ODP Announcement 20-052 serves to inform stakeholders about Governor Wolf’s announcement of counties that are moving to the “yellow phase” and provide service-specific guidance to Office of
Developmental Programs (ODP) stakeholders. On May 1, 2020 Governor Wolf announced that 24 counties from the northwest and north-central regions of the state will be moving from the red phase to the yellow phase beginning Friday, May 8. This action is part of the administration’s Process to Re-Open Pennsylvania. This marks a reduction in restrictions on work and social settings.
The following counties are included: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, and Warren. For more information about how this decision was made, stakeholders can review the Risk-Based Decision Support Tool which was developed in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to strike a balance between economic concerns and public health risks.
For people who reside in counties included in the yellow phase, Individual Support Plan (ISP) teams should use the ODP Reintegration/Transition Guidance Toolkit (release anticipated by May 8) in conjunction with the probe guidance in the annotated ISP to assess COVID-19 related risk and determine, for each individual, what supports are needed for the individual to be able to safely resume activities or engage in new activities. All conditions outlined in Appendix K of the Intellectual Disabilities/Autism Waivers Operational Guidance (version 1.0) and the Adult Autism Waiver Operational Guidance (version 1.0) continue to apply.
To assist with this transition, ODP is providing service-specific guidance for stakeholders in counties moving to the yellow phase beginning May 8, 2020 outlined in this announcement. Additional guidance for staff and individual screening protocols in residential and community services will be provided prior to May 8, 2020.