';
Physical Disabilities & Aging

Multi-ethnic multi-generation group of people from young children to 95 years old.

A Joint Initiative of the FISA Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and The Pittsburgh:

Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
REGISTER
No cost, but registration is necessary.

This session addresses the relationship between race and disability and establishes a common language around intersectionality. You will walk away with insights into cultivating programs, practices, and an organizational culture that is grounded in racial justice, disability justice, and inclusion.

This webinar focuses on inclusive practices around disability and racial justice, led by Keri Gray, CEO of the Keri Gray Consulting Group.

Learn More

Prepare your team for challenging events through trainings and sessions being offered at the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity! Workshops will focus on some difficult topics but will be certain to improve your team’s treatment of patients as well as their own, personal well-being. View the full brochure here, and claim your early bird rate, your hotel, and your discount today so you can gain direct access to workshops such as:

  • Ethics, Suicide, and Coercive Practices: Are We Doing More Harm Than Good?
    • Examine cultural and societal values in relation to suicide, including a discussion on whether physician-assisted suicide is a human right.
  • Reducing Health Disparities Through a Collaborative Approach to Value-Based Contracting
    • Learn about Highmark Wholecare’s intervention into minority adolescent treatment for STIs, which reduced racial/ethnic disparities through Medicaid VBC payment models.
  • Measurement-Based Care: Exploring the Value of a Coordinated Approach in Pennsylvania
    • Analyze the implementation of measurement-based care models across Northeast Pennsylvania through Greenspace Health and Northeast Behavioral Health Care Consortium.
  • Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent: Mitigating Bias in Hiring, From Sourcing Through Onboarding
    • Discover ways in which bias presents itself during the hiring process and how to manage it so that you can find and keep great talent.
  • The Dialectical Behavior Model of Living
    • Study the Dialectical Behavior Model of Living in order to assist neurodivergent individuals in managing their social, emotional, and environmental processes.
  • Debriefing: Supporting Staff and People Supported Through a Traumatic Event
    • Be a leader for your team by utilizing debriefing tactics in order to help your employees when traumatic experiences happen in the workplace.
  • Treating Problematic Sexualized Behaviors Through a Systemic Model
    • Identify warning signs of problematic sexual behavior in adolescents and learn how to approach and treat such behaviors with cultural and ethical considerations.
  • Machine Learning: New Tools to Improve Youth Mental Health Outcomes
    • Hear from Gemma Services on how they improved their PRTF and Outpatient programs through a data analytics firm and the creation of an Insight Generator tool.
  • RCPA Captive Health Plan: NON-CE Offering
    • Learn about the RCPA Captive Health Care program, including benefits, costs, and savings potentials for your organizations.
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! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting, 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!

The RCPA 2023 Annual Conference A Decade of Unity is scheduled for October 10 – 13, 2023, at the Hershey Lodge. The sessions listed below are a sample of the sessions planned, and these include the opportunities to interact with DHS, OLTL, and Aging Department leaders. This will be further enhanced by the participation of current and prospective CHC-MCOs. Of course, a number of networking events with your peers, technology innovators, and vendors to improve your operations make these days a must-have for your agency! View the list below of planned sessions for your PD&A teams:

  1. State of the State: DHS Secretary Arkoosh
  2. Become a Destination Employer
  3. Moral Injury: Reframing and Repair
  4. Restrictive Practices Across the States: Strategies to Advocate for Change
  5. The Happy Valley FitLink Approach to Inclusive Wellness
  6. OLTL Updates and Quality Initiatives
  7. Driving Pennsylvania’s Health Care Transformation: Integrating Perspectives for Advanced Patient-Centered Care
  8. Value-Based Purchasing: A Survival Guide
  9. Beyond Accessibility: Diversity and Inclusion in the Disability Community
  10. Addressing the Workforce Crisis: Strategy and Policy Learnings From Four Organizations
  11. Enabling Technology: The Why, What, and How Needed to Make it Happen
  12. Leadership and Navigating Change (1 and 2)
  13. Getting Past the First Meeting to the Contract Negotiation
  14. Revealing the Potential of Smart Home Technologies for People With Disabilities Through Research and Resources
  15. Findings on Stakeholder Engagement for the PA Master Plan for Older Adults
  16. Reducing Health Disparities Through a Collaborative Approach to Value-Based Contracting
  17. Attracting and Retaining the Best Talent: Mitigating Bias in Hiring, From Sourcing Through Onboarding
  18. Independence and Wellness Through Employment

Use this link for quick, convenient online registration for the 2023 Annual Conference! You can view the brochure for the full schedule as well as the RCPA Conference website for further details. We look forward to seeing you in Hershey this October!

