';
Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared the attached communication, ODPANN 24-017: Open for Public Comment: Proposed Waiver Amendments for One-Time Workforce Recovery Supplemental Payments. The purpose of this communication is to announce that proposed amendments to the Consolidated, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS), Community Living, and Adult Autism Waivers are available for public review and comment. There is a 30-day public comment period that starts on February 3, 2024, and ends on March 4, 2024, at 11:59 pm.

Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed waiver amendments as outlined below. Comments received by 11:59 pm on March 4, 2024, will be reviewed and considered for revisions to the waiver amendments submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Comments and requests for copies of this notice and documents should be addressed to: Julie Mochon Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs, 625 Forster Street, Room 510, Harrisburg, PA 17120.

Comments and requests for copies of this notice and documents may also be submitted to ODP via email. Comments submitted should use subject header ”Waiver Comments.”

Contact: Questions about this communication should be directed to this email address.

Monday, March 4, 2024
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CST;
10:00 am – 11:00 am MST; 9:00 am – 10:00 am PST
Register Here

Kara Monnin, PhD
Kara Monnin, PhD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University’s School of Medicine in Columbus, OH. Dr. Monnin provides clinical services across multiple inpatient units, including complex healthcare, inpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation, and acute care services (PICU, Trauma/Surgery/Neurosurgery), and operates on a consultative basis for Complex Care clinics. Dr. Monnin also serves as a member of the Advanced Illness Management/Palliative Care team at NCH and specializes in traumatic brain injury, rehabilitation populations, and children and adolescents with complex medical needs.

Kelsey E. Bakaletz, MSW, LISW
Kelsey E. Bakaletz, MSW, LISW, is most importantly, a mother to 2-year-old Ellis. Kelsey is a clinical medical social worker in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH. Kelsey received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ohio State University. Prior to working at NCH, Kelsey spent two years in rapid re-housing of homeless military veterans, and before that, she spent almost two years in therapeutic rehabilitation of adjudicated juvenile sex offenders. Kelsey is a member of the Trauma-Informed Care Work Group at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, working to provide and teach the best trauma-informed practices. Kelsey is passionate about treating every patient interaction as though the caregiver and child are part of our family, to lead with empathy, compassion, and determination that we resist re-traumatization.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will:

  • Understand what secondary trauma is and who is at risk;
  • Discuss practical self-care strategies and ways to manage secondary trauma; and
  • Implement strategies to support colleagues who are experiencing secondary trauma.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all members of the rehabilitation team, including medical staff, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, licensed psychologists, mental health professionals, and other interested professionals.

Level: Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

As you are aware, The Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has proposed adopting a system under which private provider agencies would be graded on their performance on a number of ODP-selected indicators of quality. Underlying this model is the assumption that service providers should be able to offer all necessary supports and services to a broad range of individuals throughout their lives. In a sense, providers will be shaped towards becoming more comprehensive in their offerings.

RCPA is interested in assessing the extent to which the intellectual disability providers are prepared to meet these new expectations. By assessing readiness, we hope to be able to offer suggestions to ODP that will ease the transition to this new service model.

I am inviting you to assist us in our advocacy efforts by completing a survey that will help assess our readiness. A PDF copy of the survey can be accessed here, so that you can preview the questions and gather any information you believe will be helpful in completing the survey. When you are ready to complete the survey, you can access the survey online using this link. Please complete the survey by COB on Tuesday February 20, 2024.

If you have any questions regarding this survey, please contact either Dr. Scott Spreat (via email or 215-750-4015) or Carol Ferenz (via email or 717-364-3282).

Thank you for your participation.

Richard S. Edley
President and CEO
RCPA

A Request for Proposals (Solicitation/Project#:6100060351) for a single contract in the eastern region of Pennsylvania with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) for the PA SWTCIE Grant’s InVEST Project has been issued. Interested parties should access information regarding this opportunity on the PA eMarketplace website.

The InVEST Project is seeking to increase competitive integrated employment outcomes for individuals who are engaged, or are considering engagement, in subminimum wage employment. The project is funded through the Disability Innovation Fund (DIF) Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment Grant, a federal model demonstration grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (PR Award # H421D220003).

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced the successful migration of data from the old registry site to the new Infant/Toddler Early Intervention Provider Registry website. All users can now log in to the new site and access all of their information. Users will still be able to log into the old site for any Early Childhood Education related activities but will now use the new site for all Early Intervention related tasks.

Please update your bookmarks with the new link. If you encounter any issues or have questions, please utilize the “Contact Us” button on the site or email directly. For all other Early Intervention related questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-015.The purpose of this communication is to provide guidance for implementing changes to assistive technology and remote supports in the amendments to the Consolidated, Community Living, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) and Adult Autism Waivers. View the announcement and the forms below for details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-014. The purpose of this announcement is to communicate that Temple University Harrisburg Certified Investigator Program and ODP will be facilitating Forums for Certified Investigators (CI) and others involved in the incident investigation process. This also announces the posting of Q&A documents from past CI Forums on myODP. Please view the announcement for information and details.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) requires performance analysis activities to administer the requirements of the CMS 1915(b)(4) waiver for licensed residential habilitation, unlicensed residential habilitation, supported living, and life-sharing services, as well as for supports coordination services currently offered in all ODP 1915(c) waiver programs.

Tasks to support administering the requirements of the 1915(b)(4) waiver include but are not limited to: data collection, analysis and reporting, Provider Contract Management, managing a public facing website, and providing and maintaining an information support system.

All offerors are required to create a user profile within the DHS JAGGAER portal. Please visit here to access the portal.

Proposals are due Tuesday, March 5, 2024, by 12:00 pm. Visit PA eMarketplace for more information and to apply.

RCPA is delighted to share our 2023 Year in Review! We’re confident that this review will provide you with valuable insights, and inspire you as we highlight some of our significant achievements. This past year, we have embarked on groundbreaking initiatives and celebrated remarkable successes, all thanks to our collective efforts. As we step into 2024, we remain optimistic about reaching new heights together, and hope this review fuels your enthusiasm for what we can all accomplish in the coming year.