Strawberry Fields, Inc. to Join Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
OPEN MINDS: How Stigma Stifles
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Free Training for Child Residential Facility Staff as Mandated Reporters
The Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is supporting a specialized training effort addressing child abuse recognition as well as reporting training for residential facilities through a contract with the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA). This training is for child residential staff, their related purchasing entities, and local law enforcement agencies.
Register for an upcoming training:
- February 18, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
- February 27, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
- March 21, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
- March 26, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Training Summary:
This training is for providers and other child serving entities. It will cover clarification on what allegations must be reported to ChildLine as suspected child abuse and/or HCSIS as a reportable incident, and further clarifies when an alternative plan of supervision must be put into place. This training also teaches minimal facts interviewing skills to better determine when to make a report and explains how those reports of suspected child abuse are categorized and handled at ChildLine. Lastly, internal follow-up recommendations and communication are discussed. Other entities that interact with these 3800 facilities are also welcome to attend, including OCYF Regional Office Reps, law enforcement, and MCOs.
This training mirrors the information outlined in the OCYF Bulletin # 3800-21-01 issued January 19, 2021, and is meant as additional training (not a replacement for the mandated reporter training).
Please contact RCPA COO and Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp or RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp with further questions.
CARF Seeks Comments on New Accreditation Standards for Integrated Primary Care Specialty Designation
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) recently convened an International Standards Advisory Committee (ISAC) to develop new accreditation standards for an Integrated Primary Care specialty designation. A specialty designation requires a program seeking accreditation to meet an additional set of standards that reflects its expertise in a specific type of service delivery or for a specific population of persons served. Integrating primary care into a mental health or substance use disorder program allows the program to holistically address the behavioral health, physical health, and social needs of the persons served, enhance the level of care provided, and improve outcomes for the persons served. Through the efforts of the ISAC, the program standards for Health Home were also updated. The final standards will be published in CARF’s 2026 standards manuals for Behavioral Health, Child and Youth Services, and Opioid Treatment Programs.
CARF is seeking comments on each of the proposed descriptions and standards. The deadline to submit comments is Tuesday, February 25.
RCPA Partner Eleos Health to Debut AI-Powered Solution “Eleos Compliance” on February 19
RCPA Partner Eleos knows how to throw a party, and their virtual event next month is no exception. Join them for the debut of Eleos Compliance at their Winter 2025 Launch Event.
This 1-hour virtual event will kick off with a product launch video, then AI experts and real-life Eleos customers will present New Year, New AI Advancements with Eleos Documentation and Compliance.
Eleos Compliance is a new AI-powered solution that enables behavioral health CDI and CQI teams to continually scan 100% of notes for six of the most common compliance red flags. By quickly identifying high risk areas, there’s more time to spend on staff education and training to prevent further issues.
Register now to join them on February 19 at 12:00 pm Eastern, when Alon Joffe, Eleos Co-founder and CEO, will be joined by Eleos’ customers Rony Gadiwalla, CIO at GRAND Mental Health, and Tom Morgan, CIO at Merakey, to:
- Define and explain the riskiest note compliance issues in behavioral health.
- Detail how the NEW Eleos Compliance product — in conjunction with the new Eleos Documentation Dashboard — helps organizations proactively monitor, manage, and prevent documentation quality issues.
- Showcase the measurable impact of AI-driven compliance and documentation technology at GRAND Mental Health.
It’s a great opportunity to get familiar with all the operational benefits specialized AI has to offer — and to discover why Eleos is the behavioral health technology providers (and leaders) actually love.
Stay tuned for their next launch event in Q2!
Register for this exciting event now. If you can’t make it to the live event, you’ll receive an on-demand recording afterwards.
Registration Open for PCCD’s 2025 CJAB Conference in State College
Registration for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) 2025 Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) Conference is now open. The conference, “From Crisis to Collaboration: Building Resilient Justice Systems,” will be held on April 22–23, 2025, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. This year’s event will bring together criminal justice, behavioral health, and treatment partners, including national and local experts who will discuss new and emerging issues affecting the justice and behavioral health systems, providing innovative strategies and collaborative solutions to meet the challenges ahead.
To register for the conference and to view the agendas and session descriptions, visit the 2025 CJAB Conference page on PCCD’s website.
The deadline to register for the conference is Friday, March 28. The deadline for the discounted room rate of $139 is Friday, March 21. There is no fee to attend the conference.
DHS Proposed 2025/26 Budget Webinar Materials Now Available
Secretary Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) hosted a webinar to discuss the proposed 2025/26 budget for the Department on Friday, February 7, 2025.
The recording is available here, and the PowerPoint has been made available.
RCPA will continue to update members on the budget as information becomes available. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
RCPA Shares Third Party Liability Survey Results
Greenspace Health to Host Webinar on Enhancing Eating Disorder Treatments March 13
March 13, 2025
1:00 pm EST
Register Here
Greenspace Health, in partnership with Project HEAL, a nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused on equitable treatment access for eating disorders, are co-presenting an educational webinar. This unique session, moderated by Carsen Rhys Beckwith, Program Director at Project HEAL, will bring together a panel of experts in both Measurement-Based Care (MBC) and eating disorder treatment.
Greenspace’s Chief Growth Officer, Jesse Hayman, and Dr. Wendy Oliver Pyatt, Co-founder, CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Within Health and CEO and Co-founder at Galen Hope, will share how MBC fosters meaningful collaboration in eating disorder treatment, supports personalized interventions, and ultimately improves outcomes for people in care.
Don’t miss this opportunity to uncover the impact of MBC in eating disorder treatment, with a focus on driving equity and practical strategies for implementation.
Secretary Arkoosh Reviews 2025/26 DHS Budget
The Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Val Arkoosh met with systems stakeholders to provide an overview of the Governor’s proposed 2025/26 DHS budget. The Secretary began by reviewing the accomplishments of DHS under the administration and highlighted areas around Medicaid, systems enhancements, and the expansion in the delivery of services to Pennsylvanians.
The projected spending across DHS showed an investment of $21.17B, with the following breakdowns:
- $7.13B for Long-Term Living;
- $6.4B for Medicaid/healthcare delivery;
- $3.22B for ID/A;
- $1.72B for Human Services and County Child Welfare; and
- $1.04B for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.
This budget number represents a $1.95B increase over last year’s executive budget. The most significant increases included:
- $927M for Long-Term Living;
- $7.23M for Medicaid/healthcare delivery;
- $1.84M for ID/A;
- $74M for Child Development; and
- $32M for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders.
RCPA submitted questions during the webinar in an effort to gain greater clarity on the proposed $2.4B increase in the Health Choices capitation. Several questions remain unanswered, including:
- Are these dollars allocated towards physical health, behavioral health, or both?
- What is the spending strategy for the 2024/25 supplemental appropriations? Is that part of the $2.4B?
There was clarification on the proposed $170M increase in the ID/A budget, but Secretary Arkoosh stipulated that this was not new investments but rather funds to sustain last year’s increase.
The remainder of the webinar was spent outlining current DHS initiatives, including the Keystones of Health 1115 Waiver, which was approved in December 2024. This year’s priority will focus on reentry services as well as planning for future implementation. The Secretary concluded her comments supporting the minimum wage increase, reinforcing the workforce infrastructure, and tackling Commonwealth-wide challenges.
The DHS Bluebook is scheduled for release in the coming weeks and will provide line item details of the budget. RCPA will continue to work with DHS and PA legislators on the budget specifics and our ongoing advocacy efforts. You can view the DHS budget webinar here.
RCPA will continue to update members on the budget as information becomes available. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
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