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Photo by Larry Crayton on Unsplash

Family-Centered Care: One Organization’s Revolutionary Approach to Include Families in All Aspects of Care

Monday, April 20, 2026
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT 
Register Here

Donna Provenzano, Director of Family-Centered Care

Donna Provenzano is the Director of Family-Centered Care at Children’s Specialized Hospital. She has thirty-nine years of experience in working with children, adolescents, young adults, and their families at Children’s Specialized. Donna serves on several hospital leadership committees and councils and provides administrative and operational management of Family-Centered Care and Volunteers. She supervises and partners with Family Faculty staff and coordinates with the Family Advisory Council. Donna has presented both nationally and internationally on Patient- and Family-Centered Care. Under Donna’s leadership, her department received the IPFCC Family-Centered Care Partnership Award for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in 2022. Donna has received additional leadership certifications from the Harvard Business School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Ithaca College.

Linda Waddell, Family Faculty Manager

Linda Waddell is the Family Faculty Manager at Children’s Specialized Hospital. She has been employed at the hospital as a Family Faculty since June of 2008 and a member of the Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Family Advisory Council since 2014. On behalf of the hospital, Linda has presented with her team on Patient- and Family-Centered Care at regional, national, and international conferences. Most recently, Linda was a member of a panel that presented at the 2024 RISE Summit “Addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): A Look into Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Program in NJ and Beyond.” Linda participates in various hospital committees and is also a member of the IPRC Steering Committee, where she provides a family member’s perspective for discussions and decision-making.

Linda was the 2019 recipient of the Lester Z. Lieberman Humanism in Healthcare Award and received the IPFCC 30th Anniversary 2022 Partnership Award on Social Determinants of Health. Linda received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Kean University. Linda’s first experience with Children’s Specialized Hospital began in 1999, receiving multiple services for her newborn, medically fragile baby. She became an expert in the experience of pediatric rehabilitation through caring for her daughter with medical complications.

Family Faculty at Children’s Specialized Hospital are paid positions held by parents and family members whose children have received or are still receiving services at Children’s Specialized Hospital Inpatient, Outpatient, or Long-Term Care sites. Their own day-to-day experiences provide a unique perspective, understanding, and empathy for families going through similar situations. Family Faculty partner with staff and families to build a respectful and understanding relationship by listening, providing insights, and encouraging positive communication between staff and families.

Objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will identify strategies to:

  • Embed Patient- and Family-Centered Care into your organization;
  • Cultivate respectful partnerships and collaboration with leadership, staff, and families;
  • Include families in education and training of staff at all levels; and
  • Engage families and staff in creating valuable resources.

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

Level: Beginner-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.

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Image by Shotkitimages from Pixabay

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and Temple University have developed a new online training module shared in ODPANN 26-036. The newly released lesson provides an additional learning opportunity designed to enhance skills relating to interviewing the victim of an incident and supplies helpful information to Certified Investigators (CI), Administrative Review Committee members, CI Peer Reviewers, Incident Management (IM) Reps, and others involved in the incident investigation process. The “Interviewing the Victim” lesson has been added to the Additional Learning Opportunities section on the MyODP, PA ODP Certified Investigator Program Home page.

Please view the announcement for more details.

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The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Public Policy Institute has released a series of new research insights that highlights American adults’ views on a variety of issue areas. One of the recent releases focuses on brain health and includes the following resource topics:

  • Healthy Eating
  • Dementia
  • Hearing and Brain Health
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Music and Brain Health
  • Mental Health, Emotional Well-Being, and Resiliency
  • Delirium

Visit here to read more about each of these resource topics.

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This is a reminder that RCPA will be holding our annual Capitol Day this year on Wednesday, March 25. Join us as we hold a press conference in the Main Rotunda between 10:00 am – 11:00 am, which will include legislators and leaders in human services.

You can register for our Capitol Day press conference by contacting Christine Tartaglione. We invite you to bring individuals and the families you support, additional staff, and colleagues to this advocacy event, and ask that you let us know if these individuals are planning to attend.

RCPA requests that members schedule appointments with their Senate and House legislators directly to discuss the state budget, legislation, and regulations either prior to or immediately after our press conference. For providers of IDD services, we are aware that PAR is also having a day of legislative meetings (non-Press Event) at the Capitol on the same day. If you are a member of both associations, please join our Press Conference as you attend other meetings with both associations. We will continue to coordinate with PAR to ensure that the events are seamless.

We highly encourage everyone who is attending to utilize RCPA’s 2026 legislative priorities during your legislative visits. As an additional resource, members can visit the Pennsylvania Capitol website to locate parking and view maps of the building, and you may use the following resources for coordinating your day at the Capitol:

If you have questions regarding our 2026 Capitol Day, including questions or concerns with scheduling an appointment with a legislator, please contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs. We look forward to seeing you at the Capitol!

