As the PA General Assembly reviews the State 2022/23 Budget, RCPA would like to provide some guidance and feedback on the intersection of future school district funding and student mental health services. The need for student mental health services has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the trauma experienced over the last few years in our schools.
Please read the full RCPA position paper here.
Source: The Center Square, June 1, 2022
By Anthony Hennen
After a months-long controversy over unionization language in Medicaid contracts that sparked a lawsuit, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has removed the provision in question, citing concerns about “misinformation” and “confusion.” …The language prompted the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania to file a lawsuit against DHS in early May, alleging that DHS overstepped its authority and didn’t follow proper procedure for adding the unionization language.
On May 26, DHS confirmed that the work stoppage provision would be dropped from the Medicaid contracts.
View the full article here. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
Speaking for Ourselves will be celebrating all they have accomplished by holding a virtual celebration this Saturday, June 4, from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Register here to attend, and be sure to stay tuned for information on Part 2 of the virtual celebration, which is to be held on October 15 at Holy Family University!
To mark June and its special significance to the DeafBlind community, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is sharing some tips on building relationships with those you support who are DeafBlind. Why? A strong relationship is essential to effective communication. Read More
The PA Family Support Alliance is sponsoring a free mandated reporter training entitled “Responding to Disclosures of Child Abuse.” This training is for mandated reporters who have taken training on recognizing and reporting child abuse before and need to take it again. It is 3 hours and available at no cost to mandated reporters in Pennsylvania. This training is designed to help professionals and volunteers respond to disclosures of child abuse in a way that is sensitive and supportive to the child, but without tainting the child’s memory.
The curriculum is approved by the Departments of Human Services, Education, and State and meets all requirements for training on recognizing and reporting child abuse (to include Act 126 for school employees). It is also approved for continuing education credits under Act 31 (Department of State for health-related licenses) and Act 48 (Department of Education for teachers) at no cost. PFSA will submit your training verification to the Department of State or Education as appropriate on your behalf (details provided during training).
Each person must log in through separate devices, using the unique access link emailed to them after registration to receive credit.
For questions or to schedule a session specifically for your organization, please email PFSA or RCPA Children’s Policy Director Jim Sharp.
Please register for your preferred training date and time by clicking one of the session links below.
Wed. June 1, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tues. June 7, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Wed. June 8, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Thurs. June 9, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Tues. June 14, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Wed. June 15, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Thurs. June 16, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Fri. June 17, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Sat. June 18, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tues. June 21, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Tues. June 21, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wed. June 22, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Thurs. June 23, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Mon. June 27, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Tues. June 28, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Message from RCPA Member Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF):
We are so excited to announce that Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) has helped a record number of people with our low- and no-interest loan programs, our information and assistance services, and our financial education resources.
Of note, after we increased the lending cap on our Mini-Loan program from $2,000 to $7,000, this program grew by 151%! (see below: 2021 by the Numbers)
And it doesn’t stop there! We published Smart Homes Made Simple: Your Guide to Smart Home Technology and launched SmartHomesMadeSimple to help the disability community learn about mainstream smart home devices and how they can be financed.
In March of this year, PATF hosted a smart home webinar with more than 500 attendees from around the world!
We are proud to share our organization’s growth over the last year, in which assistive technology (AT) was critical, to support people with disabilities and older adults stay safe, healthy, and connected to our community.
With your unwavering support – our donors, borrowers, partners, families and friends – we were able to expand and create new programs to help people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians live more independently. Thank you!
ODP Announcement 22-059 informs readers that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is pleased to announce that an amendment to the AAW was submitted to CMS on May 9, 2022. The submitted AAW includes modifications that were made as a result of public comment. The AAW amendment includes the following substantive changes:
The requirements in the AAW will become effective when Appendix K flexibilities expire, six months after the expiration of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency.
Please note that aligning the Assistive Technology service, where possible, with the Consolidated, Community Living, and P/FDS waivers includes adding generators for the participant’s primary residence.
The full AAW application, as well as a record of substantive changes, is available here.
CMS has 90 days to review the amendment, and changes may occur to the content based upon discussion with CMS during the approval process. The proposed effective date of July 1, 2022, is also subject to change. ODP will inform all stakeholders when CMS has officially approved the AAW and will make the approved waiver available at that time.
Questions about this communication should be directed via email.
The ODPANN 22-054 Update is to inform all interested parties that important infrastructural changes to the Medication Administration Training Program will now be rescheduled to take place from Friday, July 1 – Sunday, July 31, 2022, which will cause an outage. If you attempt to conduct a class or complete any training on the system during this outage, your work will be lost.
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