The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has extended the deadline for providers and Supports Coordination Organizations (SCO) to utilize the one-time funds made available through ARPA. This had been discussed at RCPA’s recent IDD Committee meeting, and Deputy Secretary Ahrens appreciated the feedback. The deadline to spend the funds has been moved to March 31, 2025.
Please see ODP Announcement 22-107 for details.
ODP Announcement 22-104 is to inform all interested parties that Trainers are now able to administer new classes and students are able to register in the new Medication Administration platform. This announcement contains instructions for requesting a student class, viewing the gradebook, the structure of the student courses, marking manual grades, and accessing the Acknowledgement of Qualification.
A link to the recording and PDF for the Medication Administration Student Course Overview for Trainers webinar, which was held on September 8, 2022, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, is included.
The new Medication Administration platform is now available here.
ODP Announcement 22-105 provides the most recent update to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about details for COVID-19 vaccine and boosters. Release of this announcement will obsolete “ODPANN 22-046: COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Reminder.”
This updated guidance includes information on newly available booster vaccines, which are referred to as bivalent or updated vaccines. The guidance also discusses the availability of a newer primary vaccine called the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC has updated information regarding the vaccination schedule for individuals based on age and provides considerations based on additional factors. Full information is available at the CDC’s Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States.
ODP Announcement 22-106 states that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) contracts with Temple University Harrisburg to deliver the ODP Certified Investigator Program and that ODP and Temple University are conducting Certified Investigator Friday Forums. These forums are an opportunity for current Certified Investigators and other interested parties to receive up-to-date information about the incident investigation process.
The next session date and time is Friday October 7, 2022, at 10:00 am – 11:30 am. The topic being covered is the Certified Investigator Report (CIR).
Please submit questions to Amanda Black by close of business Friday, September 30, 2022.
ODP Announcement 22-103 serves to inform Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) providers that there are specific regulations regarding restrictive procedures that must be followed. The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has been made aware that some AAW providers are implementing restrictive procedure plans for individuals being served in AAW without a corresponding BSP documented in the ISP in HCSIS. This practice is not allowed.
A restrictive procedure must always be part of the behavioral support component of the ISP as required by the AAW. In the AAW, the BSP is included in the ISP in HCSIS. The Desired Behavioral Outcomes (DBOs) of the BSP must be consistent with the Behavior Support Specialist service goals and objectives.
There must be an active Behavior Support Specialist goal for each DBO, and each Behavior Support Specialist goal must have a DBO. Additionally, every Behavior Support Specialist goal must have a corresponding Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) chart and be reported on at least quarterly in a Quarterly Progress Note (QPN).
To have a restrictive procedure plan in place for an AAW participant, the Behavior Support Specialist service must be in the ISP Service Details so that a BS qualified to provide services in the AAW can develop, implement, and train staff on the participant’s BSP and CIP with the goal of fading all restrictive procedures over time.
In the AAW, the Behavioral Specialist Service (BSS) is not bundled with the Residential Habilitation service as it is with other ODP waivers. Therefore, to meet the requirements above, AAW participants who are receiving residential habilitation services and have a restrictive procedure plan in place must also have active BSS authorized in their ISP. This ensures an AAW qualified BS is working with the participant when a restrictive procedure plan is in place.
Please refer to Chapter 6100 regulations § 6100.341 – 6100.346, Bulletin 00-21-01 Guidance for Human Rights Teams and Human Rights Committees and Attachment 2 — Individual Plans and Informed Consent for additional information. Any questions should be sent to the AAW Provider Support Inbox.
ODP Announcement 22-102 announces that the Home and Community Services Information System (HCSIS) 90.05 Release Newsletter is available under the HCSIS Communique hyperlink found on the Learning Management System (LMS) located on the HCSIS home page.
Work items to highlight in this release include:
It is important to note that the Due Date and Time is only displayed for the First Section document. For all other documents, the system only displays the Due Date. The number of report extensions filed for the Final Section is under the Incident Final Section document information.
Please review the HCSIS Release 90.05 Newsletter as part of this Announcement and also located on the secure LMS Home and Community website for more information. If you do not have an LMS Login ID and Password, contact your Business Partner Administrator (also known as your “BP Admin”).
ODP Announcement 22-100 is to announce the release of the Home and Community-Based Services Rule and Pennsylvania’s Statewide Transition plan webcast. The recording of this presentation is now available.
Pennsylvania’s Final Statewide Transition Plan and information about how to provide public comment, including during webinars specific to the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Office of Developmental Programs, and Office of Long-Term Living, are available at the DHS website.
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has released updated information for ODP Announcement 22-085. Of note, for all individuals residing in a residential setting, remote monitorings are not permitted and no more than six months can lapse between face-to-face monitorings at the residential setting.
ODP Announcement 22-099 provides a revision to the rate for the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) services for enhanced communication. The enhanced communication rate is available for services from providers who have proficient signing staff to serve signing d/Deaf individuals or utilize PA registered, certified Sign Language Interpreters during service provision.
Attachment A is available to explain the differences between having staff who are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) versus using an ASL Interpreter.
Providers who wish to request an enhanced communication rate must complete either the: Enhanced Communication Rate Request Form (Signing Staff) — Attachment B, or Enhanced Communication Rate Request Form (Sign Language Interpreting Services) — Attachment C.
Questions about the contents of this announcement may be directed to the ODP Deaf Services inbox. This communication obsoletes ODP Announcement 20-011, Revision to the Enhanced Communication Rate for Services.
ODP Announcement 22-098 is intended to provide additional clarification on combining partial units as it pertains to Personal Care and Home Health Care Services that are subject to electronic visit verification (EVV), i.e. Respite — unlicensed, Homemaker, Companion, In-Home and Community Supports and Community Supports, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech/Language Therapy, and Therapies — Counseling.
All Personal Care and Home Health Care services subject to EVV are permitted to bill units that are based on the total accumulated continuous or non-continuous service time across an individual calendar day or across multiple calendar days. The beginning and end date submitted on a claim detail line informs the system what date range it should look in for time in the EVV Aggregator for the same provider, individual, and service. Once all continuous or non-continuous service time in the aggregator is located, the system will total all the time found and use the total time to calculate units. The total calculated units in the EVV aggregator are then compared to the units submitted on the claim.
As long as the total calculated units found in the EVV aggregator is equal to or greater than the units submitted on the claim detail line, the claim will pass EVV validation and continue moving through the claims adjudication process, where it is subject to plan validation and additional Medical Assistance and ODP specific edits and audits in the Medicaid Management Information System (PROMISe).
Please note that the ODP EVV Technical Guide Version 2.0 is being updated to reflect this clarification about combining partial units for services subject to EVV.
For additional information about EVV, please view the DHS EVV website. Providers with additional questions regarding this matter should contact their respective ODP Regional Office.
Prev