Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Federal Budget Leaves People With Disabilities Without the Technology They Need, Special by Will Hall of RCPA Member PATF and Steve Suroviec of RCPA Member Achieva
Opening of the 2024 NCI® State of the Workforce Survey Portal Announced
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-007, which states that the 2024 National Core Indicators® Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI®-IDD) State of the Workforce (SoTW) survey portal will open on February 10, 2025.
With the introduction of Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) in 2024, residential providers in the Select and Clinically Enhanced tiers, in accordance with performance measure WF 03.3, are now required to “participate in the NCI®-IDD State of the Workforce Survey and release provider NCI®-IDD data to ODP to validate turnover and other workforce data.” All other eligible providers remain strongly encouraged to participate and contribute to the data used to improve the Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities/Autism service system.
The PBC Residential Data Submission Tools for each tier will be open from February 15, 2025, to March 15, 2025. Providers planning to submit for either Select or Clinically Enhanced tiers are advised to complete the NCI SoTW survey. Providers are encouraged to obtain a copy of the NCI SoTW submission before submitting their data and documents to ODP. A copy of the survey can be found here.
Providers not participating in the PBC process will complete the NCI® SoTW survey by June 30, 2025.
Please review the announcement for additional information and detail. Any questions, please contact Ms. Lee Stephens, ODP IM4Q/NCI®-IDD Statewide Lead, via email.
StationMD Webinar on Seizure Management to Be Held January 28
StationMD is a qualified provider in Pennsylvania of the STAT waiver service in the ID/A waivers. They are excited to share the next chapter of a webinar series with the Pennsylvania I/DD community on seizure management, which will be held on Tuesday, January 28, at 1:00 pm.
The webinar will include:
- General information about the STAT waiver service in Pennsylvania;
- A presentation from their co-founder Dr. Matthew Kaufman, titled “Seizure Management in the I/DD Population;” and
- Additional time for Q&A.
Please visit this link to register, and feel free to share this invite with anyone that can benefit from this information.
ODP Shares Updated February 2025 Training and Events Calendar
Quality Management Recertification for ODP QM Certificate Holders
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) reminds quality management (QM) certificate holders who achieved certification/recertification in 2023, that they must recertify by December 31, 2025. Maintaining certification, through recertifying every two years, is highly recommended to keep QM skills honed and refreshed. Those who complete recertification in 2025 will remain certified through December 31, 2027, and may continue to indicate “ODP QM Certified” as an achievement in email signatures, etc. Additional information on the QM process is included in announcement ODPANN 25-006.
Performance-Based Contracting Virtual Office Hours
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) will be hosting four Virtual Office Hour Sessions for residential providers on the submission process for Performance-Based Contracting (PBC). There will be no presentation from ODP – please come prepared with your PBC data submission questions.
Sessions will not be recorded but new and/or common questions and answers will be added to the Frequently Asked Questions.
Audience:
One person per residential provider, and we recommend sending the person who is most closely working with the PBC data submission process.
Please register for one session only, using the links below:
- February 6, 2025, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- February 21, 2025, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
- March 7, 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
- March 10, 2025, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Note: If you are experiencing issues accessing the link, try right-clicking the link, selecting “Copy Link,” and pasting the link into your browser. If the problem persists, try a different browser.
Workshops Just for IDD Frontline Supervisors
PCHC to Host Skin Integrity Training, Review Basic Skin Anatomy on February 5
Save the Date for RCPA Capitol Day 2025
RCPA will be hosting our 2025 Capitol Day on Wednesday, March 26. We will hold a press conference/rally from 10:00 am – 11:00 am in the Capitol’s Main Rotunda. Members are requested to schedule appointments with their State Senate and House legislators to discuss the state budget, legislation, and regulations that affect the day-today activities of our members. For your convenience and use in legislative meetings, RCPA has developed a brochure highlighting our legislative and regulatory priorities. More information will follow, but if you have questions or suggestions regarding our 2025 Capitol Day, please contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs.
Drexel University BHE Webinar: “A Legal Primer for Mental Health Professionals” on January 30
David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, ABPP (Forensic), will present “A Legal Primer for Mental Health Professionals,” a live webinar that is a part of the Behavioral Health Education’s (BHE) Speaker Series, on Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm ET. Attendees can earn 2 CE hours for $18. Register for the webinar here.
Mental health professionals often work with justice-involved individuals, yet most mental health professionals do not have any formal legal training. As a result, it can be intimidating for some mental health professionals to interact with the legal system. This talk will provide an overview of the legal terms, principles, cases, and rules most often encountered by mental health professionals who work with justice-involved individuals.
After providing an overview of the U.S. legal system, this talk will examine several relevant legal concepts, including admissibility standards for expert evidence, the legal foundation of expert testimony, fact witnesses versus expert witnesses, discovery, reliance on inadmissible evidence (e.g., hearsay), responding to subpoenas, protecting confidentiality and test security, and ethics/professionalism.
Having knowledge of the legal system and relevant laws can lead to several benefits for mental health professionals, including increased competence in (a) providing services to justice-involved individuals, (b) offering consultation to the legal system and (c) communicating with legal professionals (attorneys, judges).
About David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, ABPP (Forensic):
David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, ABPP (Forensic), is a professor of psychology and professor of law at Drexel University, and director of Drexel’s JD/PhD program in Law and Clinical Psychology. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, more than 50 book chapters and 12 books in his areas of interest, which include mental health law, psychopathic personality, forensic mental health assessment and diversion of justice-involved individuals. He is a former president of the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Board of Forensic Psychology. He consults with city agencies, state agencies, policymakers, correctional facilities and law enforcement. Dr. DeMatteo is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, where he provides forensic mental health assessments and consultation, and he is board certified in forensic psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has testified as an expert witness in several state and federal courts. He is chair of the Committee to Revise the American Psychological Association’s Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, and he is the editor-in-chief of Law and Human Behavior.
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