The University of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania-based partners are supporting the efforts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, led by the Pennsylvania Department on Aging, to develop a Master Plan for Older Adults. Please circulate this survey on PA Aging and Disability Needs to your consumers and encourage them to complete it ASAP.

This project is being led by Dr. Howard B. Degenholtz and Dr. Steven Albert from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Please use this link to share any questions or concerns you have about the process.

If you have any questions, please contact Fady Sahhar.

Last week, the Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) issued the following message to clarify criminal history background checks and child abuse history requirements:

In accordance with 55 Pa. Code § 52.19(d), hiring policies shall be in accordance with the PA Department of Aging’s (PDA) Older Adults Protective Services Act policy as posted on the PDA website. The Criminal History Background Checks page of the PDA website contains an OAPSA and Act 28 Summary, which summarizes criminal history background checks. The process is as follows:

All applicants must submit to a PA State Police (PSP) criminal history background check. Applicants can use the online process at Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History (PATCH) or mail the request with a money order or cashier’s check made payable to “Commonwealth of PA” to the State Police for processing. If there is no criminal record, the PSP will forward a letter stating the same. If there is a criminal record, the PSP will forward a copy of the rap sheet to the requester.

If the applicant has not been a PA resident for the two consecutive years before application, they will need to have a PSP criminal history background check completed and an FBI Background Check. All requests for FBI background checks must be made directly through 3MCogent Systems, a 3rd party electronic background check processor contracted by the Department of Aging. The fingerprinting registration process is conducted through Cogent online. The fee for the FBI background check is $23.00. The fingerprints will be forwarded to the FBI for processing by PDA. When the application has been processed by the FBI, the results will be returned to PDA. PDA will send letters to both the facility & applicant. The applicant will receive a copy of the FBI criminal history record information if applicable.
Note: It’s possible that the fee for FBI background checks cited above could change over time.

In addition, agency employees who will be providing services in a home where children reside must also obtain a Child Abuse History Certification from the PA Department of Human Services (DHS). Child Abuse History Certifications are obtained online at the Child Welfare Portal, or through the PA DHS ChildLine and Abuse Registry, P.O. Box 8170, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105-8170, (717) 783-6211 or toll free at (877) 371-5422. More information is available at the PA DHS Child Abuse History Certification website. Prior to provisionally hiring a person for employment as described in 55 Pa. Code Ch. 52.20, the clearances required prior to providing services in homes where children reside must be completed.

Any questions about the information in this listserv message should be sent electronically. You can also contact Fady Sahhar, Director of PD&A Division.

Don’t miss your chance to catch the early bird registration rate for the 2023 RCPA Annual Conference A Decade of Unity! Early bird rates end Friday, September 8, 2023. View our registration brochure to see our full schedule, including networking and Connections Hall events, as well as information on booking your hotel room. Complete the brochure and reserve your seat at the early bird discount rate today!

We also wish to extend our thanks to those organizations that have already contributed and shown their support! Sponsor and exhibitor spots are filling up quickly, so complete the sponsor/exhibitor brochure today! As a reminder, sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers who wish to be listed on the website, the mobile app, and in the conference program must submit all materials by September 8. In order to be considered for booth self-selection, a completed contract with payment must be submitted, and no reservation is considered complete without payment. If questions remain, please contact Carol Ferenz, Conference Coordinator.

The meeting handouts from the August 2, 2023, Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Subcommittee meeting are available for review. The handouts include PowerPoint presentations and the transcript from the meeting. View the handouts below:

The next MLTSS Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday,, September 6, 2023. The agenda for the meeting has been released, and registration is now open. The meeting will be held in person at the PA Department of Education Honors Suite, 1st floor, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, and also via webcast. The call information is below:

Conference Line:
Bridge Number:
1-562-247-8422
PIN: 936690076#
Webinar Link
Remote Streaming Link

Comments and questions regarding the agenda should be sent via email.