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View of brown folders, with focus on grants label, Concept of funding, 3D illustration

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) is awarding more than $1.2 million to expand access to recovery housing and recovery support services throughout Pennsylvania for young adults 18–24 years old who have opioid or stimulant use disorders. DDAP is awarding grants to nine Single County Authorities (SCA) to fund the effort.

Currently, there are about 430 DDAP-licensed recovery houses across the Commonwealth. The purpose of the Administration’s licensure program is to help empower sustained recovery for individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) by ensuring a network of safe drug and alcohol recovery houses. Drug and alcohol recovery houses are required to be licensed in order to receive referrals from state agencies or state-funded facilities or to receive federal or state funding to deliver recovery house services.

The grant funds will be used to supplement existing resources, ensuring that current services are expanded rather than replaced, and that recovery housing remains accessible and safe through Pennsylvania.

DDAP is awarding nine grants, which will run through September 30, 2026, to the following SCAs serving 14 counties:

  • Berks County Council on Chemical Abuse: Berks County
  • Blair County Drug and Alcohol Program, Inc.: Blair County
  • Columbia Montour Snyder Union Drug & Alcohol Services: Columbia, Montour, Snyder, and Union Counites
  • Delaware County Department of Human Services, Division of Drug and Alcohol Programs: Delaware County
  • Erie County Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Erie County
  • Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs: Lackawanna and Susquehanna Counties
  • Somerset Single County Authority for Drug and Alcohol: Somerset County
  • Westmoreland Drug & Alcohol Commission, Inc.: Westmoreland County
  • York Adams Drug and Alcohol Commission: York and Adams Counties

Read the full press release.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) has launched a new website for the PA Rural Health Transformation Plan, containing information on goals as well as links to the full plan and news updates.

While a formal RFP process has not yet been released, providers can submit the following inquiry form. This brief survey provides each organization with an opportunity to introduce your agency and services you offer, ask questions regarding the Rural Health Transformation Plan, and identify the Rural Care Collaborative region(s) where you and/or your organization is based or provides services (see map below). Once submitted, DHS will review and respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.

Providers and stakeholders may also sign up for updates on the Rural Health Transformation Plan.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO Jim Sharp.

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Representative Tim Briggs originally scheduled a voting meeting for January 27, 2026, at 10:00 am to review amendments to HB 2042, known as the Safety in Youth Sports Act, which established standards for managing concussions and traumatic brain injuries of students participating in athletic activities. This meeting has been rescheduled to February 3, 2026, at 8:30 am.

Representative Briggs introduced HB 2042 in 2011. This meeting will include a discussion about proposed amendments to the original bill that will expand the scope of this Act to further provide for the proper management of brain injuries. The amendments include non-scholastic league and recreational sports and also provide information on Return to Learn. Representative Briggs will be incorporating this bill into the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes so that it is no longer a freestanding act.

The meeting will be held in Room 60 in the East Wing and will be livestreamed from the House Committee website.

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RCPA will reengage with all members, non-members, and systems-wide behavioral health stakeholders to participate in the Mental Health Safety Net Coalition. The Coalition is focused on developing strategies, activities, and engagement opportunities to support behavioral health funding in the Commonwealth.

The Coalition will have its first meeting on Friday, February 13, 2026, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. This meeting will give the group an opportunity to review last year’s budget, Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget, and initial strategies for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026/27. It will also give us an opportunity to develop questions for legislators for the DHS budget hearings in late February and early March. Register for the meeting by contacting Emma Sharp, RCPA Policy Associate.

As the group continues to meet, we will develop our overall advocacy blueprint to ensure the communication of our message and stakeholder engagement is focused on protecting and preserving our mental health service delivery system.

The meetings will be held via Microsoft Teams; information will be sent to those interested in the Coalition. RCPA invites all to participate. If you would like to join the Coalition or have any questions, please contact Emma Sharp.

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Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) are reminded, as part of the Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoP), that one week of information must be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC NHSN) portal related to certain respiratory conditions (COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV). This information must be submitted in January, as defined in the Protocol for the NHSN Hospital Respiratory Data (HRD) Reporting:

“To meet the annual reporting requirement, annual reporters should report data using either the HRD daily data pathway or HRD weekly data pathway for one of the following full weeks in January 2026:

  • Sunday, January 4, 2026 – Saturday January 10, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 13, 2025 – past due)
  • Sunday, January 11, 2026 – Saturday January 17, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 20, 2026 – past due)
  • Sunday, January 18, 2026 – Saturday January 24, 2026 (due by Tuesday January 27, 2026)
  • Sunday, January 25, 2026 – Saturday January 31, 2026 (due by Tuesday February 3, 2026)”

Additional information on the Respiratory Reporting Requirements is available here.

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