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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) is hosting two upcoming Clinical Supervision Trainings (CST). These in-person trainings will build on the information provided in the online training and provide participants with the opportunity to practice their clinical supervision skills. Participants will also be provided with tools to assist in assessing and working with their supervisees.

The in-person trainings are being held at:

  • Allegheny County Single County Authority, 1 Smithfield St, Pittsburgh
    Monday, March 17 – Friday, March 21
  • Pine Barn Inn, 43 Pine Barn Pl, Danville
    Monday, April 21 – Friday, April 25

Trainings are from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm each day, and there is a $300 fee to attend. Registration is limited and will be processed in the order registrations are received. Those interested in the training can register on the Training Management System website. Email DDAP’s Training inbox with any questions.

The remainder of the 2025 CST dates and regions are listed below. Once locations are confirmed, they will be updated in DDAP’s Training Management System (TMS), offering a variety of in-person and virtual training to maintain your skills and fulfill requirements.

  • Southeast Region: Monday, May 12 – Friday, May 16
  • Northwest Region: Monday, June 9 – Friday, June 13
  • Northeast Region: Monday, August 25 – Friday, August 29
  • Southcentral Region: Monday, September 15 – Friday, September 19
  • Southwest Region: Monday, October 27 – Friday, October 31
  • Southeast Region: Monday, November 3 – Friday, November 7

DDAP has approved additional options for completing this requirement for those unable to attend an event but in need of training to fulfill licensing regulation requirements.

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Photo by Headway on Unsplash

The Erie Coalition for a Trauma-Informed Community (ECTIC) is hosting its Resilience Conference on Wednesday, February 19. The conference theme, “Back to Basics: Moving Policy and Practice Forward,” emphasizes returning to foundational principles to create meaningful change. By focusing on practical strategies and actionable insights, the conference aims to empower individuals and organizations to advance trauma-informed policies and practices that foster resilience across our communities.

The daylong virtual conference is free. Conference registration, session information, and other details are available online.

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Image by David Mark from Pixabay

RCPA continues its efforts to update members on the White House funding freeze while partnering with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and ANCOR in examining the implications stemming from the White House Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) January 27 memorandum temporarily freezing federal disbursements to many federal programs.

The National Council has provided the following update:

Federal agencies have been directed to fill out a spreadsheet as part of an analysis by Feb. 7 to ensure compliance with the president’s most recent executive orders. This is a breakdown of which health programs are included in this latest action.

Notably, we recognize conflicting guidance has been issued. While the above report identifies Medicaid programs, a Q&A document from the administration notes that Medicaid will continue without pause. As of Tuesday morning, all 50 states reported outages of their Medicaid online portals, and the Trump administration has stated they are aware of the outages and expect the portals to be back online shortly.

Also, several groups have taken action to block this funding freeze. As of this writing, several Democratic state attorneys general said they would ask a court to block the freeze from taking effect. Several groups representing nonprofits, public health professionals and small businesses have already filed suit in D.C. asking the court to prevent the freeze from continuing. On Tuesday evening, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued a temporary stay on the funding freeze until Feb. 3 at 5:00 pm ET.

The funding freeze may lead to project delays or cancellations, resulting in layoffs of workers involved in these programs, and may ultimately increase the unemployment rate, making it vital lawmakers understand the impact of this freeze on communities across the country.

Most notable are the concerns with the intersects of Medicaid funding though the information that has been released. The Q&A document states:

Q: Is this a freeze on benefits to Americans like SNAP or student loans?

A: No, any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause and exempted from this review process. In addition to Social Security and Medicare, already explicitly excluded in the guidance, mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue without pause.

RCPA will continue to communicate new developments with members as they emerge. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Office of Development Programs (ODP) shared updates to the Individual Support Plan (ISP) Bulletin Attachments due to the waiver amendments effective January 1, 2025.

As outlined in ODP Bulletin 00-22-05, updates to Attachment 1 (the ISP Manual) and Attachment 8 (Summary of Major Changes Made to ISP Requirements or Processes) are being announced through this ODP Communication.  The updated Individual Support Plan Signature Form is Attachment 3.  Bulletin 00-22-05 and attachments two and four through seven remain current until updated through other ODP Communications. Attachments 1, 3, and 8 should be used effective immediately and have been uploaded as the current attachments to ODP Bulletin 00-22-05 on the DHS Bulletin web page. The updated documents can be reached by clicking the blue hyperlinks in the Attachments section below.

