The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared the release of the Quality Assessment and Improvement (QA&I) and Home & Community-Based Settings Rule Licensing Inspection Statewide Report, which includes QA&I Cycle 2 and licensing inspection data from fiscal years (FY) 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. This report is located online at MyODP’s website in the QA&I Reports section or directly here.
Please view communication ODPANN 26-014 for more details.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 26-015. This communication is to inform providers that the 2024 National Core Indicators® Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI®-IDD) State of the Workforce survey portal expects to open on February 9, 2026.
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Please view the announcement for more details.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has provided clarification as to when a provider licensed under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2380 is required to also obtain licensure as an Older Adult Daily Living Center (OADLC) from the Pennsylvania Department of Aging (PDA). Please view ODPANN 26-013 for details.
The Specialty Telehealth and Assessment Team (STAT) is a 24/7 telehealth service that provides health assessments. The service is consultative and provides disability specific advice of when to best seek additional or in-person medical treatment for the participants. This is a service that occurs in the participant’s private home or residential home to help assess their need for medical attention.
This service does not duplicate any service that is available through the state plan, and, very importantly, this service is not intended to replace in-person exams. The goal is not to prevent people from going to the emergency room or seeing a physician in person when needed. It is a support that can help to alleviate the burden of going to the emergency department or urgent care when it is not absolutely necessary for the individual to be seen in person.
The STAT waiver service is provided as a monthly service and billed in monthly units. One unit equals one month at 55 dollars a unit. All individuals that are involved in an ID/A waiver, Person/Family Directed Support (PFDS) waiver, Community Living waiver, and the Consolidated waiver are eligible for this service. The STAT waiver service is available for individuals of all ages and all living situations as long as they are enrolled in one of the ID/A waivers. In order to access this service, STAT must be added to the ISP via a critical revision or at the time of the annual ISP and must be authorized by the administrative entity prior to the service being used. STAT costs are included in the annual limit for P/FDS and Community Living waivers.
STAT is a unique and specialized service. The physicians that provide this service are educated in the guidelines for the provision of health care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All staff who render the service have completed a specialized training curriculum on how to provide medical assessment, treatment interventions, and recommendations regarding the health care needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or autism. This service is provided and overseen by physicians who are licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or have appropriate reciprocity.
The STAT waiver service has been available since March of 2024 and has grown steadily since. There are currently over 5,500 individuals using the service with two providers available, StationMD and Senacare. The service has maintained approximately a 94% treat in place rate since it became available, saving time and resources by avoiding unnecessary Emergency Department and urgent care visits.
We encourage SCs to provide education to individuals, families, and teams about how the STAT service can help.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has been made aware that this week’s SCO waiver payments were impacted by Pay for Performance (P4P) payments. P4P Technology and Credentialing payments were included in the same remittance advice as waiver payments. Presently, the Treasury is conducting a post-audit of these transactions. As soon as the Treasury’s audit is completed, payments on the January 12, 2026, remittance advices will be released. Payments on subsequent RAs that do not include P4P payments are expected to pay in the usual time frames.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and Temple University have developed a new online training lesson that provides an additional learning opportunity designed to enhance investigatory skills and supplies helpful resources to Certified Investigators (CI), Administrative Review Committee members, CI Peer Reviewers, Incident Management (IM) Reps, and others involved in the incident investigation process.
The Using Root Cause Analysis in the Development of Corrective Actions lesson has been added to the “Additional Learning Opportunities” section on the MyODP, PA ODP Certified Investigator Program Home page.
Please view ODPANN 26-012 for more details.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is pleased to invite public comment on proposed changes for the renewal of the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approves waivers for a five-year period, and the current AAW expires on June 30, 2026. Therefore, ODP must submit a renewal for the AAW to CMS no later than April 1, 2026. The AAW renewal is anticipated to be effective on July 1, 2026. The public comment period starts on January 17, 2026, and ends on February 16, 2026, at 11:59 pm.
As part of this process, ODP is seeking your valuable feedback and comments on the AAW. Proposed substantive changes include:
The proposed changes discussed in the section above are available to help all interested persons provide public comment. Public comments will be accepted via email, written comments, and verbal comments during a webinar held on February 9, 2026. All comments received by 11:59 pm on February 16, 2026, will be reviewed and considered for revisions to the AAW submitted to CMS.
Please review ODPANN 26-011 for more details.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) reminds quality management (QM) certificate holders who achieved certification/recertification during calendar year 2024, that they must recertify by December 31, 2026. Maintaining certification through recertifying every two years is highly recommended to keep QM skills honed and refreshed. Additional information on the QM process is included in ODPANN 26-010.
The Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) shared information on how the Provider Technology Solutions Readiness Assessment can guide your agency towards innovation and transformative technology adoption for the people you support. Customized for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Provider Readiness Assessment is a self-administered evaluation designed for service provider organizations interested in adopting or expanding the use of supportive technology and technology solutions for people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians. The results of this assessment will assist your organization in understanding areas of strengths and needs for successful technology implementation and provide recommendations for sustainable change.
Handouts shared today:
