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Criminal Justice

For those in health and human services, keeping up-to-date with the latest in payment, treatment, and worker recruitment methods is essential. At the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity, you’ll have access to workshops that both highlight and educate on the latest developments in the field, including the use of AI, selective contracting, and telehealth. Our full brochure is available, and you can expect to see workshops such as the following:

  • Guiding the Use of Evidence-Based Practice to Drive Improved Quality Outcomes Across Levels of Care
    • Examine the use of evidence-based practices and the outcomes of value-based payment programs with the PA Opioid Use Disorder Centers of Excellence.
  • Recruitment and Retention of Front Line Workers
    • Focus on the HR challenges of recruiting and retaining workers by reviewing why workers are leaving and analyzing what HR can do to meet goals.
  • Preparing Your Organization’s Infrastructure for Selective Contracting for IDD Providers
    • Define what a preferred IDD provider is when it comes to selective contracting and discuss how to prepare for transitioning your organization’s infrastructure.
  • Not If But When You Use AI and Machine Learning – But is the AI Trustworthy? Some Things to Look For
    • Discuss AI use in the health and human services field in order to make informed decisions for your organization.
  • Connecting Through Movement: Bringing Accessible and Enjoyable Movement Experiences Into the Home and Community
    • Explore ways of staying physically active in community settings with home-based, telehealth methods.
  • A Brief Multi-Disciplinary Intervention for Supporting Adults With IDD and Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions
    • Analyze the use of the ANSA-DD for holistic intervention and treatment for those with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions.
  • Community Partnerships That Work: Community Mental Health Centers – School Districts
    • Identify the strengths in collaboration when school districts, community mental health agencies, and their communities work together to assist families struggling with violence and trauma.
  • Leadership and Navigating Change
    • Tackle resistance in a team that is going through significant adjustments and learn how to be a leader by focusing on the ‘people side’ of change.
Register today!

In addition to an impressive roster of speakers, our 2023 Conference will have an exciting array of sponsors and exhibitors. We thank those who have signed on thus far! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, visit here for more details or contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, with any questions you may have. Keep up-to-date and register today for #rcpaconf!

If you haven’t registered yet for the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity, then don’t wait any longer! Our plenary sessions throughout the week are sure to inspire you with new ideas to tackle priorities in health and human services. Looking ahead, we have:

  • Returning speaker Michael Cohen, Esq., addressing practical ways for attracting high-caliber employees in a rapidly-changing job market;
  • A panel addressing the realities of the workforce crisis, featuring Tine Hansen-Turton of Woods Services, Toni Pergolin of Bancroft, Rita Gardner of Melmark, and Marco Giordano of Resources for Human Services; and
  • National updates from National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Chuck Ingoglia as well as ANCOR’s Donna Martin.

Be sure to view our registration brochure to book your seat (and your hotel room) today!

We extend our thanks to those organizations that have already contributed and shown their support! Sponsor and exhibitor spots are filling up quickly, so complete the sponsor/exhibitor brochure today! As a reminder, sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by September 8. In order to be considered for booth self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

The Secretaries of the Department of Human Services, Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Department of Health, and Department of Aging have written a letter to human services organizations about the budget impasse and an estimated $5.9 billion in planned state and federal funding that cannot be disbursed without a signed budget. The letter details specific funds that cannot be distributed through each department.

For Gov. Shapiro to sign HB 611, the General Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2023/24, which was passed by both the House and Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward must first deliver a signed physical copy of the bill to him. Sen. Ward is the only person with the power to call the Senate into session to complete this procedural step. Ward has adjourned the Senate until Sept. 18, 2023.

Read the full letter here.

Explore unique leadership and up-to-date support strategies in health and human services at the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity, as our speakers will be covering topics that touch on hoarding disabilities, handling subpoenas, and even tackling social anxiety with tabletop games! Held at the Hershey Lodge October 10 – 13, participants can earn CEs through these exciting and interactive workshops. Our full brochure is available, and below is a sampling of the many sessions being offered:

