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Physical Disabilities & Aging

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The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is participating in the National Council on Disability Webinar titled Enforceable Accessible Medical Equipment Standards: A Necessary Means to Address Health Care Needs of People with Mobility Disabilities. The webinar will take place at 10:00 am–11:00 am ET on Thursday, May 20, 2021. For more information and register, see the announcement below:

The National Council on Disability invites you to join a policy briefing and discussion of its forthcoming report:
Enforceable Accessible Medical Equipment Standards: A Necessary Means to Address Health Care Needs of People with Mobility Disabilities
May 20, 2021
10:00 am–11:00 am, EDT

This briefing will be held via Zoom meeting platform.

Speakers Include:

  • Andrés Gallegos, Chairman, National Council on Disability
  • Dave Yanchulis, Director, Office of Technical and Information Services, U.S. Access Board
  • Robinsue Frohboese, Acting Director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
  • Alyse Bass, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section
  • Clarette Yen, Attorney Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section
  • Peter Thomas, Principal at Powers Law Firm, and coordinator of the ITEM Coalition
  • Sarah Triano, Senior Director of Policy & Innovation, Complex Care, Centene Corporation

RSVP Online

Please let us know of any accommodation requests as soon as possible by sending an email
to Kimie Eacobacci.

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Pennsylvania’s 2021 municipal primary took place yesterday (Tuesday, May 18). Statewide, Pennsylvania officials sent out 820,757 mail and absentee ballots. As of 5/18, voters had returned roughly 69% of these ballots. With vote tallying still ongoing, all results are UNOFFICIAL.

Statewide Ballot Questions

Four statewide ballot questions were on the primary election slate for Pennsylvania voters to decide; including three that would make changes to the state’s constitution. The questions included two specific referendums that address how future state of emergencies will be handled in Pennsylvania.

  • Question one asked voters to amend the state constitution to limit all state of emergencies issued by a governor to 21 days. 53.61% voted YES. 
  • Question two asked voters to give the state’s General Assembly authority to extend or terminate a governor’s initial order. 53.58 % voted YES 
  • Question three asked voters to amend the state constitution to specifically prohibit restricting or denying a person’s equal rights on the grounds of race or ethnicity. 71.36% voted YES
  • The last question asked voters to authorize permission for paid municipal fire and medical rescue companies to apply for loans from a state program that currently provides funding only for volunteer fire and EMS agencies. 72.19% voted YES 

Statewide Judicial Races (Candidates leading in RED)
Justice of the Supreme Court: 2021- One Vacancy

  • Democrat Maria McLaughlin was running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.
  • Paula Patrick, Kevin Brobson and Patricia McCullough were running for the Republican nomination. Brobson will advance to the General Election.

Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania: 2021- One Vacancy

  • Jill Beck, Timika Lane and Bryan Neft were running for the Democrat nomination. Lane will advance to the General Election.
  • Republican Megan Sullivan was running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.

Judge of the Commonwealth Court: 2021- Two Vacancies

  • Lori Dumas, Sierra Street, David Spurgeon, Amanda Green Hawkins were running for the Democrat nomination. Dumas and Spurgeon will advance to the General Election
  • Republicans Drew Crompton and Stacy Marie Wallace were running unopposed in the primary and will advance to the General Election.

Special Elections- State House & State Senate (Candidates leading in RED)
Four special elections were held during the primary to fill vacant seats in the General Assembly. Once election results are certified, the winners will be sworn-in and immediately take over the vacant seat.

  • A special election was held for the 59th House District left vacant after the death of state Rep. Mike Reese, R-Mt. Pleasant. The district includes parts of Westmoreland and Somerset counties. Democrat Mariah Fisher, Republican Leslie Baum Rossi and Libertarian Robb Luther were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Leslie Baum Rossi.
  • A special election was held in the 60th House District left vacant after the retirement of Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City. The district includes parts of Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties. Republican Abby Major, Democratic Frank Prazenica, and Libertarian Andrew Hreha were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Abby Major.
  • A special election was held in the 48th Senate District left vacant after the death of Sen. Dave Arnold. The district includes Lebanon and parts of Dauphin and York counties. Republican candidate Christopher Gebhard, Democrat Calvin Clements, Independent Ed Krebs and Libertarian Tim McMaster were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Christopher Gebhard.
  • A special election was held in the 22nd Senate District left vacant after the retirement of Sen. John Blake, D.  The district includes parts of Lackawanna, Luzerne and Monroe counties. Republican Chris Chermak, Democrat Marty Flynn (current state representative), Libertarian Nathan Covington and Green Party Marlene Sebastianellli were on the ballot. The unofficial winner is Marty Flynn.

