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Policy Areas

Message from the National Disability Institute:

Accessing capital can be essential for business growth, yet many founders with disabilities report experiencing significant barriers. Join our five-part webinar series to hear from community development financial institutions (CDFI) who have found ways to increase inclusion and from disability-owned businesses on how they obtained the capital they needed.

Who should attend:

  • Entrepreneurs with disabilities looking for information on accessing capital and how CDFI lending differs from that of traditional banks;
  • CDFIs with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion who wish to ensure they are meeting the needs of business owners with disabilities; and
  • Entrepreneurial and other support organizations looking for information to assist their customers to access capital and other financial health supports.

Register for the Introduction to CDFI’s session on February 28, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST.

Register for sessions 2–5, scheduled every other Tuesday from March 7, 2023, through April 18, 2023, from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST. Each session will include CDFI and the experiences of business owners with disabilities.

ASL interpretation and captioning will be provided during the session. If you have any accessibility requests or questions, please email Alexis Jones. For more information, visit NDI’s website.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a communication regarding a delay in the distribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated to Personal Care Homes (PCH) and Assisted Living Residences (ALR) by Act 54 of 2022.

As of 2/6/2023, approximately 50 percent of the Act 54 payments for PCH and ALR had been processed by OLTL, and approximately 25 percent of the total facilities for which form submissions have been received have been fully processed and paid by the Treasury. DHS anticipates that it may take until the end of March 2023 for the remaining 50 percent of payments to be processed and finalized. Providers are asked to please be patient while the remaining payments are processed. If your facility is anticipating serious negative consequences from the delay of your payment, please email.

Visit here for information on the exact breakdown of the $26,767,000 of available Act 54 funding for PCH and ALR.

Please remember that Act 54 of 2022 requires the ARPA funding to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and spent by December 31, 2026, or returned to the Commonwealth. Additionally, these funds must be used for COVID-19 related expenses. Providers must keep documentation to prove that these funds were used for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in case of an audit. Any person or entity accepting an ARPA payment agrees to provide documentation to the Department of Human Services (DHS) upon request for purposes of determining compliance with Act 54 requirements. Instructions on expenditure reporting will be provided at a later date.

DHS recommends that providers consult their accountants or attorneys for further clarification on acceptable uses of ARPA funding. DHS encourages providers to review guidance for eligible expenditures on the US Department of the Treasury website in their Compliance and Reporting Guidance.

If your facility has not submitted an Act 54 Facility Acceptance Form, you may still do so. Do not submit this form if your facility has previously applied for this funding.

Other questions about this information may be directed via email.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published resources to assist healthcare workers prepare for the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. Included in these resources are a number of provider-specific fact sheets for information about COVID-19 PHE waivers and flexibilities; two specific documents included are the Long-Term Care Facilities and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities fact sheets.

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) is pleased to share resources available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). The Special Education 101 presentation, available on YouTube, is a great overview for all human service staff who, in a variety of capacities, serve children and their families. Supporting documents and required forms are also helpful resources for your staff as they support children in their educational journey.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has released information about the Act 150 Program sliding fee scale for calendar year (CY) 2023. This information includes:

  1. 2023 Act 150 Sliding Fee Scale;
  2. Monthly Act 150 Participant Fee Report (Age 60 and Over);
  3. Monthly Act 150 Participant Fee Report (Under Age 60);
  4. Monthly Act 150 Participant Fee Reports (Excel Version);

Please note: the bulletin’s effective date is January 1, 2023. Collection of Act 150 participant fees based on the 2023 Fee Scale must begin on the bulletin’s effective date.

The above documents are available in alternate format upon request by calling (717) 857-3280. For future reference, a copy of this bulletin will be posted to the DHS Bulletin Results page for OLTL.