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office of mental health and substance abuse services

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are pleased to announce a statewide conference focused on building capacity to better support the complex needs of individuals in the community. The conference theme is Expanding Capacity: Reaching Further.

The Conference will be held on Wednesday, August 21 and Thursday, August 22, 2019 at the Blair County Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Drive, Altoona, PA 16602.

Keynote and Plenary Speakers include:

  • Gina Calhoun – Program Director, Doors to Wellbeing, National Consumer Technical Assistance Center
     Topic: WRAP: Living a Self-Determined Well Life
  • Julie Gentile, MD, Professor and Chair, Psychiatry – Wright State University
     Topic: Practicing Medicine in the Digital World
  • Angela Moreland, PhD – Assistant Professor, National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina
     Topic: Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: From Research to Practice

Breakout Session Topics include:

  • The Importance of Data Collection Relevant to Behavior Change and Medication;
  • Autism and the Justice System;
  • Communication and Collaboration: Supporting Transition Across the Lifespan; and
  • Creative Strategies for Mental Health Professional in State Hospitals.

For more information, visit: https://www.myodp.org/mod/url/view.php?id=22147
For registration information, visit: https://www.myodp.org/mod/url/view.php?id=22147REGISTRATION:

Online registration is now open and will remain available until Friday, August 9, 2019. The registration fee is $100 and includes lunch, break snacks, and all materials.

This conference is hosted by the Office of Developmental Programs and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and supported by the Money Follows the Person grant funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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ODP Announcement 19-053 announces the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are relaunching the Positive Approaches Journal, written by and for professionals who provide supports and services to individuals with mental and behavioral health challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities.

The Positive Approaches Journal seeks to improve lives by increasing knowledge and capacity of professionals that provide supports and services to individuals currently utilizing services within the ODP and OMHSAS systems. The articles will be written using the guiding principles of Everyday Lives, Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP), System of Care, and the Resilience and Recovery Movement in mind. Through case studies, articles, interviews, and related academic sources, the Positive Approaches Journal will strive to feature resources, observations, and advancements that are relevant and timely to professionals and supporters of human service systems.

The new version of the Positive Approaches Journal will include Data Discoveries, useful data presented in ways that are interesting and customizable. Data presented will be focused on a topic related to each issue theme. This “new” journal will be published quarterly and will be available in digital form online. Please submit any questions via email.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has contracted with Mercer to conduct an extensive analysis related to the factors involved in serving youth with co-occurring mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a primary focus on youth being admitted to Residential and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (P/RTFs). The goal of this project is to support identification, adoption, and sustained use of best and promising practices across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and across child-serving agencies for serving this population. Mercer will test numerous hypotheses to identify underlying root causes contributing to ongoing challenges in meeting the needs of this population successfully in the community. This process will be done through:

  • Targeted interviews or focus groups with providers, behavioral health managed care organizations (BH-MCOs), primary contractors (PCs), family members, youth, and other identified system stakeholders;
  • Data analysis; and
  • Other targeted, investigative research.

Mercer will then offer actionable recommendations for systemic interventions to support sustainable improvements and provide ongoing technical assistance to support successful adoption and implementation.

The targeted interviews with the P/RTFs serving this population will be held via in-person focus groups. Mercer is requesting that, at a minimum, members from your leadership and clinical program teams are included as participants as well as any other folks that you deem responsible for the care of the population mentioned above.

It is important that all interviews are completed by the end of the calendar year. Therefore, in an effort to be mindful of possible time off for the holiday season, we would like to schedule in advance over the course of the next two months. Each focus group will be scheduled for two hours; below is the day and time scheduled for the session(s). Please place a hold on your calendars for this date/time. Focus group invite/instructions will be made available in the week.

Providers in the Southeast:
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 • 9:00 am – 11:00 am
OMHSAS Southeast Field Office
1001 Sterigere Street, Building #48, 2nd Floor
Norristown, PA 19401

Providers in the West:
Thursday, November 29, 2018 • 9:00 am – 11:00 am
George Junior Republic, Program Building
233 George Junior Road|
Grove City, PA 16127

Questions should be directed to Robena Spangler or Scott Talley.

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The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), along with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), has announced the availability of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instruction. Mental Health First Aid is an 8 hour educational program in use throughout the country to teach people how to identity, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and offer initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem, or experiencing a crisis.

This course does not teach you to be the professional, the therapist, or counselor. The course aims to take the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about mental health and substance use problems by improving understanding and teaching people to safely and responsibly identify and address situations they may encounter.

Through this ODP/OMHSAS initiative, classes are being offered twice a month at varying locations throughout the state and are free to attend. You must register for classes through MyODP. For further information, use this link to ODP Communication 038-18.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is in the process of reviewing state regulations for inpatient levels of care. The services included in the review are: private psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units in hospitals, extended acute care (EACs), residential treatment facilities for adults (RTF-As), and residential treatment facilities for youth under 21 (PRTF).

