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ARPA

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Providers are reminded of the requirement to report the use of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding. The Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) requires providers who received supplemental funding from the ARPA to report on their use of the funding by Friday, May 30, 2025. Reporting on the use of ARPA funding is critical to ensure compliance with federal requirements as the 2026 spending deadlines approach for the 10% enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funds for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. ARPA funding disbursements subject to this reporting requirement include the initiatives listed below. Please note that you may have reported on the use of ARPA funding received in 2021, including Act 2021–24 and Strengthening the Direct Care Workforce payments; this reporting is in addition to previously reported initiatives.

  • Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Improvement Funding
    • Authorized in May 2022
    • Available to HCBS providers
    • Funded by 10% enhanced FMAP funding for HCBS
    • Eligible uses include activities and expenses that expand, enhance, or strengthen HCBS, as outlined in the notice of the funding opportunity as well as the reminder notice

To complete a report, please log in to the ARPA Funding Portal, select the appropriate funding type, and then select “Create a New Funding Report.” The portal will prompt users to select a provider name (for individuals authorized to submit reports for multiple facilities or locations) and the applicable reporting period. Upon selection, review the prepopulated information and complete all required fields in the form.

For additional instructions on completing a report, please refer to the ARPA Funding Reporting Portal Business Partner Guide. For questions about registration and user access, please refer to the ARPA Portal Registration Guide. OLTL has also published a Frequently Asked Questions document and a Summary of ARPA Funding online at Long-Term Care for Providers | Department of Human Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Providers that received supplemental ARPA-funded payments must report to OLTL on their use of the funding so that the Commonwealth can produce documentation required by federal audits. Additionally, providers must retain detailed supporting documentation for the eligible use of supplemental ARPA-funded payments for a minimum of five (5) years from the payment date. Failure to submit a report may result in the recovery of funding through collection activities, audits, or legal action.

If you have questions regarding this message, please contact the Office of Long-Term Living via email.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

RCPA is reminding ODP providers that the 2025 spending deadline for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant funds is March 31, 2025. The final deadline for the reimbursement request submission is May 31, 2025. The survey closes on May 31, 2025, and no additional requests for reimbursement will be reviewed after this date.

Please refer to ODPANN 22-083 Update for additional details.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared an update to ODPANN-22-083. The purpose of this communication is to provide updated information about ARPA grant fund reimbursement. Updates are in red. The final deadline for a reimbursement request submission is May 31, 2025. The survey closes on May 31, 2025, and no additional requests for reimbursement will be reviewed after this date. All expenses need to be incurred on or before March 31, 2025. Please view the communication for information and instructions.

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ADvancing States and the ARPA HCBS TA Collective Announce Release of Report Summarizing State Experiences with ARPA HCBS Initiatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2024
CONTACT: Camille Dobson
202-898-2578

ARLINGTON, VA — ADvancing States and our partners in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) home and community-based services (HCBS) Technical Assistance Collective (TA Collective) are proud to release a report sharing findings about states’ experience in implementing their ARPA HCBS initiatives. While the ARPA infusion of federal dollars into HCBS provided an historic opportunity to try bold, new approaches to supporting people in their homes and communities, states were challenged to make systemic improvements given the time-limited nature of the federal funds.

To gather insights into states’ experiences in implementing their ARPA HCBS spending plans, the TA Collective fielded a national survey in early 2024 that aimed to identify successful strategies used by states implementing their ARPA HCBS spending plans, as well as any barriers hindering their success. Based on responses to that survey, this report highlights the challenges and barriers states faced in thoughtfully executing their initiatives in the midst of a public health emergency. The thirty-three states that responded to the survey shared the top barriers to implementing their projects as planned. These barriers include:

  • Delays in obtaining approval from CMS for both their spending plans and the necessary federal authorities to implement those plans;
  • Lack of staff capacity to design and implement complex initiatives;
  • The time it takes to complete state procurement processes to implement projects; and
  • The need to secure legislative approval and/or budget authority before beginning work.

The report also suggests ways to make any future time-limited investments in the HCBS system more effective, including giving states more time to implement, easing the CMS approval process and providing resources to both states and CMS. Moreover, any future investments should be accompanied by a federal evaluation to glean insights into successful interventions that could be replicated across the country.

While this report highlights challenges and lessons learned, it should be noted that, against all odds, states created transformational change with their ARPA spending plan initiatives. Our hope is that this report — and the recommendations contained therein — serves as a roadmap for any future federal investment in the HCBS system.

