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Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

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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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DSPs are a vital part of agencies everywhere. MITC is awarding $5,000 in September to Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who stand out and go above and beyond to provide exemplary service.

MITC values the hard work put forth by DSPs every day, and is hoping to show their appreciation through these prizes!

Your participation is important — it shows DSPs you appreciate their hard and, at times, dangerous work.

  • 13 prizes will be awarded
  • One prize of $1,000
  • Two prizes of $500
  • Ten prizes of $300

MITC will share the awardees’ stories with providers. The winners will be announced during DSP Recognition Week in September 2022. The deadline to nominate a DSP is August 1st, 2022.

Nominate Your DSP Here

For more information, contact:
Tristen Novic
Business Development Administrative Assistant
Direct Line: 301-835-5773

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ODP Announcement 22-060 provides a News Alert from the Infection Prevention Specialist Partnership with Health Care Quality Units with information regarding performing COVID testing, treatment, and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccine booster dose recommendations.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has received funding through a Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appropriation under the 2019 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) — Enhanced Detection Expansion (EDE) Grant.

This grant funding is being used to build capacity and provide additional support for infection prevention and control through the Health Care Quality Units (HCQUs) in partnership with a team of infection prevention specialists from Infectious Disease (ID) Connect. This project will run through June 2023.

A separate informational News Alert regarding Monkeypox is also available.

Monkeypox facts:

  • It is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus belonging to the Orthopoxvirus genus.
  • It was first discovered in 1958.
  • The majority of the infections are in Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Cases outside of Africa are linked to international travel or imported animals.
  • Rodents and non-human primates harbor the virus.
  • 19 cases have been confirmed since 6/1/22.
  • It is unclear how cases were exposed, but early data suggests that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of cases.
  • But, this does NOT mean that it is a sexually transmitted disease approved vaccine in this group.

For more information, please contact your regional HCQU contacts are listed in the ODP Announcement.

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