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Physical Disabilities & Aging

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October is just around the corner, and that means the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity will be here before you know it! You’ll want to register today, as you’ll be able to reserve your seat in exciting, engaging workshops for CE credits as well as gain access to the mobile app when launched. Our mobile app will allow you to create your schedule, begin networking, and interact with sponsors and exhibitors up to a week prior to the first day of conference! View the registration brochure for full details, and note that hotel rooms are quickly filling, so if you have difficulties making your reservation, please contact Carol Ferenz. Register directly to claim your seat at the conference today!

We also wish to extend our thanks to those organizations that have contributed and shown their support! View our full list of sponsors and exhibitors at our Conference website! We look forward to seeing everyone at the Hershey Lodge!

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The Pennsylvania Department of Aging has released a Save the Date announcement for the 2023 Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) virtual forum. The topic for this forum, scheduled for November 2, 2023, from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm, will be “Focus on Lewy Body and Frontotemporal Dementias.”

Registration for the virtual forum will open on October 4, 2023. Questions should be directed to Heidi Champa, Aging Services Specialist, via email.

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Don’t wait before it’s too late to register and claim your seat and more for the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity! By registering today, you will reserve your spot in exciting, engaging workshops for CE credits. In addition, we will once again be launching our conference mobile app, which will allow you to create your schedule, begin networking, and interact with sponsors and exhibitors up to a week prior to the first day of conference! View the registration brochure for full details on workshops, keynote speakers, entertainment, and more so that you can begin planning your week with us at the Hershey Lodge! Note that hotel rooms are quickly filling, so if you have difficulties making your reservation, please contact Carol Ferenz.

Register today!

In addition to an impressive roster of speakers, our 2023 Conference will have an exciting array of sponsors and exhibitors. We thank those who have signed on thus far! **NOTE: EXHIBIT BOOTHS ARE SOLD OUT.** If you are interested in sponsoring, visit here for more details or contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator, with any questions you may have. Keep up-to-date and register today for #rcpaconf!

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Thursday, September 14, 2023
Start time: 10:00 am
End time: 3:00 pm
Break: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

This meeting will be held at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square. A virtual option will also be available via Zoom. The public is invited to attend in person or call in to this meeting using the following information:

Join the webinar: State Board Zoom Meeting
Passcode: 860094
Or One tap mobile :
US: +13017158592,,83975786874#,,,,*860094# or +13052241968,,83975786874#,,,,*860094#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 305 224 1968 or +1 309 205 3325 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 931 3860 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 719 359 4580 or +1 253 205 0468 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 360 209 5623 or +1 386 347 5053 or +1 507 473 4847 or +1 564 217 2000 or +1 669 444 9171 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 689 278 1000
Webinar ID: 839 7578 6874
Passcode: 860094
International numbers: International Zoom Numbers

CART and sign language interpreters will be available during this meeting. Those using a screen reader can connect via CART. Additional auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Please send your request via email.

The agenda for this meeting can be found on the State Board’s web page. Anyone who would like to make a public comment prior to the meeting may submit their comments via email.

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Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is seeking input on a proposed rule to establish the first-ever federal regulations for adult protective services (APS) programs. Instructions for submitting comments and registering for an informational webinar can be found on ACL’s website and below.

APS programs across the country support older adults and adults with disabilities who experience, or who are at risk of, abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation. APS programs investigate reports of maltreatment; conduct case planning, monitoring, and evaluation, and provide, or connect people who have experienced maltreatment to, a variety of medical, social service, economic, legal, housing, law enforcement, and other protective, emergency, or support services to help them recover. Over the past decade, ACL has led federal efforts to support the critical work of APS programs through a variety of initiatives.

First-Ever Federal Regulations for APS

The proposed rule aims to improve consistency and quality of APS services across states and support the national network that delivers APS services, with the ultimate goal of better meeting the needs of adults who experience or are at risk of maltreatment. To those ends, the proposed rule:

  • Establishes a set of national standards for the operation of APS programs that all state APS systems must meet. These standards formalize — and build upon — the existing National Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for State APS Systems.
  • Establishes common definitions for the national APS system to improve information sharing, data collection, and standardization between and within states.
  • Requires state APS systems to develop policies and procedures, consistent with state law, for coordination and sharing of information to facilitate investigations with other entities, such as state law enforcement agencies and state Medicaid agencies.
  • Requires state policies and procedures to be person-directed and based on concepts of least restrictive alternatives.
  • Establishes requirements for data collection, retention, and reporting.
  • Establishes requirements for mandatory staff training and ongoing education on core competencies for APS staff and supervisors.

ACL has created a fact sheet with highlights of key provisions of the rule, and the full text of the proposed rule can be found on the Federal Register website.

Input Needed

The proposed rule is the culmination of many years of engagement with stakeholders from APS and long-term care ombudsman programs, as well as disability advocates, from across the country. It also reflects input received through several listening sessions, extensive research, and analysis of data from a 2021 survey of 51 APS systems, ACL’s National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System, and policy profiles from APS programs in all states and territories.

ACL now seeks feedback on the proposed rule from all who are interested in improving implementation of APS programs and services. Input from the aging and disability networks and the people served by APS programs is particularly crucial.

Comments will be accepted for 60 days, beginning when the proposed rule is officially published in the Federal Register (which currently is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12). Instructions for commenting, along with the comment deadline, can be found in the Federal Register notice and on ACL’s website.

An informational webinar will be held on Monday, September 18, at 11:30 am ET. Advance registration is required.

For additional questions, contact Fady Sahhar.

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Friendly nurse cares for an elderly woman in a nursing home.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging has released the PA Master Plan for Older Adults White Paper. The White Paper is an overview of the origins, development process, and core tenets that are shaping this foundational 10-year aging plan for Pennsylvania and is being offered to aging stakeholders and all interested individuals as a reference guide when formulating and submitting comments on the development of the plan.

Digital forms for providing online comments and participating in a needs assessment survey are available here. This site also contains continually updated information on hundreds of community listening sessions that the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) are convening in every county in Pennsylvania.

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Last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra hosted a press conference to announce a rule proposed by the HHS Office for Civil Rights that would update Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This is the first time these critical regulations will have been updated since they were originally signed in 1977, after four years of tireless advocacy and a 28-day protest led by disability civil rights leaders.

Updates to the rule include:

  • Clarifications on the obligations to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate to a person’s needs, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C;
  • Medical treatment decisions are not based on biases or stereotypes about people with disabilities, judgments that an individual will be a burden on others, or beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability;
  • Adoption of standards for accessible diagnostic medical treatment;
  • Adoption of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, which are accessibility standards for websites and mobile applications;
  • Clarification of requirements in HHS-funded child welfare programs and activities to help eliminate discriminatory barriers faced by children, parents, caregivers, foster parents, and prospective parents with disabilities; and
  • Prohibition of the use of value-of-life assessments in treatment decisions.

Read the official announcement, full rule, fact sheet, and instructions on how to provide comments on the HHS website. If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

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