This report is also informed by the TA Collective’s work supporting states with their ARPA initiative planning, implementation, and evaluation activities and by observations and analysis of state and federal ARPA HCBS activities. It builds upon the TA Collective’s past work including, Efforts to Evaluate the Impact of ARPA HCBS Investments, an issue brief examining state evaluation approaches, and a summary of the work of the HCBS Sustainability Summit, which provided valuable context on sustaining the HCBS commitment fostered by ARPA investments. Both reports can be found here.

We are grateful to The John A. Hartford Foundation, the Care for all with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund, The SCAN Foundation, and the Milbank Memorial Fund for their support in making the work of the TA Collective possible.

Visit here to read the new report.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved ODP’s proposal to expand funding made available to Administrative Entities (AE) and Counties to support individuals and families on the waiting list. This will allow for the pursuit of innovative strategies to provide alternatives to Community Participation Support (CPS) services. Please read the announcement for full details.

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ODP Announcement 23-001 Update provides additional information about how the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) utilizes American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as part of the ongoing systemic recovery of services for people with an intellectual disability and autism. Also included is an Excel spreadsheet showing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Expansion and Recovery Baseline Data (CPS and Employment).

This announcement includes baseline pre-pandemic service user data for both Community Participation Support (CPS) and Supported Employment to inform provider planning efforts related to the supplemental payments. This initiative is designed to provide supplemental payments to support the recovery and service expansion in the following three areas: CPS, employment, and supports coordination. See the announcement for a description of the supplemental payment structure.

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ODP Announcement 23-030 announces a 30-day public comment period on a proposal to expand funding made available to Administrative Entities (AEs)/Counties to support individuals and families on the waiting list to allow for pursuit of innovative strategies and provide alternatives to Community Participation Support (CPS) services.

Staffing shortages and the lingering impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a decrease in the availability of CPS services for some individuals. Spending for Respite and Family Support Services made available to individuals on the waiting list through the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Spending Plan approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is lower than projected in the majority of counties.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is requesting public comment on the following proposal that would allow AEs to repurpose unspent ARPA respite dollars to develop and fund innovative alternatives to traditional CPS. ODP will review and consider all comments received by 11:59 pm on April 10, 2023, in developing a final proposal for use of these ARPA funds. Public comment may be submitted through one of the following methods:

  • Electronic submission via email.
  • Written submission through mail, addressed to: Julie Mochon, Department of Human Services Office of Developmental Programs 625 Forster Street, Room 510, Harrisburg, PA 17120

Questions about this communication should be sent electronically.

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The Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a communication regarding a delay in the distribution of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated to Personal Care Homes (PCH) and Assisted Living Residences (ALR) by Act 54 of 2022.

As of 2/6/2023, approximately 50 percent of the Act 54 payments for PCH and ALR had been processed by OLTL, and approximately 25 percent of the total facilities for which form submissions have been received have been fully processed and paid by the Treasury. DHS anticipates that it may take until the end of March 2023 for the remaining 50 percent of payments to be processed and finalized. Providers are asked to please be patient while the remaining payments are processed. If your facility is anticipating serious negative consequences from the delay of your payment, please email.

Visit here for information on the exact breakdown of the $26,767,000 of available Act 54 funding for PCH and ALR.

Please remember that Act 54 of 2022 requires the ARPA funding to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and spent by December 31, 2026, or returned to the Commonwealth. Additionally, these funds must be used for COVID-19 related expenses. Providers must keep documentation to prove that these funds were used for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in case of an audit. Any person or entity accepting an ARPA payment agrees to provide documentation to the Department of Human Services (DHS) upon request for purposes of determining compliance with Act 54 requirements. Instructions on expenditure reporting will be provided at a later date.

DHS recommends that providers consult their accountants or attorneys for further clarification on acceptable uses of ARPA funding. DHS encourages providers to review guidance for eligible expenditures on the US Department of the Treasury website in their Compliance and Reporting Guidance.

If your facility has not submitted an Act 54 Facility Acceptance Form, you may still do so. Do not submit this form if your facility has previously applied for this funding.

Other questions about this information may be directed via email.

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ODP Announcement 23-001 provides information about the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) initiative to utilize up to $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as part of the ongoing systemic recovery of services for people with an intellectual disability and autism.

To support the ongoing restoration of the intellectual disability and autism service delivery system, ODP is implementing a supplemental recovery and expansion initiative utilizing ARPA funds. This initiative is designed to provide supplemental payments to support the recovery and service expansion in the following three areas: Community Participation Support, Employment, and Supports Coordination.

All questions and comments related to this announcement can be directed to the Rate Setting inbox.

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