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Physical Disabilities & Aging

In 2018, Governor Wolf signed a bipartisan bill with unanimous support from the General Assembly into law. Act 36 of 2018 is known as the Employment First Act [PA Law 229]. The purpose of the Employment First Act (Act 36) is to “ensure that individuals with a disability be given the opportunity to achieve economic independence through jobs that pay competitive wages in community integrated settings.”

In an effort to reach this goal, the PA Employment First Oversight Commission was formed. Stephen Suroviec, Commission Chair, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Achieva and an RCPA member. Other RCPA members, including RCPA President and CEO Richard Edley, also serve on the commission. The commission was charged with:

  • Establishing measurable goals and objectives governing the implementation of the Act;
  • Tracking the measurable progress of public agencies in implementing the Act; and
  • Issuing an annual report that:
    • Details the progress made on each of the measurable goals and objectives during the preceding fiscal year, and
    • Includes recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly for effective strategies and policies needed to support the implementation of this act.

The annual report from the commission details the progress toward these targets. You can view the report here.

The team at Greenspace Health is hosting their third and final educational panel with the researchers and renowned psychologists at the Yale Measurement-Based Care Collaborative. You won’t want to miss this session with The Collaborative— it’s your chance to build on your knowledge of MBC and learn from the researchers driving its momentum.

Greenspace is excited to invite you to this live Q&A session with the Yale MBC experts to build on your knowledge of MBC and learn from those driving its momentum. Over 650 clinicians and clinical leaders attended the first two sessions. You won’t want to miss this event!

ASK ME ANYTHING: A Measurement-Based Care Q&A With the Experts at Yale is coming up on November 3 at 1:00 pm EDT. Visit here to register now! Greenspace hopes you can make it, and please feel free to share the event with anyone on your team.

Watch this short video for highlights from the last panel!

Photo by Michael Schofield on Unsplash

Up to $20,000 in debt relief is available to those who received a Federal Pell Grant in college and meet the income requirements. Up to $10,000 in debt relief is available to those who received a Federal Pell Grant in college and meet the income requirements.

The U.S. Department of Education is providing this one-time debt relief as part of the Biden-Harris Administration student debt relief plan.

Apply for student debt relief, or get more information at Federal Student Aid.

The team at Greenspace Health is hosting their third and final educational panel with the researchers and renowned psychologists at the Yale Measurement-Based Care Collaborative. You won’t want to miss this session with The Collaborative— it’s your chance to build on your knowledge of MBC and learn from the researchers driving its momentum.

Greenspace is excited to invite you to this live Q&A session with the Yale MBC experts to build on your knowledge of MBC and learn from those driving its momentum. Over 650 clinicians and clinical leaders attended the first two sessions. You won’t want to miss this event!

ASK ME ANYTHING: A Measurement-Based Care Q&A With the Experts at Yale is coming up on November 3 at 1:00 pm EDT. Visit here to register now! Greenspace hopes you can make it, and please feel free to share the event with anyone on your team.

Watch this short video for highlights from the last panel!

Today, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously voted HB 2530, which focused on the elimination of prudent pay for IDD providers, out of committee. The bill will be placed on the Senate voting calendar and is expected to have a final vote next week, which is the final fall session week for the Senate. Once the bill is approved, it will go to the Governor for his signature.

RCPA is grateful for all the technical assistance Bill Harriger, President and CEO of Verland, provided throughout the legislative process, and to all RCPA members who contacted their state legislators.

If you have questions, please contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs.

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) has been sending reminders to personal care homes, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing facilities regarding the benefits of Long-Term Care Resiliency Infrastructure Supports & Empowerment (LTC-RISE). Please see the latest reminder below:

Over the last several months, the LTC-RISE partners have been reaching out to skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, and assisted living facilities with various quality improvement projects funded by their partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH). By completing a needs assessment with you at your facility, the LTC-RISE partner can work with you to identify and support areas of improvement that will strengthen your facility’s ability to respond to any future health crisis at no financial cost to you. Some of the areas they can assist with include infection prevention and control, emergency preparedness, facilitating staffing contracts, use of health technology, and more! Please see the letter for additional information on this initiative for personal care homes and assisted living facilities, as well as skilled nursing facilities.

Many of you have already taken advantage of the opportunity to participate in any or all of these programs, but for those of you who have not, I encourage you to reach out directly to your local LTC-RISE partner to find out about how to enroll and be included in this and future opportunities that may become available.  

Please go to the DOH LTC-RISE website to read more about this opportunity, see which region serves your facility based on county, and see contact information to find out more about enrolling with our LTC-Rise partners.