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Policy Areas

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ODP Announcement 24-049 announces that the recording of the live virtual training sessions held in February and March 2024 regarding implementation of the Residential ISP Staffing approach for Program Specialists is now available on MyODP.

The recorded training session is provided for Residential Provider Program Specialists who contribute to ISP development but were unable to attend the live, virtual training. The training focuses on Program Specialist expectations in ISP development and ensuring consistent, statewide implementation of the Residential ISP Staffing approach.

Program Specialists are responsible for providing critical and up-to-date information to the ISP team so that the ISP is person-centered and mitigates risks to health and safety.

All participants must complete the current prerequisite online training (Residential ISP Staffing: It’s About the Person, Not the Numbers) before being able to view the recordings.

As a reminder, the public comment period ends next Tuesday, June 4, 2024, for the proposed implementation of Performance-Based Contracting for Residential Services, Waiver amendments, and proposed rates for services, which are effective July 1, 2024.

RCPA staff have participated in various listening sessions and met with members to hear your concerns regarding the proposed changes and rates. We will be sending our comments later this week and want to be sure that we are representing your interests. Please contact Carol Ferenz with any thoughts you have regarding these significant changes by close of business Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. We strongly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to provide your own comments to ODP as well.

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RCPA’s Brain Injury Committee meeting with representatives from the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL), originally scheduled for May 22, 2024, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 26, 2024, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. The meeting will include Deputy Secretary Juliet Marsala and Director of the Bureau of Coordinated and Integrated Services Randy Nolen. Additionally, representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advised they will be attending the meeting.

While this will be a hybrid meeting, members are encouraged to attend in person if possible. Register for the meeting here.

We are asking members to send topics and/or questions to Melissa Dehoff by Friday, May 31, 2024.

Child Guidance Resource Centers (CGRC) is currently offering three free webinars for continuing education credits for LSWs, LCSWs, LPCs, and LMFTs. The links in the titles below are the registration links for each event.

All webinars will be presented by Kelly J. Ace, PhD, JD, and Antonia J. Cianfrani, MA, ATR-BC, LPR. Participants will receive 2 CE credits upon completion.

If you have any other questions, please contact RCPA COO and Policy Director Jim Sharp.

Thursday, May 30, 2024
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT; 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CDT;
10:00 am – 11:00 am MDT; 9:00 am – 10:00 am PDT
Register

Laura Malone, MD, PhD

Dr. Laura Malone is the director of the Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is also a physician scientist in Kennedy Krieger’s Center for Movement Studies and an assistant professor of Neurology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Malone has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from the University of North Carolina. She completed her pediatric neurology residency at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Malone’s clinical practice focuses on the neurological care of children with perinatal stroke, other brain injuries, and long COVID. Her research focuses on understanding complex pediatric disorders and on improving outcomes using mechanistic neurorehabilitation approaches. Regarding COVID-19, Dr. Malone investigates clinical phenotypes of children with persistent symptoms after COVID-19 infection and investigates factors and mechanisms that promote good recovery.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will:

  • Discuss how our understanding of long COVID has evolved over time;
  • Describe guidance regarding assessment and treatment options for children with long COVID; and
  • Identify recovery patterns and factors that influence severity and recovery of children with long COVID.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a Final Rule to advance equity and bolster protections for people with disabilities. The final rule, Discrimination on the Basis of Disability in Health and Human Service Programs or Activities, updates, modernizes, clarifies, and strengthens the implementing regulation for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance.

The historic rule provides robust civil rights protections for people with disabilities in federally funded health and human services programs, such as hospitals, health care providers participating in CHIP and Medicaid programs, state and local human or social service agencies, and nursing homes. Reflecting on over 50 years of advocacy by the disability community, it advances the promise of the Rehabilitation Act and helps to ensure that people with disabilities are not subjected to discrimination in any program or activity receiving funding from HHS. This final rule is consistent with Section 504 statutory text, congressional intent, legal precedent, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing equity and civil rights.