, please follow this link. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email containing connection information. Please note, the connection information you receive will be unique to you and should not be shared with others.

Reminder: All CHC-related information can be found here. Comments can be submitted electronically. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Long-Term Living Bureau of Policy and Regulatory Management at 717-783-8412.

A listserv has been established for ongoing updates on the CHC program, titled OLTL-COMMUNITY-HEALTHCHOICES. If you would like to update or register your email address, please follow this link.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education is pleased to announce the following training opportunity provided in collaboration with The McDowell Institute for Teacher Excellence in Positive Behavior Support, Bloomsburg University:

Youth Mental Health First Aid
Monday, May 15, 2017
8:00 am – 5:30 pm
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center
Presenters: McDowell Institute, Bloomsburg University
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is an 8-hour training designed to teach people methods of assisting a young person who may be in the early stages of developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental crisis. This training is being offered, free of charge, to school and/or agency professionals to ensure ample support is available to youth across Pennsylvania’s schools. Suggested participants in YMHFA training are listed below.

Please note: this training is considered introductory and does not inform advanced skills/strategies.

Target Audience:
This training is open to classroom teachers, administrators, social services staff and volunteers, substance abuse professionals, social workers, school psychologists, guidance counselors, counselors, family members, college/university leaders, nurses, physician assistants, primary care workers, and policymakers.

Registration is available immediately, first-come, first-served. Space is limited. To register, interested participants should contact Charlotte Kemper.

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Please join the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:00 am for a webinar on the new Peer Support Services (PSS) bulletin and standards, including information on expanding the service to include youth and young adults. Peer certification will also be discussed.

The webinar will include:

  • An overview of the new standards
  • Information on expansion of services to youth and young adults, including employee clearances, training resources, and other issues
  • Peer Certification

You are welcome to attend in person in the Clothestree Conference Room (Room 12-48, Commonwealth Tower, Harrisburg). If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP to Cristal Leeper by 12:00 pm on Friday, March 31, and you will receive additional information concerning meeting logistics. Please note, you will be responsible for any parking charges.

If you would like to attend via webinar, please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing connection information. Please note, the connection information you receive will be unique to you and should not be shared with others. Please send any questions to Cristal Leeper.

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RCPA members who provide children’s services rely on RCPA and its capacity to understand the business of providing an array of unique services intended to meet the needs of the children, youth, and families in PA. The scope of services provided by over 125 child-serving agencies presents opportunities to collaborate, prioritize, and address issues that have an impact on service delivery, planning, policy, licensing, and regulation.

The RCPA Children’s Division and its members remain committed to the work done through the Children’s Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is a group of 12–15 leaders from member agencies who dedicate time away from the work they do every day in order to participate in the development and oversight of the division’s priorities. Currently, we are seeking interested members to replace openings on the committee.

If you are interested, please submit a brief Letter of Interest that outlines your desire/interest to serve on the Steering Committee and a summary of your work experience that you believe qualifies you as a subject matter expert for working with children, youth, and families. We strive to have a diverse group to include leadership in finance, service provision, supervision (both administrative and clinical), and business planning. It is important to recognize each member’s uniqueness and how it can help to advance the goals and objectives of the committee.

Please submit your Letter of Interest via email to Robena Spangler and our Co-Chairs Tammy Marsico and Garrett Trout. We want to thank all of you for your interest and ongoing support of the Children’s Division.

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On Monday, March 13, the House Health Committee will hold a meeting at 9:30 am in Room 205, Ryan Office Building to vote on HB478, which is sponsored by Rep. Tina Pickett (R – Bradford). The bill aims to assist outpatient psychiatric clinics to meet the growing demand and address the shortage of psychiatric time we are facing in Pennsylvania by changing the number of hours of psychiatric supervision required for each staff member per week. Additionally, the bill will allow licensed prescribing professionals to work within their scope of practice as is the case in the physical health care arena.  RCPA requests members to contact legislators that serve on the House Health Committee, and ask them to vote YES to move the bill out of committee.

The following legislators serve on the House Health Committee:

Republicans
Matt Baker, Chair
Kristen Hill
Aaron Bernstein
Alexander Charlton
Becky Corbin
Eli Evankovich
Frank Farry
Aaron Kaufer
Dawn Keefer
Harry Lewis
Paul Schemul
Todd Stephens
Jesse Topper
Judy Ward
Martina White
David Zimmerman

Democrats
Flo Fabrizio, Chair
Mary Jo Daley
Vanessa Brown
Mike Schlossberg
Kevin Boyle
Jason Dawkins
Pam DeLissio
Ed Gainey
Stephen Kinsey
Gerald Mullery

For your convenience, you can find the above legislators’ contact information here. Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

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Again this year the Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative (PAYSPI) and its partners will be hosting Suicide Prevention Nights at the Ballparks this year. These are the events where the students selected as the winners of the state’s youth suicide poster and public service announcement contest are publicly recognized for their work. The Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Harrisburg Senators have offered discount pricing, with a portion of the ticket sales through the PAYSPI links going toward suicide prevention in Pennsylvania. The Suicide Prevention Night In Philadelphia will be on April 22 (Phillies vs Atlanta Braves). For tickets at a special discount rate, with a contribution going to suicide prevention, visit this web page.

