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Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared updates to the process for Administrative Entities (AE) to validate that new Provider Applicants have satisfied all Waiver Provider Qualification requirements effective January 1, 2025. Updated documents are included below:

  • Attachment #1: New Provider Qualification Approval Template
  • Attachment #2: New Provider Qualification — Additional Information Needed Template
  • Attachment #3: New Provider Qualification Not Approved Template

The Assigned AE will maintain all documentation in accordance with record retention standards. The Assigned AE will send any documents to ODP upon request.

Please view announcement ODPANN 25-013 and its attachments for additional information and details.

NOTE: ODP Announcement 24-002 Qualification Process for ID/A Provider Applicants Update will become obsolete as of the date of this publication.

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Image by David Mark from Pixabay

RCPA continues its efforts to update members on the White House funding freeze while partnering with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and ANCOR in examining the implications stemming from the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) January 27 memorandum temporarily freezing federal disbursements to many federal programs.

The National Council has provided the following update:

Federal agencies have been directed to fill out a spreadsheet as part of an analysis by Feb. 7 to ensure compliance with the president’s most recent executive orders. This is a breakdown of which health programs are included in this latest action.

Notably, we recognize conflicting guidance has been issued. While the above report identifies Medicaid programs, a Q&A document from the administration notes that Medicaid will continue without pause. As of Tuesday morning, all 50 states reported outages of their Medicaid online portals, and the Trump administration has stated they are aware of the outages and expect the portals to be back online shortly.

Also, several groups have taken action to block this funding freeze. As of this writing, several Democratic state attorneys general said they would ask a court to block the freeze from taking effect. Several groups representing nonprofits, public health professionals and small businesses have already filed suit in D.C. asking the court to prevent the freeze from continuing. On Tuesday evening, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued a temporary stay on the funding freeze until Feb. 3 at 5:00 pm ET.

The funding freeze may lead to project delays or cancellations, resulting in layoffs of workers involved in these programs, and may ultimately increase the unemployment rate, making it vital lawmakers understand the impact of this freeze on communities across the country.

Most notable are the concerns with the intersects of Medicaid funding though the information that has been released. The Q&A document states:

Q: Is this a freeze on benefits to Americans like SNAP or student loans?

A: No, any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause and exempted from this review process. In addition to Social Security and Medicare, already explicitly excluded in the guidance, mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue without pause.

RCPA will continue to communicate new developments with members as they emerge. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Office of Development Programs (ODP) shared updates to the Individual Support Plan (ISP) Bulletin Attachments due to the waiver amendments effective January 1, 2025.

As outlined in ODP Bulletin 00-22-05, updates to Attachment 1 (the ISP Manual) and Attachment 8 (Summary of Major Changes Made to ISP Requirements or Processes) are being announced through this ODP Communication.  The updated Individual Support Plan Signature Form is Attachment 3.  Bulletin 00-22-05 and attachments two and four through seven remain current until updated through other ODP Communications. Attachments 1, 3, and 8 should be used effective immediately and have been uploaded as the current attachments to ODP Bulletin 00-22-05 on the DHS Bulletin web page. The updated documents can be reached by clicking the blue hyperlinks in the Attachments section below.

In addition, the Individual Support Plan Signature Form (DP 1032) may be found on MyODP at Forms – MyODP.

Please view announcement ODPANN 25-012 for additional information and details.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

A federal judge has halted President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal aid programs, ruling that the courts need more time to consider the potentially far-reaching ramifications of his order.

Minutes before the directive from Trump’s budget office was to take effect Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan blocked the Trump administration from implementing it for now.

AliKhan’s order will expire February 3 at 5:00 pm. The Trump administration cannot suspend disbursement of any congressionally-appropriated funds until then. The judge described the move as a “brief administrative stay” intended to maintain the status quo while further litigation can play out.

“I think there is the specter of irreparable harm,” said AliKhan, an appointee of President Joe Biden.

The ruling is a win for nonprofit and public health groups who said even a brief implementation of Trump’s freeze could cause devastating outcomes for people who rely on federal funds for services, as well as the workers who provide them. The nonprofits also argued the order from the Office of Management and Budget intrudes on First Amendment rights by seeking to block funding for groups that engage in “DEI programs” or promote “Gender Ideology Extremism,” concepts targeted in Trump’s initial round of executive orders.

Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwei had argued that the groups had failed to show that they needed an immediate halt to the order issued by Trump’s budget office and set to take effect at 5:00 pm Tuesday. He said additional guidance offered by the Trump administration should alleviate concerns about the OMB directive cutting off essential programs.

“They request sweeping relief… not tethered to any identified grant programs,” Schwei said. “It would be appropriate to allow these issues to be addressed on a more orderly timeframe.

RCPA will continue to update members as we work with our national partners to gain greater clarification on this Federal action. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) contracts with Temple University Harrisburg to deliver the ODP Certified Investigator (CI) Program, which includes conducting Certified Investigator Forums. These forums are an opportunity for current Certified Investigators and other interested parties to receive up-to-date information about the incident investigation process.

The next session date and time is Friday, March 14, 2025, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am.

The topic will be “Communication During Investigations Part II,” presented by ODP’s Special Populations Unit. During this session, they will discuss effective ways to ensure communication accommodations are offered during interviews with those who may not use traditional communication.

If you have questions regarding the topic, please submit them via this link before the close of business Friday, March 7, 2025.

Register at MyODP

You can view the announcement ODPANN 25-011 for additional information and details.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) are jointly hosting the quarterly Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices meeting. This meeting aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live an everyday life.

Date: February 20, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: Online – Zoom Webinar
Register Here

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

RCPA is pleased to announce that Timothy Sohosky will be joining RCPA as the Director of the Division of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Tim brings 23 years of experience to RCPA, most recently working for The ReDCo Group (Clarvida) in several key positions. Beginning his career as an Intermediate Care Facility Director, he moved into Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS) Director, then onto Vice President and, most recently, Chief Operating Officer.

At RCPA, Tim will lead our IDD efforts as well as assist in some cross-division initiatives. Tim has also been an active member of the RCPA Conference Committee and will continue his role for that Committee. He has extensive experience in the programmatic and fiscal management of Intellectual Disabilities and Family Services programs across Pennsylvania. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University.

We feel confident that Tim possesses the qualifications and expertise in the IDD sector that will build on the legacy of our current IDD Director, Carol Ferenz. Carol, who has been with RCPA since January 2018, will be retiring from the Director of IDD position, and has graciously accepted to continue as the RCPA Conference Coordinator for the 2025 conference. Please join us in congratulating Carol on her retirement!

The association is very excited about Tim coming on board, and he will begin his work with RCPA on February 18, 2025. On behalf of the RCPA Board of Directors, members, and staff, we welcome Tim to RCPA!

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