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Registration for the RCPA Conference 2022 Together! is now open! Together! will be held October 11 – 14, 2022, at the Hershey Lodge in person this year. Be sure to register soon, as early bird rate is available now until September 9, 2022.
We are excited for the lineup of speakers who will be presenting at this year’s conference, as there will be pertinent information available and discussed for all service areas. Workshop sessions include:
Be sure to check out the entire list of sessions in our brochure, and note that sessions will be recorded to allow participants to take advantage of sessions after the event.
In addition to an amazing roster of speakers, our 2022 Conference will have an exciting array of sponsors and exhibitors. We thank those who have committed to our conference thus far! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, visit here for more details.
We’d like to give a special shoutout to our Connections Hall sponsor Beacon Health Options as well as our Welcome Reception sponsor UPMC Community Care Behavioral Health Organization. Thank you for your support!
Questions about the conference may be directed to Carol Ferenz or Sarah Eyster, Conference Coordinators.
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Start time: 9:00 am
End time: 1:30 pm
This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. The public is invited to call in to this meeting using the following information:
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Sept 8, 2022, 09:00 am Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: PA State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting
Use this link to join the webinar:
Passcode: 528240
Or One Tap Mobile:
US: +19292056099,,88584838897#,,,,*528240# or +13017158592,,88584838897#,,,,*528240#
Or Telephone:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1-929-205-6099 or +1-301-715-8592 or +1-312-626-6799 or +1-646-931-3860 or +1-669-900-6833 or +1-253-215-8782 or +1-346-248-7799 or +1-386-347-5053 or +1-564-217-2000 or +1-669-444-9171
Webinar ID: 885 8483 8897
Passcode: 528240
The agenda for this meeting is below. Anyone who would like to make public comments prior to the meeting may submit their comments via email.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE BOARD OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
Zoom Virtual Meeting
September 8, 2022
MISSION STATEMENT: To assist Pennsylvanians with disabilities to secure and maintain employment and independence.
PUBLIC AGENDA
9:00 am – 9:20 am
Welcome & Opening Remarks, Jennifer Berrier, Secretary, Labor & Industry
9:20 am – 9:30 am
Discussion on 2023 State Board Meeting Dates & Locations, Jennifer Berrier
9:30 am – 10:00 am
Executive Director’s Remarks, Ryan Hyde, Acting Executive Director, OVR
10:00 am – 10:30 am
State Board Task Force Committee Update, Michael Kiel, Board Member
10:30 am – 10:45 am
10:45 am – 11:45 am
Hiram G. Andrews Center, Jill Moriconi, Director
Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Marci Katona, Acting Director
Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services, Dawn Sokol, Acting Director
Bureau of Central Operations, Ryan Hyde, Director
11:45 am – 12:25 pm
Statewide Independent Living Council, Matthew Seeley, Executive Director
PA Rehabilitation Council, Paul Fogle, Chair
Office for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, Melissa Hawkins, Director
Client Assistance Program, Steve Pennington, Director
12:25 pm – 1:00 pm
Report on Summer Internships, Doug Rand, Business Services Outreach Division Chief
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
1:30 pm
Thanks to accessiBe, RCPA’s website is accessible to individuals with disabilities! Their accessibility tool is free to most nonprofits. It lets your end users tailor your websites for multiple different special needs, by selecting various settings for both accessibility and content. To see the options available, click or tap on the round accessibility widget in the bottom left corner of your screen!
A Better Understanding of Mental Health to Improve Systems and Supports
Articles in this issue of Positive Approaches focus on lived experiences and emerging treatments and supports for people with mental health challenges, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Article topics include the training process and outcomes of Mental Health First Aid, a Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and Allegheny County DHS pilot program to better address the complex needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, and/or acute behavioral health needs, and an interview with a person with lived experience discussing the gaps, challenges, and opportunities of supporting someone with an autism spectrum diagnosis and co-occurring mental health diagnoses. There are also articles detailing the transition process from an institutionalized setting to a community setting and the outcomes for individuals with autism and drawing on research and lived experience to conclude that mental health conditions in autistic people are a result of the society in which they live with autism, not autism itself.
This issue of Positive Approaches Journal is in digital form, available for viewing online, or available for downloading here. To print a copy of the PDF, online journal, or a specific article, you will find these options within your left navigation bar on any Positive Approaches Journal page. A new window will open with your selected document. In your browser, you may click the Print button in the top left corner of the page, or by using the Print capability within your browser.
Please submit feedback regarding your experience with the Positive Approaches Journal on MyODP by clicking on the feedback image on MyODP within your left navigation bar on any Positive Approaches Journal page.
The Positive Approaches Journal is published quarterly. For additional information, please contact ODP Training.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) today released Information Bulletin 02-22: Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Records.
Act 33 of 2022 took effect immediately when Gov. Wolf signed it on July 7, 2022. Act 33 makes significant changes to the confidentiality provisions for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records under Pennsylvania law and DDAP’s enforcement of those provisions. Act 33 amends the definitions, 71 P.S. § 1690.102, and the confidentiality provisions, 71 P.S. § 1690.108, of Act 63 of 1972, the Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act.
Read the Information Bulletin.