Look for information on similar events in both Pittsburgh and Harrisburg as information becomes available. In years past, provider organizations, managed care organizations, advocacy groups, and community businesses have made Suicide Prevention Nights at the Ballpark group outings for staff, consumers, and families.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued updated screening and assessment recommendations for children’s preventive health care. The AAP also continued to emphasize the need for “unfragmented continuity of care” in comprehensive health supervision. Published online in Pediatrics, the 2017 policy statement contains changes to 11 areas of care, relative to the 2016 revision of the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule, which cover care from birth to age 21. The recommendations note that “developmental, psychosocial, and chronic disease issues for children and adolescents may require frequent counseling and treatment visits separate from preventive care visits,” they caution, adding that unusual family circumstances may necessitate additional visits.

Changes include such care areas as:

  • Depression: Screening for adolescents should begin at age 12 years. In addition, physicians should ask about maternal depression at infants’ 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-month medical visits.
  • Psychosocial-behavioral: The update underscores that assessment should be family-centered and, in addition to a child’s social and emotional health, may include evaluation of caregivers and social determinants of health.

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Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Ted Dallas spoke at the RCPA Board of Directors meeting on February 22 regarding Governor Wolf’s proposal to consolidate four state health and human service agencies. If approved by the legislature, the plan would be launched on July 1, 2017.

Although the Secretary referenced approximately $90 million in savings from this process, he also affirmed that this “cannot be just about saving money.” Dallas remarked that time spent dealing with the bureaucracies as currently constructed takes time away from providing services, and so the goal is to eliminate redundancies.

RCPA members brought up key topics such as population health, licensing, and services for persons with co-existing conditions. When asked how this consolidation will affect addressing the opioid crisis, Secretary Dallas responded that the focus would be shifted to treating the whole person, rather than each individual condition.

The meeting concluded with the Secretary requesting ideas for continued efficiencies and how to ultimately better serve members. On the day of the Governor’s announcement, RCPA issued a statement expressing support for the proposal and committing to working with the administration to implement the plan in a smart and cost-effective manner.

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The next OMHSAS Mental Health Planning Council (MHPC) is taking place on Thursday, March 2, 2017, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm at the Child Welfare Resource Center (403 East Winding Hill Road, Mechanicsburg). The joint session will run from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. The individual committees (Children’s, Adult, and Older Adult) will meet separately from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. A map and directions are available for your convenience.

The agenda and PowerPoint for the joint session are available as well, in addition to the agendas for the individual committee meetings, as well as the outcomes from the December 1, 2016 MHPC meetings, listed below:

Outcomes:

Agendas:

This meeting is open to the public. There is no need to RSVP; feel free to bring anyone you think would be interested in attending. Please contact Cristal Leeper with any questions.

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On February 8, the Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Ted Dallas announced the availability of onboarding grant funds to help connect hospitals and ambulatory practices to the Authority’s Pennsylvania Patient & Provider Network, or P3N.

The P3N enables electronic health information exchange (eHIE) across the state through the connection of health care providers to health information organizations (HIO), and the participation of the HIOs in the P3N.

“These grants will assist providers in the efficient delivery of quality services to the individuals we serve across the commonwealth,” said DHS Secretary Ted Dallas. “As more providers participate, individuals will experience better coordination of care and a better quality of health care.”

The grant program, available to Pennsylvania HIOs to enable the connection of inpatient hospital/facilities and outpatient practice or other outpatient provider organizations participating in the Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, includes:

  • Up to $75,000 to connect each eligible inpatient hospital or other inpatient facility to an HIO;
  • Up to $35,000 to connect each eligible outpatient practice or other outpatient provider organization to an HIO; and
  • Up to $5,000 to enable other eligible providers that do not fit into the two categories above, but want to enable HIE participation and connect to an HIO via a portal.

Each eligible provider will connect via an HIO to the P3N.

Only a single award is permitted to any one hospital/facility or outpatient practice. The anticipated performance period for this grant runs through September 30, 2017.

The grant will:

  • Help providers deliver higher quality and more efficient care, particularly through better care coordination for patients covered by Medicaid;
  • Support provider participation in private-sector HIOs by offsetting connection costs;
  • Incentivize HIOs to join the P3N, a precondition for receiving funding;
  • Support rapid movement toward the participation in eHIE, and support various care reform efforts currently underway across the Commonwealth; and
  • Defray up-front costs for individual providers to join an HIO, thus helping to achieve meaningful use and satisfy obligations under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

This program will be made possible through an $8.125 million grant from the federal Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Under the terms of the federal grant, CMS will provide 90 percent of the onboarding grant, with the remaining 10 percent funded by the Commonwealth. The grant applications and supporting materials are available online here.

(Information courtesy of DHS)

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