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Physical Disabilities & Aging

RCPA member Children’s Crisis Treatment Center (CCTC) hosted the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra for a roundtable discussion on children’s mental health and the impact of community violence on the afternoon of Friday, July 15, 2022. The roundtable was moderated by Dr. Ala Stanford, who is the Regional Director for HSS, responsible for all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Dr. Stanford is a practicing physician and the founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which focuses on testing and vaccinating Philadelphia residents against COVID-19.

Xavier Becerra is the 25th Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the first Latino to hold the office in the history of the United States. Secretary Becerra was in Philadelphia to promote the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), which is a network of more than 200 state and local call centers.

“CCTC was proud to be chosen as the organization the Secretary visited. It was wonderful to share with him the work that is being done in Philadelphia around children’s mental health services and highlight the impactful work CCTC provides in our centers, community, and schools,” said Antonio Valdés, Chief Executive Officer at CCTC.

Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Time: 2:00 pm ET
Duration: 1 hour

Training programs are one of the most effective ways to retain staff members and help them grow within your organization. While most organizations create some kind of internal training on a regular basis, crafting effective, engaging content for adult learners can prove challenging.

Cognota, a global software company specializing in improving productivity for learning and development teams, is excited to share best practices for incorporating adult learning principles into your training development.

Visit here for more information or to register for this webinar.

Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Time: 11:30 am – 12:45 pm EDT

Sponsor: The College for Behavioral Health Leadership
Offered in partnership with the American Association for Community Psychiatrists

This webinar is open to all.

This webinar will introduce participants to the Self-Assessment for Modification of Anti-Racism Tool (SMART), an innovative self-directed quality improvement tool developed by the American Association for Community Psychiatry (AACP) to assist community mental health organizations in addressing structural racism. The presenters will describe the process by which SMART was developed, including its grounding in input from community mental health providers and existing health inequity frameworks. The domains and items of SMART, as well as its application process, will be outlined. Presenters will also provide lessons from on-the-ground applications of SMART in diverse community mental health settings.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the relevance of and importance of addressing structural racism in the community mental health setting;
  • Understand the 5 domains of the Self-Assessment for Modification of Anti-Racism Tool (SMART), including literature evidence supporting the selection of SMART’s domains and items; and
  • Understand the on-the-ground experience of applying SMART in diverse community mental health settings.

Register
More information

The Biden administration on Friday, July 15, 2022, extended the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for another three months. US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra officially renewed the declaration, extending it through October 13, 2022. The extensions include the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) standards governing the delivery of services via telehealth.

If you have additional questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

Except from Morning Times
July 15, 2022

Mental health services are now more easily accessible for Pennsylvania residents under a bill sponsored by Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) that has been signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf. Act 76 of 2022, formerly House Bill (HB) 2419, allows for the expanded use of telehealth technology in the treatment of mental health patients. The new law removes the statutory requirement of 50% of onsite psychiatric time, giving the Department of Human Services more flexibility in issuing waivers to accommodate individual clinics in providing mental health services virtually.


RCPA thanks our General Assembly members for their partnership and support in ensuring these critical services remain in place for those in need of care. If you have questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.