In addition, the Individual Support Plan Signature Form (DP 1032) may be found on MyODP at Forms – MyODP.

Please view announcement ODPANN 25-012 for additional information and details.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

A federal judge has halted President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal aid programs, ruling that the courts need more time to consider the potentially far-reaching ramifications of his order.

Minutes before the directive from Trump’s budget office was to take effect Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan blocked the Trump administration from implementing it for now.

AliKhan’s order will expire February 3 at 5:00 pm. The Trump administration cannot suspend disbursement of any congressionally-appropriated funds until then. The judge described the move as a “brief administrative stay” intended to maintain the status quo while further litigation can play out.

“I think there is the specter of irreparable harm,” said AliKhan, an appointee of President Joe Biden.

The ruling is a win for nonprofit and public health groups who said even a brief implementation of Trump’s freeze could cause devastating outcomes for people who rely on federal funds for services, as well as the workers who provide them. The nonprofits also argued the order from the Office of Management and Budget intrudes on First Amendment rights by seeking to block funding for groups that engage in “DEI programs” or promote “Gender Ideology Extremism,” concepts targeted in Trump’s initial round of executive orders.

Justice Department attorney Daniel Schwei had argued that the groups had failed to show that they needed an immediate halt to the order issued by Trump’s budget office and set to take effect at 5:00 pm Tuesday. He said additional guidance offered by the Trump administration should alleviate concerns about the OMB directive cutting off essential programs.

“They request sweeping relief… not tethered to any identified grant programs,” Schwei said. “It would be appropriate to allow these issues to be addressed on a more orderly timeframe.

RCPA will continue to update members as we work with our national partners to gain greater clarification on this Federal action. If you have further questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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Tomorrow, January 29, the House Human Services and Insurance Committees will hold a joint informational meeting on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Care Needs and Coverage Options. The meeting is scheduled at 9:00 am in Room G-50 in the Irvis Office Building of the Capitol.

The hearing will include three separate panels that will include testimony to be provided by:

  • Richard Edley, President & CEO, RCPA;
  • Joanne Tangney, President & CEO, Success Rehabilitation;
  • Juliet Marsala, Deputy Secretary, Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL);
  • Drew Nagele, Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania (BIAPA);
  • Tim Law, Chief Medical Officer, Highmark; and
  • Jonathan Greer, President, Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania.

Following the testimonies from the panelists, they will receive questions from the members of the Committees.

The meeting will be livestreamed, which can be accessed from the Human Services website here.

For additional information, please view the agenda here.

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Cropped shot of two businesspeople shaking hands during a meeting in the boardroom

Each year at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing Conference (NatCon25), RCPA and sponsors host the Pennsylvania Reception. This reception is extremely well-attended and is a highlight of the conference for PA registrants, National Council staff, and other invited guests. We are excited to have the conference held in our Keystone State of Pennsylvania on May 5 – 7, 2025. The PA Reception will be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. As we near the event, additional details will be provided.

The success of this event has been from the support of our dedicated sponsors. The reception offers food, drink, entertainment, and special name recognition of the supporting organizations. Please contact Tina Miletic if you are interested in sponsoring the PA Reception or if you have any questions.

RCPA thanks all previous sponsors, and we hope we can count on your continued support!

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) contracts with Temple University Harrisburg to deliver the ODP Certified Investigator (CI) Program, which includes conducting Certified Investigator Forums. These forums are an opportunity for current Certified Investigators and other interested parties to receive up-to-date information about the incident investigation process.

The next session date and time is Friday, March 14, 2025, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am.

The topic will be “Communication During Investigations Part II,” presented by ODP’s Special Populations Unit. During this session, they will discuss effective ways to ensure communication accommodations are offered during interviews with those who may not use traditional communication.

If you have questions regarding the topic, please submit them via this link before the close of business Friday, March 7, 2025.

Register at MyODP

You can view the announcement ODPANN 25-011 for additional information and details.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) are jointly hosting the quarterly Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices meeting. This meeting aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live an everyday life.

Date: February 20, 2025
Time: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: Online – Zoom Webinar
Register Here

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