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Physical Disabilities & Aging

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Group Warns of Escalating Health and Safety Crisis in I/DD Community
Releases Video to Increase Awareness
Calls to End One-Size-Fits-All Policy Solutions

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Together for Choice, a national advocacy organization formed to protect and advance the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), today announced the ACT NOW for Severe Autism Campaign with a consortium of partners, including the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA), concerned parents and other advocates. The campaign seeks to shine light on the growing health and safety crisis involving individuals with severe autism and change policies that deprive them of the services they need.

“For too long, individuals with severe autism have remained in the shadows and all too-often forgotten in policy discussions,” said Ashley Kim Weiss, National Coordinator of Together for Choice. “Most of the attention and resources have been devoted to integrating high functioning members of the I/DD community into society, which we agree is important. Equally important, however, are the most vulnerable individuals with severe disabilities who can never fully integrate and are in desperate need of customized care and support to live healthy and productive lives.

The group promoted a video, which first debuted at the RCPA Conference held in Pennsylvania last week. A parent of a severely autistic child self-financed and produced the video to combat the increasing claims of the highly vocal and publicly visible advocates of the neuro diversity community, that severe autism does not exist. Or worse yet, that the needs of those individuals with severe autism are no different than the needs of any other individual diagnosed with autism.

The video can be found at: https://youtu.be/xwvKYE5C2Ys

“While the video is at times uncomfortable to watch, it is critical that the public see the realities that these individuals and families face on a daily basis,” said Richard S. Edley, President and CEO of RCPA. “We need more resources and more flexible policy solutions to address this growing crisis. One-size-fits-all solutions must end. We must recognize that one-size does not fit everyone. People will always be left out – and sadly, it is often the most vulnerable who are forgotten.”

The group also launched a website at www.ACTNOWFORSEVEREAUTISM.com which houses the video and contains a petition to end these policies as well as more information about how the public can get involved and advocate for change in policies that discriminate against individuals with severe autism and their families.

About Together for Choice
Together for Choice (TFC) is a non-profit organization with a mission to unite to protect and advance the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to live, work and thrive in a community or setting of their choice. Please visit www.togetherforchoice.org for more information.

About the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association:
With well over 350 members, the majority of who serve over 1 million Pennsylvanians annually, Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA) is among the largest and most diverse state health and human services trade associations in the nation. RCPA advocates for those in need, works to advance effective state and federal public policies, serves as a forum for the exchange of information and experience, and provides professional support to members. RCPA provider members offer mental health, drug and alcohol, intellectual and developmental disabilities, children’s, brain injury, medical rehabilitation, and physical disabilities and aging services, through all settings and levels of care. Visit www.paproviders.org for more information.

 

Contact for TFC
Ashley Kim Weiss
National Coordinator
Together for Choice
P: 310-889-8800

Contact for RCPA
Richard S. Edley, PhD
President and CEO
Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association (RCPA)
P: 717-364-3280

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We invite and encourage all Human Service Providers in Pennsylvania to participate in the RCPA workforce survey. The statewide survey examines workforce topics for a diverse range of programs, including Mental Health, IDD/Autism, Brain Injury, Drug & Alcohol, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRF), and others. The survey responses seek to gather data related to hiring, retention, vacancy rates, pay structures, vaccinations, and COVID-19 impacts on programs as well as access to care associated with the pandemic. The workforce survey will close on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.

The survey was developed for Legislative and State Stakeholders that requested RCPA to quantify the impact of the pandemic on our workforce so that we might effectively lobby for the welfare of the agencies that support and serve individuals with disabilities and health issues. RCPA has made the survey available to providers across Pennsylvania, not just RCPA members. Please be assured that response data will be de-identified and aggregated for reporting by an independent research entity, and your individual data will be shared with no one.

We thank you in advance for your time in completing this survey and would ask that you share this information with your colleagues, fellow leaders, and Human Resources teams. The more information collected, the more we will be able to provide to stakeholders, which will affect not only RCPA members, but all providers within the Commonwealth.

