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Policy Areas

Monday, July 18, 2022, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Tuesday, July 19, 2022, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

These training sessions are intended for Administrative Entities (AE), Supports Coordination Organizations (SCO), and Provider QA&I Leads and will provide an overview of the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) QA&I Cycle 2 Year 1 Review Process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022/23. Attendees need only attend one of the two available sessions, as the same content will be covered during both sessions.

To register, select on the preferred date and time above.

ODP Announcement 22-064 shares information regarding an online learning opportunity about Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) offered through TechOWL. AAC Essentials is an online learning opportunity designed to increase your understanding of AAC.

There are four courses, each for a different audience:

  • Supports Coordinators;
  • AAC Users;
  • Family, Friends, and Direct Support Professionals; and
  • Administrators and Leaders.

Each course offers short lessons ranging from operating and troubleshooting AAC to encouraging AAC. In each lesson, there are buttons for you to ask questions and speak to a Speech-Language Pathologist from TechOWL directly.

These courses are free. Once the course is completed, participants will receive a certificate of completion. All lessons can be explored without completing the course. Training may be accessed through the TechOWL website.

ODP Announcement 22-065 is to inform all HCSIS users and stakeholders of the upcoming disablement of Internet Explorer and the redirection to Microsoft Edge browser. Beginning June 15, 2022, Internet Explorer will no longer be a supported browser for HCSIS. Users will need to use Microsoft Edge to run the application.

Microsoft Edge with IE mode is officially replacing the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application on Windows 10. As a result, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will go out of support and be retired on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 11.

For further outreach, please refer questions to HCSIS.

Image by photosforyou from Pixabay

Let’s Talk: Supporting People Through the Grieving Process
Thursday, June 23, 2022 • 2:00 pm — 3:00 pm ET
Register Now

People with intellectual disabilities have been left out of the grief conversation too many times and for far too long. Grief is hard, and supporting people through grief can be challenging, but when it comes down to it, just being there, really being there and actively listening, are the best things you can do to help someone through it. Direct support professionals wear many hats and grief supporter will be one of them at some point. On this month’s “Let Talk,” Amanda Gee shares how direct support professionals can support those who are grieving. This webinar is a companion to this month’s International Journal for Direct Support article, “Good Grief: Supporting People Through the Grieving Process.

When It’s Time to Fade: Supporting People with High Risk Behaviors
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 • 12:00pm — 3:00pm ET
Visit here for more information, including details on registration.

In 2017, Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 446 into law as Act 59, which gave the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) the power and duty to license drug and alcohol recovery houses that receive referrals from state agencies or state-funded facilities or receive federal or state funding. That legislation gave DDAP the authority to take enforcement action and issue fines against operators of unlicensed recovery houses that receive public funding. Last December, DDAP announced that it had published regulations for the licensure program for drug and alcohol recovery houses was accepting applications. Those regulations stated that the provision for issuance of fines would not take effect until 180 days after they were published.

Thursday, June 9, marked 180 days after publication of the regulations. View Information Bulletin 01-22 for requirements for recovery house licensure.

DDAP’s goal is to continue working with recovery houses to attain licensure and will not be looking to penalize houses that are actively working through that process. DDAP and the Single County Authorities (SCAs) share a common goal of causing the least amount of disruption to the lives of individuals in recovery and are hopeful that more houses will continue to submit applications and increase the capacity of licensed recovery houses in Pennsylvania.

To that point, SCAs may continue to act on existing contracts with recovery houses regardless of licensure status through June 30, 2022. Beginning July 1, 2022, SCAs may not execute new contracts with unlicensed houses. For existing contracts that run beyond July 1, SCAs can no longer pay unlicensed houses and should be looking to transition residents to licensed houses and other living arrangements unless the house shows a timely, good faith effort to apply for licensure.

More information on the recovery house application process can be found on the DDAP website. DDAP is also offering a free one-day training workshop designed to answer the various questions associated with the application process. Participation in the workshop results in a decrease in the amount of time it takes to approve applications, resulting in the license being issued sooner to those applicants who participate. To register for the workshop, please email or call 717-783-8675.

RCPA Member KenCrest President and CEO Marian Baldini recently received a Biomedical Sciences Graduate Recognition Award from Drexel’s College of Medicine’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies. She is first non-PhD graduate they have honored with this award. Congratulations Marian!

Message from MITC:

Alex is a DSP working for an agency managing HCBS and Group Home programs. Learn how workforce management & EHR software supports Alex and delivers greater across-the-board operational effectiveness.

Watch the new training video “Day in the Life of a DSP.”

Need a written copy? Download the ebook.

Join us for a webinar on Thursday, July 14, at 2:00 pm ET to learn how the right software can help your staff. Register here.

You can also email for more information.