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared the Medication Administration face-to-face schedule for April–June 2026 in ODPANN 26-035. New Trainer classes are for first-time trainers who are designated as “New Trainer” and start at 8:30 am.

Recertifying Trainer Classes are available in the morning and in the afternoon according to the schedule. Morning classes are designated as AM Recertification classes and will start at 8:30 am. Afternoon classes are designated as PM Recertification classes and will start at 1:00 pm.

You may register for one of these sessions after completing the course materials in the Train-the-Trainer course on MyODP’s Medication Administration website.

Please review the announcement for class schedule and additional details.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final rule that implements requirements of the Administrative Simplification subtitle of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, enacted on March 30, 2010.

Specifically, this final rule adopts standards for health care claims attachments transactions, which will support health care claims transactions and a standard for electronic signatures to be used in conjunction with health care claims attachments transactions.

The final rule will slash wasteful spending and antiquated paperwork by swapping out faxing and mailing for streamlined electronic transactions. This action lets providers spend less time on administrative hassle and more time caring for patients and is projected to save the healthcare industry approximately $781 million on an annual basis.

The final rule will be published in tomorrow’s (March 24, 2026) Federal Register and will become effective on May 19, 2026. Covered entities must comply by May 19, 2028.

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Message from the Office of Child Development & Early Learning (OCDEL):

Review & Comment Period Now Open for the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C Grant Application for the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program

  • Available for review beginning on March 30, 2026
  • Comment Period Open on April 1 – May 8, 2026

Each year the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) provides access and opportunity for interested parties, including families, EI providers, and other professionals, to review and make comments on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C application for the Infant Toddler Early Intervention program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026.

Anyone who would like to review the proposed grant application can find the document at: Early Intervention Services or Early Intervention on the right side menu of the web pages. Hard copies can also be requested by emailing or by calling 717-346-9320.

To ensure all families, professionals and other Early Intervention stakeholders throughout our system have access to the application and are provided with opportunity to comment, we are providing you with a few reminders to ensure wide distribution of the information, specifically for those who may not have computer access to provide input.

Strategies to ensure access to the draft application include:

  • Sharing the email and its content with your Local Interagency Coordinating Councils to assist with its distribution. Please encourage them to share with those who may not always have web access to review or provide comment.
  • Encourage service coordinators to share the information from the email with families using the preferred method of communication identified by families. Highlighting how families can receive a print copy of the application and how they can submit comment would be beneficial to ensure appropriate reach to all stakeholders.

Opportunities to provide public comment from April 1 – May 8, 2026 include:

  • Visit Part C Grant Public Comment. This link will allow for online comment opportunity.
  • Submitting written comments regarding the proposed grant application can be directed to Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports, ATTN: Public Comments for Part C Grant Application, 607 South Drive, 4th Floor Rotunda, Harrisburg, PA 17120 or via email.

If you need an accommodation or assistance to review the proposed grant application or to submit comments, please contact via email or by calling 717-346-9320.

Comments will be accepted through May 8, 2026. All comments will be reviewed and considered by the Department before submitting the final grant application.

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A Hands-On Workshop in Incident Management Data Organization, Analysis, Risk Identification, and Action Planning for Providers and Supports Coordination Organizations (SCO)

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) invites providers and SCOs to register for its training workshop “From Data to Decisions.” Findings from the most recent Quality, Assessment & Improvement (QA&I) cycle identified opportunities for improvement in conducting and documenting incident management trend analyses in accordance with IM Bulletin 00-21-02. To support this effort, ODP is hosting training sessions focused on using available tools, strengthening the analysis and documentation, and using risk management strategies to identify risk and develop effective actions.

Registration is free, but pre-registration is required to attend.

If you are a provider, register for one of four available sessions by following the registration links below:

If you are SCO staff, register below:

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has issued Announcement 26-034 reminding providers and Supports Coordination Organizations (SCO) of the annual training requirements under Chapter 6100. Key highlights include:

  • 24 hours annually required for Direct Support Professionals (DSP), Support Coordinators, life sharers, and their supervisors.
  • 12 hours annually required for administrative, management, and ancillary staff, as well as certain contractors, volunteers, and interns working independently with individuals.
  • Training must cover core topics, including person-centered practices, abuse prevention and reporting, individual rights, incident recognition, behavior supports (if applicable), and implementation of individual plans.
  • ODP offers free trainings via MyODP, many of which are NADSP-accredited and count toward credentialing.
  • Providers and SCOs must maintain detailed training records, and staff are responsible for retaining their own training transcripts.

Members are encouraged to review their current training practices to ensure full compliance with Chapter 6100 requirements.

Please direct any questions or feedback to Tim Sohosky.

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