Please review the Master List of survey questions, which includes all service line areas, questions on the program operations, and vaccinations, to assist in your survey responses. A copy of the results of this survey will be available to all participants at the conclusion of the study. Please complete the survey here.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Director of Children’s Services Jim Sharp.

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The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has issued a notice announcing the extension of various regulatory provisions under the state disaster emergency declaration that are currently in effect and which were set to expire on September 30, 2021. These are now extended until further notice. A list of the regulations that were suspended in whole or in part and their current status is available here.

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Message from the Department of Human Services (DHS):

Pursuant to Act 73 of 2021 (HB 1861), the suspension of various regulatory provisions under the state disaster emergency declaration that are currently in effect and which were set to expire on September 30, 2021, are now extended until further notice. A list of the regulations that were suspended in whole or in part and their current status is available at Suspended Regulations Lift.

In addition, some regulations were reinstated prior to September 30, 2021 and are not subject to Act 73 of 2021.

Please note that Act 73 of 2021 only affects state regulations that were suspended under the state disaster emergency declaration and were to be reinstated on September 30, 2021. Federal flexibilities provided through the federal public health emergency will remain in place as long as the federal public health emergency remains in effect. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extended the federal public health emergency on July 19, 2021 to October 17, 2021 (90 days).

RCPA Policy Directors will be reviewing the regulatory status and provide additional guidance and information as it is communicated by the respective DHS Departments, including any special instructions on the reimplementation of any of the suspended regulations. If you have any additional questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director or your DHS Licensing Office.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created existential challenges for agencies that provide supports and services to individuals who have disabilities and/or health issues. Staffing has been an area that has been significantly affected. Legislative and State Stakeholders have requested RCPA to quantify the impact of the pandemic on our workforce so that we might effectively lobby for the welfare of the agencies that support and serve individuals with disabilities and health issues.

We recently distributed a work force survey to our members that did not include a section specifically to address the issues support coordinators in the IDD, MH, and OLTL fields are facing. The SC Workforce survey asks questions specifically directed to the challenges that supports coordinators, or service coordinators, are experiencing.

If you have already completed the survey that was released last week, please do not complete this survey. We will extract the data from your submission to add to the data collected here.

The survey responses seek to gather data related to hiring, retention, vacancy rates, pay structures, vaccinations, and COVID-19 impacts on programs as well as access to care associated with the pandemic.

RCPA is making the survey available to providers across Pennsylvania, not just RCPA members. Please be assured that response data will be de-identified and aggregated for reporting by an independent research entity, and your individual data will be shared with no one. A copy of the results of this survey will be available to all participants at the conclusion of the study.

We thank you in advance for your time in completing this survey and would ask that you share this information with your colleagues, fellow leaders, and Human Resources teams. The more information collected, the more we will be able to provide to stakeholders, which will affect not only RCPA members but all providers within the Commonwealth.

If you have any questions, please contact Director of Intellectual Disability Services Carol Ferenz or your RCPA Policy Director.

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The Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has announced a new application cycle for $25.5 billion in COVID-19 provider funding. Applicants will be able to apply for both Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments during the application process. PRF Phase 4 is open to a broad range of providers with changes in operating revenues and expenses. ARP Rural is open to providers who serve rural patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The application is open now and will close on October 26, 2021 at 11:59 pm ET. Providers who have previously created an account in the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal and have not logged in for more than 90 days will need to first reset their password before starting a new application. In order to streamline the application process and minimize administrative burdens, providers will apply for both programs in a single application.

Technical Assistance Webinars
HHS recently hosted a briefing session to provide information about these upcoming funding opportunities – view the video. HRSA will be hosting webinar sessions for Phase 4 and ARP Rural applicants, featuring guidance on how to navigate the application portal.

Real time technical assistance is available by calling the Provider Support Line at (866) 569-3522, for TTY dial 711. Hours of operation are 8:00 am–10:00 pm CT, Monday through Friday.

RCPA will continue to monitor this new round of funding and update members on the implementation process. If you have questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

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