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Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

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The Executive Order 2016-02, Minimum Wage for Employees of the Commonwealth and of Organizations Receiving State Contracts, was signed by Governor Tom Wolf on March 7, 2016. The Executive Order raised the hourly minimum wage paid to employees of Commonwealth agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction, and by contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered State contracts, to $10.15 per hour beginning July 1, 2016 — also beginning January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, an amount determined in accordance with the methodology set forth in the Executive Order. Effective July 1, 2017, the hourly minimum wage paid to employees of Commonwealth agencies under the Governor’s jurisdiction, and by contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered State contracts, increased to $10.20 per hour. The applicable adjusted amount shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin by March 1 of each year to be effective the following July 1.

Please refer to the PA Bulletin notice issued February 24, 2018, by the Office of Administration for details. Therefore, effective July 1, 2018, all OVR Work Based Learning Experience (WBLE) stipends, and OJTs paid by or to Community Rehabilitation Program vendors of OVR (i.e., state contractors) must be increased to $10.35 per hour. As this pertains to existing Innovation & Expansion (I&E) contracts and grants, and many I&E agreements expire 9/30/18, amendments will need to be made to them to cover the increase in the student stipend. Changes to these will be addressed first with Office of Chief Counsel, and then with the individual vendor.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is requesting that providers of ODP services complete a survey regarding their current practices and use of Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) systems, and to identify providers who will need a system. Providers are requested to complete the survey by Friday April 20, 2018.

The 21st Century Cures Act requires electronic visit verification systems for Medicaid-funded person care services (PCS) and home health care services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) states that personal care services consist of services that support activities of daily living (ADL) such as movement, bathing, toileting, transferring, and personal hygiene, or that offer support for instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as meal preparation, money management, shopping, and telephone use. For more information of the EVV requirement for PCS, use this link.

EVV use for PCS must be implemented by January 1, 2019, and home health by January 1, 2023. The Department of Human Services (DHS) has been reviewing information from current stakeholders and understands that many providers already use an EVV system and DHS needs to utilize an open system that can compile data from those existing systems. DHS plans to use the existing PROMISe fiscal agent contract with DXC to comply with the federal requirement for EVV by January 1, 2019. This will be an open system that will receive information from existing EVV systems being used by providers AND will provide EVV for PCS providers who do not have their own system.

DHS also recently released a request for information directed at EVV vendors. This information will give DHS an understanding of the full capabilities of EVV systems and the needs of providers, and inform DHS’ next steps with the possibility of a future procurement. Read ODP’s announcement here.

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This statewide conference, scheduled for Wednesday, May 2 – Friday, May 4, 2018 in State College will examine responding to a crisis in the community, with a focus on trauma informed interventions. Topics will include grief, vicarious trauma, working with individuals with autism and other disabilities, LGBTQ, and lessons learned from those who have experienced or responded to a community crisis. The overall goal of the conference is to provide insight into community crisis response; it will also be an opportunity for people to interact with individuals they may not otherwise have contact with, unless a community crisis arises. View the conference agenda here. If you would like to register or have any questions, please follow this link.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has announced a free training opportunity, sponsored by Milestone Health Care Quality Unit, related to best practices for interviewing individuals with disabilities who are victims of a crime. Presenter Scott Modell, PhD, is a national expert on the topic and is cofounder of Collaborative Safety, LLC. Dr. Modell is a nationally recognized speaker in the areas of child abuse, crime victims with disabilities, and the application for safety science to human service agencies. This training is applicable to all professionals that may conduct interviews of persons with disabilities or have a role in incident and risk management. View the ODP announcement with more information regarding this training here.

Training registration must be completed through the Milestones HCQU West website.

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Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) Communication Number 029-18 announces the release of a Community Participation Support (CPS) template to assist in addressing both CPS authorization issues for Fiscal Year 17/18 and CPS authorization needs for FY 18/19 Individual Support Plan (ISP) renewals.

Providers should complete the template for all individuals to whom they provide CPS services. ODP wants to understand the scope of provider concerns about implementation of CPS in FY 17/18 and Individual Support Plans not containing all necessary authorizations for billing purposes. The second issue this template will help address is to provide a communication tool for CPS providers, Supports Coordination Organizations, Supports Coordinators, and Administrative Entities on the CPS FY renewal ISP authorizations that will be needed for each individual who will receive CPS in FY 18/19.

Providers will need to complete a form for each individual they serve, and then send the files for FY 18/19 to SCOs. Providers will also need to send a copy of completed files for FY 17/18 as well as FY 18/19 to ODP. These files need to be submitted to the SCOs and ODP by Friday, April 20, 2018.

This announcement includes a complete description of the responsibilities of the providers, SCOs, and Administrative Entities in this process. It also provides guidance regarding moving units of service between various percentages of time that an individual spends in the community and the ability to do so without the requirement of a team meeting.

To minimize the number of critical revisions necessary to ISPs for the CPS service, SCs may calculate additional units of service for each procedure code in order to provide a cushion (up to approximately 10% over the expected number of units for each procedure code). Total authorizations may not exceed the P/FDS and Community Living Waiver caps or an approved P/FDS individual cap exception.

It is important to note that this ODP communication was re-issued with revised attachments so be sure to use the “revised” version of the template.

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Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) Communication Number: Memo 028-18 provides clarification regarding the provision of discrete respite services for individuals who are authorized to receive life sharing services as well as clarification on the provision of respite services in life sharing homes. These changes went into effect on January 1, 2018. This document is composed of questions received by ODP and their answers, in order to assist providers with understanding the use of both services.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is offering a webinar on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at 9:00 am that will focus on the topic of Pennsylvania Resources for Funding Assistive Technology. Assistive technology devices help make it possible for individuals with disabilities to work, live independently in their own homes, go to school, and participate in the community. Mrs. Susan Tachau, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF), will conduct the webinar.

Registration is required to participate in the webinar. Registrants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Questions should be directed to Edward Butler, OLTL, at 717-214-3718.

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Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) issued Communication Number: Memo 026-18 that discusses how providers, AEs, and SCOs should be handling staffing needs and health and safety needs of individuals in residential programs until formal guidance is developed. A change in the payment method for residential habilitation providers took effect on January 1, 2018, when the standardized fee schedule was implemented. These new fee schedule rates correspond to the need level of each participant and the number of people living with them. Additionally, the rates distinguish between “with day” and “without day” to account for residential provider responsibility for support when the person does not work or attend a day program. The fee schedule rate is intended to provide more flexibility for providers in determining how they meet individual needs, and move away from rigid adherence to strict staffing ratios that may not have best met individual needs or allowed for the best use of staffing resources.

It is critical that this greater flexibility in meeting individual needs is balanced with accountability. ODP has engaged a pilot project in the Southeast region, and is working with the Residential Strategic Thinking Group, to determine the best way to develop a new method for documenting supervision needs and approaches to manage risk as an alternative to the current method of documentation in the Individual Support Plan (ISP). While waiting for formal guidance, ODP outlines expectations in the attached memo.

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The Bureau of Autism Services (BAS) has announced that registration is now open for upcoming free statewide professional training opportunities; Comprehensive FBA Training, provided by the BAS Clinical Team. This training is provided for professionals who are responsible for conducting behavioral assessment and planning for individuals across the lifespan, in any system.

This free training will review the foundations of behavioral support with a focus on the process of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). Steps of the FBA process will be presented for the purpose of practical application. These steps include: data collection, data analysis, and data-based recommendations. Potential pitfalls and methods to control for these implications will also be shared.

For more information follow this link.

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