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In an effort to assist Infant/Toddler Programs and their contracted EI service providers to clear suspended claims from the PROMISe™ system, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has released guidance on the procedures for Early Intervention claim filing. Correct billing practices require adherence to correct filing procedures and time limits. All relevant information and instructions can be found in the PA PROMISe™ Provider Handbook for the 837 Professional/CMS-1500 Claim Form.

Time Limits for Claim Submission

DPW must receive claim forms for submissions, resubmissions, and adjustment of claim forms within specified time frames; otherwise, the claim will reject on timely filing related edits and will not be processed for payment.

Service providers (including service coordination entities) are required to submit original claims within 180 calendar days of the initial date of service. Claims which are received within 180-days of the date of service and subsequently denied may be resubmitted up to 365 calendar days from the original date of service.

Suspended Claims/180-Day Exception Request Process

ALL claims that are past the 180- or 365-billing day cycle AND directly associated to a reported PELICAN-EI systems issue are to be billed electronically through the PROMISe system. The claims filed will result in a “suspended” status. These suspended claims will be manually reviewed and approved by a Bureau of Early Intervention services staff member.

Approval of these suspended claims will require additional information submitted by the provider to the BEIS office via email. The email contents must include the following:

  • Provider name
  • MCI for the child
  • PELICAN-EI systems issue description and Help Desk Call Number

If the claim was suspended because it was past the filing limit and unrelated to a PELICAN-EI systems issue, you will need to provide an explanation for the delayed billing. Providing an explanation for the delayed billing will not automatically result in the claim being approved for payment. Each claim will be reviewed individually and considered for approval.

It is the responsibility of the billing entity to follow the requirements for timely billing as outlined in the PROMISe™ manual. Claims which have a suspended status will be denied unless the above procedures have been followed.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has established the procedures for infant and toddler programs to report any incidence of suspected child abuse by an early intervention (EI) provider who works with infants and toddlers. The announcement also includes the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) definition of child abuse and the process mandated reporters must follow to report any incident of suspected child abuse.

As CPSL regulations require, all providers within the EI system are mandated reporters. Mandated reporters must report suspected child abuse, including neglect and exploitation, to ChildLine, Pennsylvania’s Statewide Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-932-0313 or through the Child Welfare Portal.

The guidance includes an overview of the process and standards as well as the following reportable incident forms:

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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To:             All LEAs

From:
Secretary Pedro A. Rivera, Department of Education
Secretary Teresa D. Miller, Department of Human Services

Date:         December 2, 2019

Subject:     Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is pleased to unveil the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework.

This “framework” is a collaborative initiative between PDE’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and includes family engagement resources and information for local education agencies (LEAs) aligned with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The framework is a tool to guide learning communities in the implementation of effective practices, use of shared language, and application of a family engagement continuum for families across their child’s educational lifespan.

  • Purpose: Effective family engagement, beginning with early learning programs through K12, are important to supporting a child’s learning and development. The framework fosters a clear path and identifies a set of common standards for how learning communities can plan and implement family engagement practice.
  • Audience: Many members of Pennsylvania’s learning communities can employ this framework. A learning community is defined as programs and schools to which PDE, including the OCDEL and OESE, provide funding, guidance, and monitoring. It also includes LEAs, such as school districts and associated community partners.
  • Goal: Research has demonstrated that regardless of socioeconomic background, when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children perform better academically, enjoy school more, remain in school longer, and have better long-term outcomes such as higher graduation rates and improved postsecondary educational attainment and career readiness.

Additionally, PDE is collaborating with the Mid Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC) to launch a new state family engagement center — the Collaborative Action for Family Engagement Center (CAFE) — which is an online resource to provide opportunities for collaboration, learning, and to promote high-impact, culturally responsive family engagement. CAFE will serve diverse families who reside in Pennsylvania. More information on CAFE is forthcoming.

More information on family engagement and the framework can be found on PDE’s website.

RCPA would like to congratulate Jonathan Rubin and Amy Grippi on their new positions with the Department of Human Services. We look forward to collaborating in the future, to continue improving the quality of life for our children across the Commonwealth.


