National Council Shares Next Steps in Advocating Against Medicaid Funding Cuts
Disabling Enabling in Family Recovery Webinar March 6
Presented by Beth Bitler, this training provides information on how enabling behaviors develop as family members search for a way to cope with active substance use and fears of relapse in recovery. It will help participants understand the relationship between substance use disorder, recovery, and enabling behaviors. It will also touch on how stigmatizing language affects families of individuals with SUD.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how enabling behaviors develop;
- Identify the relationship between substance use, recovery, and enabling behaviors; and
- Identify coping mechanisms of family members.
State Representative Dan Miller to Host “The Defense of Medicaid” Press Conference Feb. 28
Message from Representative Dan Miller’s Office:
Supporting and defending Medicaid funding to our Commonwealth has always been a top priority of mine, and this week we’re having a press conference to discuss the potential impact that Federal cuts to Medicaid may have on our most vulnerable populations.
Joining me will be U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee, other state lawmakers, and Allegheny County officials to highlight why defending Medicaid is imperative. We will also hear from self-advocates who would be directly impacted by Medicaid changes.
The loss of Federal funding to states would be devasting for the more than 3 million Pennsylvanians who are enrolled in Medicaid. Medicaid also pays for 30% of Medicare. Those that depend on its supports and services, include:
- Seniors
- Low-income families and individuals
- People with disabilities
- Pregnant women and children, and many more.
The news conference will be held at 10:15 am Friday, February 28, at the Portico of the City-County Building, 414 Grant St., Pittsburgh.
We’ll also be joined by state Reps. Dan Frankel, Emily Kinkead, Jess Benham, Lindsay Powell, Aerion Abney, La’Tasha D. Mayes and Arvind Venkat; state Sens. Jay Costa, Wayne Fontana, Lindsey Williams and Nick Pisciottano; Mayor Ed Gainey; Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor; Pittsburgh Councilwoman Erika Strassburger; and the offices of County Executive Sara Innamorato and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.
There is a lot to be discussed, and everyone is welcome to join us this Friday at 10:15 am at the Portico of the City-County Building located at 414 Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh.
As always, if you have questions about this event or any state-related matter, please contact our office at 412-343-3870 or [email protected].
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Post-Award Forum for PA’s 1115 Demonstration for Former Foster Care Youth and SUD
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is holding a post-award forum to afford the public with an opportunity to provide comments on the progress of the federal Section 1115 Demonstration titled “Medicaid Coverage for FFCY from a Different State and SUD Demonstration.” The FFCY component of the demonstration was approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) effective October 1, 2017, and enables the Commonwealth to provide Medicaid coverage to out‑of‑state former foster care youth under the age of 26 years who were in foster care under the responsibility of another state or tribe when they turned 18. The SUD component of the demonstration was approved by CMS effective July 1, 2018, and provides necessary funding that is critical to continue supporting the provision of a full continuum of medically necessary SUD services, including residential services. In September 2022, CMS approved the Commonwealth’s application to renew the Demonstration through September 30, 2027.
The forum will be held on Friday, March 28, 2025, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm via WebEx. Please register for the Post Award Forum prior to the meeting date here.
Please contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp with any questions.
Spotlight PA Seeks Input On How Opioid Misuse, Addiction Are Affecting Pennsylvania
Spotlight PA is covering Pennsylvania’s drug addiction crisis, its impact on children and families, and the potential to use opioid settlement funds to address associated problems. To help inform its coverage, the publication is seeking stories about how the opioid epidemic and addiction has affected Pennsylvanians, including frontline perspectives from healthcare workers, child welfare workers, counselors, first responders, and others addressing these issues regularly.
More information, including a form for submitting responses, can be found on Spotlight PA’s website.
RCPA Member Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health and TCV Community Services Select Wendy Pardee as TCV Executive Director
“The BHE Toolkit 3: Specific Practices for the Art of Helping People With Histories of Trauma” Training Available
This Drexel University training will be held March 20, 2025, from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm, and will take place at the Holiday Inn Grantville. The training fee is $15 to attend and $45 for CEs/attendance. The course will be led by Chris Owens, MA, LPC, CCTP.
This course focuses on specific interventions of use to the professional helper when providing therapeutic services in behavioral healthcare. The aim of this workshop is to add to the helper’s “bag of tricks” or “toolkit” pertaining to assisting people with histories of trauma. Participants engage in didactic and experiential learning related to several specific interventions geared toward managing and moving beyond trauma. Participants also dialogue in small groups to share creative and effective interventions they have used in their various practice settings.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Summarize the general purposes of interventions;
- Discuss having a sound rationale for using various techniques;
- Describe the benefits associated with each strategy;
- Outline the drawbacks and barriers to using selected interventions; and
- Implement each intervention as relevant to one’s own professional practice.
CE Credits:
- APA — 5
- CPRP — 5
- LSW/LCSW/LPC/LMFT — 5
- NBCC — 5
- PA Act48 — 5
- PCB — 5
- PSNA — 5
- IACET —.5
Please visit here for additional information.
National Council Issues Reminder for Survey on Impacts of Potential Medicaid Cuts
Reminder for RCPA 2025 Conference Call for Proposals!
This is a reminder that the Call for Proposals for the 2025 RCPA Annual Conference Striving to Thrive will be closing Friday, March 14. Striving to Thrive will be held September 9 – 12 at the Hershey Lodge for a statewide audience, and the Conference Committee is seeking workshop proposals in every area for possible inclusion, particularly those that assist providers in developing and maintaining high-quality, stable, and effective treatments, services, and agencies in an industry where change is constant. The committee looks for presentations that:
- Provide guidance on building a culture of a committed workforce, including recruitment and employee development as well as effective remote workforce strategies;
- Inspire ideas for organizations to be leaders in their field;
- Highlight new policy, research, and treatment initiatives, such as the use of artificial intelligence and use of technology in service provision;
- Provide specific skills and information related to individual and organizational leadership development and enhancement;
- Discuss advanced ethics practices and suicide prevention;
- Address system changes that affect business practices, including integrated care strategies, value-based purchasing, performance-based contracting, acquisitions and mergers, and alternative payment models; and
- Discuss organization strategies to adapt to performance-based contracting.
The committee welcomes any proposal that addresses these and other topics essential to rehabilitation, mental health, substance use disorder, children’s health, aging, physical disabilities, and intellectual/developmental disabilities & autism.
Members are encouraged to consider submitting, and we highly encourage you to forward this opportunity to those who are exceptionally good speakers and have state-of-the-art information to share.
The Call for Proposals (featuring a complete listing of focus tracks) and accompanying Guidelines for Developing Educational Objectives detail requirements for submissions. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 14, 2025, at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be submitted electronically on the form provided; confirmation of receipt will be sent. Proposals submitted after the deadline may not be considered.
If the proposal is accepted, individuals must be prepared to present on any day of the conference. Workshops are 90 or 180 minutes in length. At the time of acceptance, presenters will be required to confirm the ability to submit workshop handouts electronically two weeks prior to the conference. Individuals unable to meet this expectation should not submit proposals for consideration.
Individuals are welcome to submit multiple proposals. Notification of inclusion for the conference will be made via email by Friday, May 9, 2025. Questions may be directed to Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.
OPEN MINDS: How Stigma Stifles
Article reprinted with permission from OPEN MINDS. To sign up for a free OPEN MINDS news feed on https://www.openminds.com/market-intelligence/, go to https://www.openminds.com/membership/.
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