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Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

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The Arc of Pennsylvania is offering Employment Discovery training September 7–9, 2022. This 3-day training provides a comprehensive overview of Discovery (an alternative to traditional vocational assessments) and instruction on facilitating the Discovery process. For those seeking to become certified providers of Discovery through Marc Gold and Associates, it is the prerequisite face-to-face training to complete certification. Individuals not seeking certification will gain valuable information and insight and may attend as auditors of the course.

This course is for:

  • Job Coaches and Job Developers;
  • Supports Coordinators;
  • Parents and Families;
  • OVR Counselors;
  • Transition Coordinators; and
  • School Transition Teams.

Cost
Auditing — $200
Certification — $1200

Register
Visit The Arc of PA and complete the online registration form for Discovery.
Questions? For more information, please contact Anthony Chan.

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ODP Announcement 22-062 is to inform interested parties of the 988 lifeline. Trained crisis response professionals can provide support to individuals considering suicide, self-harm, or any behavioral, mental health, or substance abuse need.

Starting on July 16, 2022, people who call, text, or chat with 988 will be directly connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The existing Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will remain available.

Callers can also connect with the Veterans Crisis Line or receive assistance in Spanish. These services will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are free to any caller no matter where they live.

Additional resources can be found here.

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Gun Violence and Mental Illness
June 6, 2022

Our organizations write to express our deep concerns about false and harmful attempts to link mental illness and gun violence. The horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two adults on May 24 is just one in a long series of mass shootings throughout our country. These shootings have one thing in common – easy access to weapons that can kill with terrifying efficiency on a massive scale. Attempts to connect mental illness to mass shootings are a distraction that inflicts enormous damage by taking attention from solutions that could actually prevent such events. This perpetuates a false narrative that encourages stigmatization of and discrimination against the millions of Americans living with mental health conditions who are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators of it (i). In fact, persons with mental illness account for a very small portion of gun violence (ii).

While mental health conditions are common in countries across the globe (iii), the United States is the only country where mass shootings have become disturbingly commonplace. In fact, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States (iv). Not coincidentally, the U.S. is also alone in making firearms widely available with few restrictions.

Gun violence is a public health crisis, and the trauma and fear caused by mass shootings significantly worsen Americans’ mental health. A large majority of adults in the United States experience stress associated with mass shootings, and a third of U.S. adults say that fear of mass shootings stops them from going to certain places and events (v). Moreover, research has shown that victims and members of affected communities experience increases in posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and other signs of psychological concerns. Other studies have found that, after previous mass shootings, youth felt less safe and more fearful (vi). These findings, many of which are unsurprising, make it all the more important to take urgent action to prevent these shootings, particularly in light of our nation’s ongoing youth mental health crisis.

Our organizations welcome continued bipartisan efforts to improve our country’s mental health and substance use systems. These should be pursued because they will enhance our collective well-being, improve and save countless lives, and lead to a more vibrant and resilient country.

However, what these reforms alone will not do is address the epidemic of mass shootings. To prevent more carnage, policymakers must act now to address the national crisis of gun violence and work on a bipartisan basis to pass meaningful solutions that promote gun safety in all of our communities.

2020 Mom
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing)
All4Ed
Alliance for Quality Education
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (previously known as CPNP)
American Council for School Social Work
American Counseling Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Nurses Association
American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Clinical Social Work Association
Council of Administrators of Special Education
Crisis Residential Association
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
EDGE Consulting Partners
Global Alliance on Behavioral Health and Social Justice
Inseparable
International OCD Foundation
Learning Heroes
Mental Health America
MENTOR National
N.A.P.S.
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Eating Disorders Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Health Law Program
National League for Nursing
National Register of Health Service Psychologists
Partnership to End Addiction
Psychotherapy Action Network
RI International
School Social Work Association of America
The Advocacy Institute
The Jed Foundation
The Kennedy Forum
Well Being Trust

  • (i) Brekke JS, Prindle C, Bae SW, Long JD. Risks for individuals with schizophrenia who are living in the community. Psychiatr Serv. 2001 Oct;52(10):1358-66. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.52.10.1358. PMID: 11585953.
  • (ii) Baumann ML, Teasdale B. Severe mental illness and firearm access: Is violence really the danger? Int J Law Psychiatry. 2018 Jan-Feb;56:44-49. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.11.003. Epub 2017 Dec 7. PMID: 29701598.
  • (iii) Steel Z, Marnane C, Iranpour C, et al. The global prevalence of common mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis 1980-2013. Int J Epidemiol. 2014;43(2):476-493. doi:10.1093/ije/dyu038
  • (iv) Goldstick, Jason E., Cunningham, Rebecca M., Carter, Patrick M. Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States. 2022/04/20. New England Journal of Medicine, 386: 1955-1956. 10.1056/NEJMc220176. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2201761.
  • (v)American Psychological Association (APA) (2019). One-Third of US Adults Say Fear of Mass Shootings Prevents Them from Going to Certain Places or Events. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2019/08/fear-mass-shooting
  • (vi) For a description of relevant research see: Lowe SR, Galea S. The Mental Health Consequences of Mass Shootings. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2017 Jan;18(1):62-82. doi: 10.1177/1524838015591572. Epub 2015 Jun 17. PMID: 26084284

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RCPA staff and the Conference Committee are gearing up for our long-awaited in-person conference to be held in Hershey, PA, October 11 – 14, 2022! We have a great lineup of speakers underway to cover a wide range of topics, including:

  • Strategies to help organizations attract and keep quality staff;
  • Value-based care and reimbursement;
  • The importance of data to inform service provisions;
  • Use of technology to improve services and increase independence; and
  • Telehealth and the legal considerations when utilizing this model.

