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Policy Areas

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) recently convened an International Standards Advisory Committee (ISAC) to develop new accreditation standards for an Integrated Primary Care specialty designation. A specialty designation requires a program seeking accreditation to meet an additional set of standards that reflects its expertise in a specific type of service delivery or for a specific population of persons served. Integrating primary care into a mental health or substance use disorder program allows the program to holistically address the behavioral health, physical health, and social needs of the persons served, enhance the level of care provided, and improve outcomes for the persons served. Through the efforts of the ISAC, the program standards for Health Home were also updated. The final standards will be published in CARF’s 2026 standards manuals for Behavioral Health, Child and Youth Services, and Opioid Treatment Programs.

CARF is seeking comments on each of the proposed descriptions and standards. The deadline to submit comments is Tuesday, February 25.

StationMD has shared their next webinar for Pennsylvania, which qualifies for one training hour. If you would like to receive a certificate for your training hour after the webinar, please make sure you register for the webinar.

The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET.

The webinar will include:

  • General information about the STAT Waiver service in Pennsylvania;
  • A presentation from Co-Founder Dr. Deven Unadkat, entitled “Diabetes Diet: A Comprehensive Guide;” and
  • Additional time for Q&A.

Please register here.

Message from ANCOR:

ANCOR shares their new Medicaid Resource Center for targeted resources to aid in your education and advocacy efforts! Let’s work together to protect Medicaid funding from potential cuts!

The Medicaid Resource Center is a central location where you can find the most up-to-date information and resources. Included in the Medicaid Resource Center is a video Intro to I/DD Services, ANCOR’S most recent fact sheet Cuts to Medicaid Harm Disability Services, as well as highlighted reports and white papers on Medicaid trends and impacts of community-based services. In addition to the Advocacy Toolkit and the ANCOR Amplifier, please use these targeted resources available in the new Medicaid Resource Center to aid in your advocacy.

As a reminder, you can also still take our action alert urging your Senators and Representatives to reject any proposals that reduce federal Medicaid funding! Thank you and please do not hesitate to reach out if they can help in your outreach!

Lydia Dawson, JD
ANCOR | Vice President of Government Relations
571-932-5375

RCPA Partner Eleos knows how to throw a party, and their virtual event next month is no exception. Join them for the debut of Eleos Compliance at their Winter 2025 Launch Event. 

This 1-hour virtual event will kick off with a product launch video, then AI experts and real-life Eleos customers will present New Year, New AI Advancements with Eleos Documentation and Compliance.

Eleos Compliance is a new AI-powered solution that enables behavioral health CDI and CQI teams to continually scan 100% of notes for six of the most common compliance red flags. By quickly identifying high risk areas, there’s more time to spend on staff education and training to prevent further issues. 

Register now to join them on February 19 at 12:00 pm Eastern, when Alon Joffe, Eleos Co-founder and CEO, will be joined by Eleos’ customers Rony Gadiwalla, CIO at GRAND Mental Health, and Tom Morgan, CIO at Merakey, to:

  • Define and explain the riskiest note compliance issues in behavioral health.
  • Detail how the NEW Eleos Compliance product — in conjunction with the new Eleos Documentation Dashboard — helps organizations proactively monitor, manage, and prevent documentation quality issues.
  • Showcase the measurable impact of AI-driven compliance and documentation technology at GRAND Mental Health.

It’s a great opportunity to get familiar with all the operational benefits specialized AI has to offer — and to discover why Eleos is the behavioral health technology providers (and leaders) actually love. 

Stay tuned for their next launch event in Q2!

Register for this exciting event now. If you can’t make it to the live event, you’ll receive an on-demand recording afterwards.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Registration for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) 2025 Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) Conference is now open. The conference, “From Crisis to Collaboration: Building Resilient Justice Systems,” will be held on April 22–23, 2025, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. This year’s event will bring together criminal justice, behavioral health, and treatment partners, including national and local experts who will discuss new and emerging issues affecting the justice and behavioral health systems, providing innovative strategies and collaborative solutions to meet the challenges ahead.

To register for the conference and to view the agendas and session descriptions, visit the 2025 CJAB Conference page on PCCD’s website.

The deadline to register for the conference is Friday, March 28. The deadline for the discounted room rate of $139 is Friday, March 21. There is no fee to attend the conference.

Secretary Val Arkoosh and leadership from the Department of Human Services (DHS) hosted a webinar to discuss the proposed 2025/26 budget for the Department on Friday, February 7, 2025.

The recording is available here, and the PowerPoint has been made available.

RCPA will continue to update members on the budget as information becomes available. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.