County/local Races Receiving Statewide Attention

  • In Allegheny County, Pittsburgh voters headed to the polls to choose their party’s candidate for Mayor. Shortly after midnight, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto conceded defeat to state Rep. Ed Gainey in a four-way Democratic primary race for mayor, positioning Gainey to become the first Black mayor in the city’s history.
  • In Dauphin County, there was a 5-way contest for the Democrat nomination for Harrisburg mayor. Incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, seeking a third term, City Council President Wanda Williams; former city Councilman Otto Banks; retired media executive Dave Schankweiler; and Kevyn Knox. The sole candidate on the Republican ballot is businessman Timothy Rowbottom. The unofficial winner of the Democrat primary is Wanda Williams. As of this 11a.m. this morning, Williams was holding a 56 vote lead over Papenfuse.
  • In Philadelphia, voters picked their party nominee for district attorney, city controller, and several judgeships. Incumbent DA Larry Krasner will win the Democrat nomination for District Attorney.

Link to results.

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RCPA would like to officially announce that Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Relations, has accepted a new position as Director of Government Affairs at Novak Strategic Advisors in Harrisburg, PA. Jack will be continuing his work with RCPA while assuming this new role. In most ways, members should see no change; presence at division meetings, updates at general meetings, oversight of the government relations meetings/calls, and lobbying activities at the Capitol will continue as before.

What this does offer is an opportunity for Jack to expand his reach in Harrisburg, and he has worked closely with RCPA on this transition to make this as seamless as possible. RCPA will also have access to other resources at Novak as needed. Please offer your congratulations to Jack on this new endeavor.

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The purpose of this listserv message is to remind Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) Community HealthChoices (CHC) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver participants and HCBS direct care providers of the requirement to complete an annual reassessment. Because flexibilities were implemented due to the public health emergency, we wanted to clarify and remind providers and participants of the importance of completing the annual reassessment. The CHC waiver requires the CHC-MCOs to re-evaluate a participant’s level of care at least annually to determine if the participant continues to meet the level of care criteria to remain eligible for waiver services. Individuals who are assessed to be Nursing Facility Clinically Eligible (NFCE) at the time of their Medical Assistance (MA) application must be reassessed at least annually (within 365 days) thereafter. The needs assessment allows the CHC-MCO to understand what type of HCBS best fits a participant’s needs, resources, preferences, and goals.

On March 25, 2021, the OLTL issued updated guidance with information for the CHC-MCOs on how to move forward with annual reassessments. That guidance included a timeframe for the CHC-MCOs to complete participant’s annual reassessments. Annual reassessments, including the needs assessment, that were delayed beyond the 365th-day were to be completed no later than December 31, 2020, which is 6 months after the issuance of the June 26, 2020 transition plan.

The CHC-MCOs have been reaching out to participants to schedule their annual reassessments and have encountered challenges connecting with participants or have participants who refused the annual reassessment. OLTL is encouraging HCBS direct care providers who have regular contact with participants to educate and remind them of the importance of participating and completing the annual reassessment in order to continue receiving HCBS.

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assistance, support, guidance - business concept words in color hexagons over blue background, flat design

We are excited to announce the launch of our newly rebuilt and redesigned financial education website, StudyMoney.us!

This new, fully accessible, and user-friendly website makes financial education readily available to people with disabilities, their family members, advocates, and educators everywhere, at no cost. As part of PATF’s commitment to helping people with disabilities invest in their financial future, we pledge to contribute $1,000 in savings to five people ($200 each) as part of a two-week #StudyMoneyWithUs Giveaway.

“Financial education is the foundation for independent living,” says PATF’s CEO, Susan Tachau. “When it comes to equity and inclusion, we believe comprehensive and accessible financial education can help level the playing field. That’s why we created this website and the curriculum on which it is based.”

“People with disabilities and their families need information and tools to make wise financial decisions for their futures. StudyMoney.us is designed to do just that,” Tachau states.

StudyMoney.us is based on our award-winning financial empowerment curriculum, Cents and Sensibility: A Guide to Money Management and its companion educator manual.

Read the official press release here.

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

WHEN AND WHERE ARE TEENS ALLOWED TO WORK?

As millions of teens enter the summer seasonal workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor has scheduled a webinar for teens, parents, employers, and educators on how federal and state laws protect teen workers. The virtual event will be held Thursday, May 27 from 9:00 am–11 am.

Representatives from the Wage and Hour Division’s Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre district offices will join officials from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Law Compliance to provide information and resources on regulations affecting youth employment, including the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Pennsylvania Child Labor Act.

Attendance for the webinar is free, but registration is required. Register here for the webinar.

The webinar is part of the division’s “Essential Workers – Essential Protections” initiative to offer training on critical workplace protections to workers in essential industries. This program builds on the division’s YouthRules! initiative, which promotes positive and safe work experiences for young workers by educating the public about the types of jobs teens can hold and the number of hours they can work.

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