  • Hoarding Recovery and Maintenance Program
    • Learn about the Hoarding Recovery and Maintenance Program, which was designed to support individuals dealing with anxiety and stress as they let go of their hoarded possessions.
  • Make Difficult People Disappear: How to Reduce Stress and Eliminate Conflict in the Workplace
    • Obtain tricks and resources to not only managing stressful individuals but making them disappear without worsening the situation.
  • Investigating the Use of Tabletop Role-Playing Games as a Potential Therapeutic Intervention for Individuals With Social Anxiety
    • Discover how tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons can assist adults in dealing with anxiety, particularly social anxiety.
  • A Treatment Outcome Measurement System That Helps to Get & Keep Treatment Funding
    • Develop a simple yet effective treatment outcome measurement system in order to keep funding, including Medicaid funding.
  • Addressing Cultural Barriers to Treatment: How to Be Respectfully Curious When Working With Families
    • Address leadership tactics for being curious yet respectful when interacting with fellow employees in order to avoid causing more harm or enforcing one’s personal beliefs.
  • Subpoenas, Court Orders, and Requests for PHI: Obligations Under HIPAA, the MHPA, and Other Statutes
    • Delve into HIPAA and PA statues in order to learn about the complexities regarding subpoenas and court-related orders when working in health and human services.
  • Enabling Technology: The Why, What, and How Needed to Make it Happen
    • Understand how companies can improve organization capacity in order to provide up-to-date technology to disabled communities.
  • Leadership and Navigating Change
    • Tackle resistance in a team that is going through significant adjustments and learn how to be a leader by focusing on the ‘people side’ of change.
Register today!

In addition to an impressive roster of speakers, our 2023 Conference will have an exciting array of sponsors and exhibitors. We thank those who have signed on thus far! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, visit here for more details or contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, with any questions you may have. Keep up-to-date and register today for #rcpaconf!

Governor Shapiro’s office published a list of regulations being considered by the state agencies in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on July 22, 2023. The document lists regulations being drafted by state agencies that cover a wide variety of activities under oversight of the state government. Under Executive Order 1996-1, all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor must submit for publication semi-annually an agenda of regulations under development or consideration. This list is current as of July 15, 2023.

Join us at the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity for the latest in strategies and innovations within the health and human services sector. Held at the Hershey Lodge October 10 – 13, participants can earn CEs through workshops that will cover a wide variety of topics. Our full brochure is available, and we’ll be rounding out our first day at the lodge with:

  • Driving Pennsylvania’s Health Care Transformation: Integrating Perspectives for Advanced Patient-Centered Care
    • Discuss strategies and methods of health care system integration, including designing a roadmap for practical applications.
  • Purpose and Growth: Engaging and Retaining Your Teams in Challenging Times
    • Learn to retain employees in the face of generational gaps, the effects of the pandemic, and the economy by focusing on what they most want: purpose and growth.
  • Why Your Agency Needs A Specialized Telehealth Solution: Improving Health, Provider Cost Saving, Increased Satisfaction
    • Hear about StationMD and Mainstay Life Services’ telehealth partnership and how having a specialized telehealth solution can improve outcomes while lowering costs.
  • Data Strategies for Impact and System Transformation
    • Do more with your data by learning the stages of organizational development for data-informed decision-making.
  • Value-Based Purchasing: A Survival Guide
    • Review value-based purchasing and how it is a tool to be used to improve quality health care. This discussion will include best practices for utilizing data in real time.
  • Current Steps in Implementing Trauma-informed Care in Children’s MH RTFs
    • Learn about OMHSAS’s TIC Initiative for children’s mental health residential treatment facilities, which serves as part of PA’s commitment to becoming a trauma-informed state.
  • Individual Operations: Owning Your Own Influence
    • Understand what it means to be a leader and implement strategies that will strengthen your team, including utilizing and recognizing scheduling patterns, planning ahead, and knowing when to set and break boundaries.
  • Condition Support: Addressing Escalated Situations in the Health Care Setting
    • Analyze an overview of UPMC’s Conditional Support Process, which addresses patients or visitors who exhibit aggressive or hostile behaviors in order to protect medical professionals.
Register today!

In addition to an impressive roster of speakers, our 2023 Conference will have an exciting array of sponsors and exhibitors. We thank those who have signed on thus far! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, visit here for more details or contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, with any questions you may have. Keep up-to-date and register today for #rcpaconf!

The Department of Human Services (DHS) recognizes that the corrective action process is a cornerstone of human services licensing. In 2019, the Department released a webinar, Developing a Plan of Correction, to assist providers with the successful development and implementation of acceptable Plans of Correction. Likewise, the Plan of Correction Quick Reference Guide was issued as a tool to assist our providers with this process.

The Department is seeking your feedback on these resources. Please complete this survey by July 26, 2023, in order to assist DHS in determining what additional steps are needed to ensure that our providers are sufficiently educated and supported in the Plan of Correction process.

If you have further questions, please contact your respective RCPA Policy Director for guidance.