There is interest in involving individuals and stakeholders in the process. A variety of surveys have been developed in order to get input from individuals who may not have the opportunity to participate on statewide work groups and planning meetings. The surveys below are for the following groups:

Thank you in advance for circulating the surveys to the groups listed above. If you have any questions or concerns related to the surveys, please contact Sherry Peters.

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As part of the Collaborative Capacity Building Initiative under the Money Follows the Person Administrative Funds, the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), in coordination with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), is now offering free Mental Health First Aid courses for families, individuals, professionals, clinicians, and community supporters.

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

ODP and OMHSAS would like to introduce Jen Bankard as the contractor for this program. Jen is a certified MHFA instructor and has served as both a National Trainer and a Quality Evaluator for the MHFA program. You may contact her directly regarding scheduling a course in your area.

Jen Bankard 
email address: [email protected]
phone number: 717-460-1091

It is the hope of ODP and OMHSAS in this joint program to continue to build capacity to support the complex individual in the community. Please contact her now to schedule, and if you should have any additional questions, you may also contact Marlinda Smith at [email protected]. Please help share this information to others for their awareness and participation.

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Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Human Services Teresa Miller announced the following three staffing changes within the Department of Human Services (DHS):

  • Executive Deputy Secretary. Leesa Allen, currently DHS’ Deputy Secretary for Medical Assistance Programs, will be moving into the Executive Deputy Secretary position. Ms. Allen has more than 23 years of experience in the Commonwealth in positions ranging from children and youth case worker to Chief of Staff for the Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP). She will continue to support OMAP until her replacement is found.
  • Chief of Staff. Johanna Fabian-Marks will serve as DHS Chief of Staff. Ms. Fabian-Marks is coming from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department where she serves as the Special Deputy and Director of Life, Accident, and Health Insurance Product Regulation. Prior to joining the Insurance Department, she worked on implementation of the Affordable Care Act at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  • Deputy Secretary, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS). Lynn Kovich will become the new OMHSAS Deputy Secretary on November 13. Ms. Kovich has 26 years of experience in direct services and administration in both the nonprofit and government sectors, working with individuals who have developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders, as well as those experiencing homelessness.

RCPA congratulates each of these individuals and commits to working with them in a constructive manner to advance the best interests of our shared constituencies.

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Please join the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:00 am for a webinar on the new Peer Support Services (PSS) bulletin and standards, including information on expanding the service to include youth and young adults. Peer certification will also be discussed.

The webinar will include:

  • An overview of the new standards
  • Information on expansion of services to youth and young adults, including employee clearances, training resources, and other issues
  • Peer Certification

You are welcome to attend in person in the Clothestree Conference Room (Room 12-48, Commonwealth Tower, Harrisburg). If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP to Cristal Leeper by 12:00 pm on Friday, March 31, and you will receive additional information concerning meeting logistics. Please note, you will be responsible for any parking charges.

If you would like to attend via webinar, please register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing connection information. Please note, the connection information you receive will be unique to you and should not be shared with others. Please send any questions to Cristal Leeper.

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In recent years, the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) had received concerns regarding the Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services (Children’s Bureau). Four major themes emerged from this feedback relating to communication, regulations and policy, operational consistency, and system partner engagement. Last spring, OMHSAS engaged Mercer Consulting to conduct a study of the Children’s Bureau that included three two-hour focus groups with OMHSAS system partners, including representatives from RCPA. The primary goal of the review was to identify ways in which OMHSAS can improve internal operations as well as communication and collaboration.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary Dennis Marion shared both an executive summary of the Mercer Independent Study as well as his description of the steps forward that OMHSAS has initiated in response to the concerns and findings. The action items outlined by Deputy Secretary Marion are:

  • Review and consolidation of regulations related to Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services (BHRS). OMHSAS will engage with stakeholders to draft regulatory changes with the expectation that proposed BHRS regulations will be released for public comment in mid-2017.
  • Strategic reorganization of OMHSAS leadership. On March 7, Shannon Fagan joined OMHSAS as Children’s Bureau director, and Sherry Peters became director of the Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Program Development.
  • Organization-wide effort to improve consistency and quality. Moving forward, OMHSAS senior staff will focus on identifying areas of potential improvement, developing strategies to strengthen internal and external processes, promoting an organizational culture of collaboration, coordination, communication, and cohesiveness, and monitoring progress towards addressing the concerns voiced by OMHSAS stakeholders.
  • Emphasis on family and stakeholder engagement. The involvement of PACA, RCPA, BH-MCOs, and their contractors, played an integral role in working to identify issues of concern.
  • A redefining of “customer service.” To address concerns relating to responsiveness and professionalism, internal meetings have been held to stress the importance of holding OMHSAS staff to high standards of customer service.
  • Renewed focus on communications. In response to concerns regarding effectiveness of internal and external communications, Shanna Klucar was appointed as executive assistant to the deputy secretary on January 30.

OMHSAS invites RCPA members and other stakeholders to share comments and concerns regarding Children’s Behavioral Health Services to Shannon Fagan, bureau director, as well as the RCPA Children’s Division. In addition, members may contact OMHSAS leadership Sherry Peters and Shanna Klucar with more general comments and concerns.

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