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The Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission (JCJC), the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, and the JCJC Awards Committee are pleased to announce that nominations are now being accepted for the 2023 Professional and Youth Award Programs. Award nomination forms can be found on the JCJC website. The awards will be presented at the 2023 James E. Anderson Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice November 1–2, 2023, at the Hilton Harrisburg.
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
Residential Program of the Year — Any public or private sector program serving alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth in a residential setting. This includes foster homes, group homes, residential treatment programs, general childcare facilities, shelter care facilities, detention centers, independent living programs, and other programs providing out-of-home, overnight care to children. Award Winners prior to 2018 are eligible for nomination.
Community-Based Program of the Year Award — Any public or private sector program, not operated by the court, which provides community-based, non-residential services to alleged and/or adjudicated delinquent youth including, but not limited to, day treatment programs, in-home services, Boys and Girls Clubs, Education Services, and out-patient services.
Meritorious Service Award — A person committed to furthering the development of at-risk, alleged and/or delinquent youth, or advancing the mission of the juvenile justice system (examples of volunteer work may include, but is not limited to, youth aid panels, youth commissions, anti-violence programs, school-based programs, diversionary programs, mentoring programs, faith-based programs, community centers, or similar programming).
Formal professional award nomination materials must be submitted via email by Monday, August 14, 2023.
YOUTH AWARDS
Outstanding Achievement Award — The Outstanding Achievement Award submission consists of a narrative description of a youth’s outstanding qualities of community service, victim reparation, academic accomplishments, school attendance, citizenship, attitude, extra-curricular activities, peer relationships, significant life experience, and positive changes in behavior.
Creative Expression Contest — Using the theme “Believe In My Steps For Tomorrow,” youth are to submit an original creative expression project in one of the following three categories: Poster; Written (essay, poem, story, etc.); or Mixed Media (Dance, song, audio, video, or photography). This contest has a fifteen (15) and under category and a sixteen (16) and over category.
Youth Award Winners and their chaperones will be honored guests at the 2023 Youth Awards Program and Dinner. Individuals submitting nominations will be responsible for ensuring that winners attend the Youth Awards Program. Winners will have the opportunity to say a few words upon receiving their award. All youth award nominations must be postmarked by Monday, August 14, 2023.
Thank you for your interest and support of the 2023 JCJC Awards Program. Please contact Angel Stewart at 717-783-7835 or via email contact Keysla Rodriguez at 717-783-6263 or via email for questions or further assistance.

RCPA held a golf fundraiser for the RCPA Political Action Committee (RCPA PAC) on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. This successful event raised much-needed funds for our legislative activities, and we would like to thank all the generous golfers who participated and contributed. Congratulations to our winners! In addition, we would like to thank our sponsors:
Your support is always appreciated, and we encourage you to make a personal contribution to the RCPA PAC. For your convenience, you can now make an online contribution.
Thank you again for your participation and support. We look forward to holding another golf outing in October, in conjunction with the RCPA Annual Conference.
Your participation in the RCPA-PAC is completely voluntary, and you may contribute as much or as little as you choose. Donations are not tax-deductible and will be used for political purposes. You may choose not to participate without fear of reprisal. You will not be favored or disadvantaged by reason of the amount of your contribution or decision not to contribute.
As the Federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends on May 11, there are several areas under this declaration, including the suspension of HIPAA enforcement, that will revert to the previous compliance standards.
As the PHE ends, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is providing a 90-calendar day transition period for covered health care providers to come into compliance with the HIPAA Rules with respect to their provision of telehealth. This transition period will be in effect beginning on May 12, 2023, and will expire at 11:59 pm on August 9, 2023. The Department of Health and Human Services has released this notice.
The RCPA Telehealth Work Group will be meeting June 27, 2023 and is looking to have OMHSAS on the call to provide guidance on processes and auditing functions after the transition dates. If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp. As this is a federal notice, questions related to this announcement should be directed to Marissa Gordon-Nguyen at 202-619–0403 or 800-537–7697 (TDD).
As the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 nears, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a number of resources to help with this transition. Included in these resources are FAQs for all CMS programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and private insurance. Some additional information includes:
Additionally, CMS released the Quality, Safety, & Oversight Memorandum to provide information about:
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a full committee hearing on May 4, 2023 at 1:00 pm. This hearing, “Preparing for the Next Public Health Emergency: Reauthorizing the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA),” will address the PAHPA set to expire on September 30, 2023. This would be PAHPA’s first reauthorization since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are significant lessons learned and issues to address from this experience. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dawn O’Connell are a few individuals expected to testify at the hearing.