(From DHS Secretary Teresa Miller)

DHS Staffing Update

I am excited to announce that Jonathan (Jon) Rubin will join the Department of Human Services as the Office of Children, Youth, and Families’ Deputy Secretary. Jon has led Bucks County’s Housing and Human Services division since 2014, overseeing the county’s child welfare agency, behavioral and developmental health programs, drug and alcohol services, mental health and developmental programs, housing services, and Area Agency on Aging.  As director, Jon has focused on creating a more integrated approach to Housing and Human Services’ work, encouraging two-generation, whole-family focuses and facilitating public-private partnerships and generative program development.

Jon started his career spending 15 years with the Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services agency, beginning as a social worker and eventually serving four years as a child protective services manager. He has also worked to strengthen the child welfare system on a state level, working at the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, providing technical assistance and training to children and youth agencies around Pennsylvania, and later with Deloitte as a senior consultant and child welfare subject matter expert, helping implement the Child Welfare Information Solution project. Jon has also worked at the national level supporting child welfare systems across the country when he served as an Organizational Effectiveness Consultant for the American Public Human Services Association.

Jon will join DHS on November 4. At that point, Amy Grippi will transition into a new role, Child Services Executive Director, in the Secretary’s Office. This role will focus on synthesizing initiatives and priorities around child services and create a stronger bridge between OCYF and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning. Amy will be focused on strengthening services provided to children around Pennsylvania, including our work to implement the enterprise case management system and Family First, increasing the incorporation of predictive analytics and trend analyses through improved data collection, and other initiatives.

I think this new role will be an invaluable asset to help enhance and support the work done at DHS and at the county level, and I know Amy’s skills and experience will help us do more to support children and families around Pennsylvania.

I want to thank Amy for her tireless work and leadership as OCYF’s Acting Deputy Secretary over the last few months, and I am so excited to welcome Jon to the agency. I look forward to seeing the good work that DHS and OCYF will accomplish as we move forward.

Thank you,
Secretary Teresa Miller

In an effort to promote “Government that Works,” the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has made it a priority to integrate early childhood education services, so that providers can offer multiple OCDEL services to families without duplicating paperwork, and families can more easily access the services they need. To lead and promote this approach to improving and streamlining bureaucratic and operational challenges faced by providers and families, OCDEL has produced a short video overview with Deputy Secretary Michelle Figlar.

Providers are also being asked to share their experiences with OCDEL programs to help shape this work. It is critical for the RCPA Children’s Steering Committee and work groups to hear how OCDEL programs work for providers and families. Input from providers of early childhood care will significantly inform and influence this work. For RCPA members, it will be vital that providers of early childhood mental health, behavioral consultation, autism, and pediatric rehabilitation services, that need to be delivered in a coordinated and collaborative manner, help to inform this process. RCPA members who serve young children are encouraged to complete a short survey by Monday, February 8. The survey includes five pages of questions and should take an average of five minutes to complete. For more information, visit the PA Keys website.

OCDEL has made stakeholder engagement one of its priorities to assure high quality services for children and families. For a listing of all open stakeholder engagement opportunities, please visit the PA Keys website.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) are inviting providers and others to review and provide comments on its draft State Plan for the Child Care Development Block Grant.

To submit comments, download and complete the response form by Friday, January 8, 2016, and email or mail to:

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning
Attn: State Plan
333 Market Street
Sixth Floor
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17126

The Child Care Development Block Grant is one of the primary federal funding sources for monitoring regulated child care programs, child care subsidy through Child Care Works, and child care quality improvement through Keystone STARS. Pennsylvania’s plan, once finalized, will address how the state will implement new requirements imposed by the reauthorization over the next three federal fiscal years. Key features of the plan include:

  • Supporting child development by providing greater opportunities for stable, quality child care.
  • Exploring payment rates to providers serving children receiving Child Care Works, to ensure equal access, and compensation for providers that is closer to the market rate.
  • Improving health and safety requirements for child care providers through child care regulations and inspections.
  • Reaffirming professional development requirements for providers participating in Keystone STARS.

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning has also posted and begun accepting public comment on a policy announcement, Reduction of Expulsion and Suspension in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania. OCDEL will hold a webinar to review the public comments received to date and give the stakeholder community a final opportunity to provide feedback. OCDEL will also accept additional comments via email until Monday, January 18, 2016, at which time the public comment period will be closed.