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Tags Posts tagged with "adult autism waiver"

adult autism waiver

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 26-002The purpose of this communication is to provide guidance regarding the intent and purpose of an Individual Support Plan (ISP) meeting and whether attending an ISP meeting is a billable unit of service.

Please view the announcement for more details. Questions about this announcement should be directed to the appropriate ODP BSASP Regional Office.

On July 1, 2025, the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) rolled out a new assessment bundle for the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW). The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is interested in hearing from Supports Coordinators (SC) and providers on their experiences with implementing the new assessments.

Please join ODP for a Virtual Office Hour (VOH) to share feedback, ask questions, and review resource materials.

Who should attend?
All AAW SCs and Providers

Date: January 30, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Register Here

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-116. The purpose of this communication is to inform providers of Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) services and Supports Coordination Organizations (SCO) of the updated provider qualification process.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require a statewide process to ensure providers are qualified to render services to waiver-funded individuals. The Provider Qualification Process described in the communication outlines the steps the provider must follow to meet these requirements, and the steps Supports Coordinators (SC) must take to transition individuals if needed. This communication does not describe the qualification process for AAW SCOs.

NOTE: The release of this communication obsoletes ODP Announcement 20-110 New Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) Provider Qualification Process.

Providers that are shared across Intellectual Disability/Autism (ID/A) and the AAW must complete the Provider Qualification processes with both their assigned Administrative Entity (AE) for the ID/A waivers and the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) for the AAW.

Please view the full announcement for complete details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-074. This announcement is to communicate the updated process for ODP’s Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) to initially qualify new provider applicants for the AAW effective August 1, 2025.

Pursuant to 55 Pa. Code §6100.82 (relating to enrollment documentation) and the service qualification requirements specified in Appendix C of the AAW to become a qualified provider, applicants must:

  • First complete the ODP Provider Applicant Orientation (PAO) training pre-session modules, then
  • Complete the ODP Provider Application for Initial Qualification/Enrollment for the AAW, and finally
  • Submit all required provider qualification documentation designated for new provider applicants.

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has released Bulletin 00-25-02: Individual Eligibility for the Consolidated, P/FDS, Community Living and Adult Autism Waivers and the accompanying attachment.

The purpose of this bulletin is to communicate:

  • The requirements and procedures for evaluating an individual’s eligibility for services and supports provided through the Consolidated, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS), Community Living Waivers (ID/A Waivers), and the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW); and
  • The requirements and procedures for re-evaluating an individual’s eligibility for the ID/A Waivers.

Additional resources to assist with the evaluation and re-evaluation of HCBS eligibility for services and supports are available on MyODP’s website.

This bulletin obsoletes Office of Developmental Programs 00-19-04: Individual Eligibility for the Consolidated, P/FDS and Community Living Waivers.

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

June 27, 2025
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Register Here

Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) providers are invited to participate in the AAW Provider Quarterly Incident and Risk Management meeting. This meeting will be held for all Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) providers and Support Coordinators (SC) providing AAW services. Pam Treadway and Heather Easley will facilitate these meetings with the intent to provide updates on incident and risk management related activities, share AAW data, inform providers of any upcoming changes, review ODP expectations, etc. Providers will be able to network with one another and ask questions directly to the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP).

The upcoming meeting will include recommendations for providers to ensure incidents are appropriately detailed so that during the Management Review process, the incident can be approved and closed. We highly encourage those who fulfill the Incident Management (IM) Representative role to attend this meeting.

Multiple staff from a provider may attend but should register separately. Be sure to complete all required information to confirm attendance. A link to the meeting will be sent prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Please contact the Provider Support inbox with questions.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-049. This announcement is to notify Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) and Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) Behavioral Specialists as well as their supervisors that ODP’s Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) is expecting a synthesis of FBAs in the form of the ODP BSASP FBA Summary Report to be maintained in the file of participants receiving Behavioral Specialist Services (BSS) through the AAW and ACAP and submitted as part of the Behavioral Specialist Plan review process.

Please view the announcement and FBA Summary Report for additional details.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-044. This communication is to inform all interested stakeholders about the new assessment protocol that is replacing most of the previous assessments required for participants in the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW), effective July 1, 2025, and to announce a mandatory training for AAW Supports Coordinators (SC) and SC Supervisors.

Beginning with assessments conducted on July 1, 2025, participants in the AAW will no longer be assessed using the SIB-R, Quality of Life Questionnaire, Baseline Outcomes, or Parental Stress Scale. All participant ISPs with plan effective dates beginning October 1, 2025, are subject to the new assessments.

All AAW participants will be assessed using the following five assessment tools, all of which are completed via QuestionPro:

  • Autism Supports Assessment Protocol (ASAP);
  • Periodic Risk Evaluation (PRE);
  • Waisman Activities of Daily Living Scale (W-ADL);
  • Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition (SRS-2); and
  • Online Readiness Checklist.

Mandatory Training for AAW SCs and SC Supervisors on New Assessment Protocol

SCs and SC Supervisors are required to register for and attend one of the following two training sessions. Content is the same for both sessions, so attendance is only mandatory for one session.

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 25-029. This communication notifies Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) SCs, SC supervisors, providers, and other interested parties of the updated AAW Updated Individual Support Plan (ISP) Signature Form (DP 1032 AAW).

The updated DP 1032 AAW is required for all initial ISPs and annual review meetings and should be used effective immediately. The form is available on the MyODP website.

Please view the announcement to access the updated form.