There will be sessions covering leadership, supervision, trauma-informed leadership, “how to” effectively advocate for legislation, and many sessions focusing on our members’ specialties — Intellectual Disabilities and Autism, Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol, Children’s Services, Physical Disabilities and Aging, and more.

Registration will be opening in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for the Early Bird rates!

We would also like to thank some of our early sponsors. Thank you for showing your support of our 2022 Conference!

 

 

We have additional sponsorship opportunities available and invite you to contact Carol Ferenz or Sarah Eyster for more information. You can also see our brochure for contract details.

We look forward to seeing you all Together this October!

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This training is made available to RCPA members through the NEON Project, with the goal of assisting Employment Service Providers so they can offer effective services to the individuals they serve.

Improving operations and outcomes is the goal, but how do we decide what data to capture? This presentation will discuss important data metrics that improved the NEON Project’s bottom line and helped the organization improve its operations. They will also tell their story of why employment is so important.

This training will be held Friday, June 10, 2022, from 10:00 am – 11:00 am. You can register for the session here. The presenter will be Jeannine Pavlak, Chief Executive Officer at New England Business Associates.

If you have any questions, contact Carol Ferenz.

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The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) is committed to providing quality services to Pennsylvanians with disabilities. Effective partnership with Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) is essential to fulfilling this commitment. Recognizing the unique challenges affecting our CRPs, OVR is modifying service rates for both Supported Employment and Pre-Employment Transition Services as outlined in a memo from OVR Acting Executive Director Ryan Hyde. This change will provide equitable compensation for comparable services funded through both agencies.

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Lawmakers return to Harrisburg to begin the monthlong process of crafting and passing a final state spending plan for the 2022/23 fiscal year. The next few weeks are crucial.

Lawmakers need to hear from you right now! Contact your state senator and representative and tell them to increase funding to support human services professionals, so individuals and families in need get the assistance and care they deserve.

Pennsylvania has billions of state dollars in surplus, plus additional federal money, but it remains unspent as the needs of our most vulnerable residents go unmet.

Over the past few months, our coalition has sent more than 6,000 messages to the General Assembly and administration. We aired TV commercials and shared our message on social media. We rallied at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. We have been seen and heard.

But all that matters now is what happens during these next few weeks as the budget is finalized. There is no slowing down now. Use this link to learn how you can help and urge your networks to do the same. Most importantly, if you haven’t already, take action today.

This workforce crisis is affecting our most vulnerable individuals and families, as well as the providers and professionals who serve them. Lawmakers have a big role to play in solving this problem. But they need to hear from you. Thank you for your continued support; now, let’s finish strong!

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ODP Announcement 22-061 is to announce that the amendments to the Consolidated, Community Living, and P/FDS waivers (hereafter referred to as the Intellectual Disability and Autism (ID/A) waivers) were approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) effective June 1, 2022.

The ID/A waiver amendments were submitted to CMS on January 3, 2022. Since that time, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has been engaged in ongoing discussions with CMS. Substantive changes were approved as follows:

  • Eligibility was expanded to include children with a developmental disability due to a medically complex condition. The Family Medical Support Assistance service was added to support the complex medical needs of these children. Provider qualification criteria were enhanced to ensure providers have the needed structure to support these children.
  • Delivery of services while the participant is hospitalized is currently allowed through Appendix K flexibilities. Guidance regarding delivery of services while the participant is hospitalized is contained in the Operational Guide. This guidance should continue to be followed until otherwise notified.
  • Homemaker services include infection control measures and intensive cleaning, such as cleaning medical equipment and disinfecting the home.
  • Home accessibility adaptations support individuals to transition from an institutional setting to a private home (including a Life Sharing home) and clarify covered home accessibility adaptations due to changes in Medical Assistance.
  • Transition to Independent Living payments were added to the Consolidated Waiver to support participants to transition from residential habilitation homes to Life Sharing or Support Living.
  • Changes were made to residential qualification requirements to ensure that all residential providers are adequately prepared prior to delivering a service and prior to the provider going through ODP’s qualification process.

The following rates, as communicated in ODP Announcement 22-051, are also effective June 1, 2022, when authorized on an Individual Support Plan:

  • Family Medical Support Assistance services;
  • Medically Complex Life Sharing services in the Consolidated Waiver; and
  • Transition to Independent Living payments in the Consolidated Waiver. Each full waiver application approved by CMS and the record of change document are available here.

ODP will be scheduling webinars soon to discuss the changes made in these approved amendments, as well as changes made to the July 2022 waiver renewals once they are approved by CMS. ODP will release a communication announcing the webinars when the waiver renewals are approved. Questions about this communication should be directed to the appropriate Office of Developmental Programs Regional Office.

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