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ID/A
Behavioral Health Telehealth Services for Individuals With ID/A Town Hall — November 7
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are hosting a Town Hall focused on Behavioral Health Telehealth Services for individuals with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism (ID/A).
The Town Hall will provide an overview of the Telehealth for ID/A project and opportunities for engagement, including details on future stakeholder focus groups. The meeting will also host breakout rooms to gather stakeholder feedback on the benefits and barriers of telehealth for individuals with ID/A.
This is an opportunity for you to assist the Commonwealth by providing feedback on how telehealth works for you or someone you care about and giving suggestions for broadening and improving the service for the ID/A population.
We look forward to seeing you at the Town Hall. However, if you cannot make it, maybe you know someone else who can. Please feel free to forward this invitation to other interested parties. Please register for the meeting using the link below.
Register for the November 7, 2022 Town Hall
Note: If you are experiencing issues accessing the link, try right clicking the link, selecting “Copy Link,” and pasting the link into your browser. If the problem persists, try a different browser.
Referring Children to the County ID/A Programs Bulletin Training Now Available on MyODP
ODP Announcement 22-081 announces that the Department of Human Services (DHS) collaborative training for the Referring Children to the County Intellectual Disability and Autism (ID/A) Programs bulletin is now available on MyODP.
Joint DHS Bulletin: Referring Children to the County Intellectual Disability and Autism Programs
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidance to the county and private children and youth social service agencies, county mental health/behavioral health programs, early intervention (EI) programs, and managed care organizations on the process for referring children to the county intellectual disability and autism program when a child has a diagnosis of an intellectual disability, developmental disability, and/or autism (ID/DD/A) (information regarding eligibility and diagnostic criteria can be found here) or when it is suspected that a child may have one of these diagnoses.
Referring the child to the county ID/A program can provide eligible children and their families with access to information, services, and supports in the community, as well as assistance with preparing for life’s transitions through childhood into adulthood.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) wants to improve services and supports to all children and their families or legal guardians so that children can grow to adulthood living in a home with loving adults. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), the Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF), the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), and the Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) work closely together to ensure children with ID/DD/A and their families have access to high quality services that support the child’s growth and development. Please visit here for further information about each DHS Office addressed in this bulletin.
During the registration and eligibility process for services, the county ID/A program or TSM provider should offer families information about the Charting the LifeCourse framework and tools that were developed by the UMKC Institute for Human Development, UCEDD.
If stakeholders have any questions about the bulletin, they should send their questions via email.
Continuing Education: Psychologist’s Webinars for Those Who Support Individuals With ID/A
Friday, July 22, 2022
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
The Kepro HCQU invites you to attend these free webinars:
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE: HAVING VALUED ROLES
Dr. Guy Caruso
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
2 Continuing Education Credits
THE POWER AND POTENCY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL
Dr. Al Condeluci
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
2 Continuing Education Credits
Target audience for this presentation includes psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, nurses, and other professionals who support people with intellectual disability/autism (ID/A). A Question-and-Answer session will follow the presentation. Attendees may submit questions via the online Q&A chat.
See the flyer for more information, including registration instructions.
Recruiting Therapists for ID/A Train Sessions
The Department of Human Services’ Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is announcing upcoming TRAIN sessions. Individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism (ID/A) are at an increased risk of experiencing trauma; however, few therapists are skilled in both trauma and ID/A support. To bridge this gap, psychologists with the ASERT team created the TRAIN program — 12 weeks of self-guided learnings and live webinars to equip therapists across Pennsylvania currently working with ID/A populations, with the skills to support clients through traumatic experiences. Read more here.
Therapists interested in participating in the fall cohort, which begins in September, should email with their interest.
If you have questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series — August 11
Promising Positive Practices to Address the Mental Health Treatment and Service Needs of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Throughout the Lifespan
August 11, 2022
9:00 am – 12:15 pm
REGISTER
Session Description
In this 3-hour training, Dr. Joan Beasley will present best practices in mental health services and supports for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities throughout the lifespan. The presentation will include the perspectives of people with lived experiences as well as practitioners. The START model will be presented to demonstrate the effective use of these practices in cross systems crisis prevention and intervention. See the flyer for more information.
Session 1
9:00 am – 10:30 am.
Topics include: lessons learned over the past 50 years; integrated health approach; humanistic engagement vs. behavior support; public health tertiary model; and positive psychology/positive medicine.
Session 2
10:45 am – 12:15 pm.
Topic: the START model.
What is the Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series?
The Department of Human Services’ Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are pleased to announce the Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series, which offers presentations focused on supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) and mental health needs. The selected presenters share their expertise on best and promising practices as well as provide general knowledge. Session topics, which focus on increasing capacity to serve individuals with dual diagnosis in the community, are chosen based on identified needs and with input from the field of professional stakeholders.
- Invited audience of all professional stakeholders, including direct and clinical supporters for individuals with ID/A, are encouraged to attend.
- Registration is required and at no charge to attendees.
- Three (3) hours of training credits and a certificate of achievement is provided.
ID/A SCOs and AEs Webinar: Children With Medical Complexities — April 21
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has announced the Children with Medical Complexities Training Series – Part 1: Expanding Supports for Children with Medical Complexities webinar series for ID/A Supports Coordination Organizations and Administrative Entities. This webinar will be held Thursday, April 21, 2022, from 2:00 pm–3:30 pm.
In this introductory session to providing supports to children with medical complexities, ODP Medical Director Gregory Cherpes, MD, and Chief Nursing Officer Rhonda Gengler, RN, will provide an overview of the training series’ topics that will be covered in greater detail in subsequent sessions. Particular focus will be given to a companion document that will serve to augment the Supports Coordinator (SC) monitoring tool and assist the supports coordinator during monitoring visits.
A virtual office hour session will be held on April 26 from 2:00 pm–3:00 pm to address further questions with ODP staff. Registration information will be provided at a later date.
ODP and ASERT Training Needs Survey
To better support professionals assisting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Autism Services, Education, Resources and Training Collaborative (ASERT) want to learn more about the training needs of professionals related to the implementation of positive behavior supports.
You can complete the survey here. Please be reminded that the deadline for taking the survey is February 11, 2022.
Thank you so much for your assistance,
ODP & the ASERT Collaborative
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
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