OMHSAS Responds to RCPA Inquiry on IBHS Training
OMHSAS
OMHSAS Releases Revised County Cost Center Bulletin
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has notified counties of the finalization of the Cost Center Bulletin, which states:
The purpose of this bulletin is to accommodate data reporting for the changing and growing array of services provided by county Mental Health Administrations using federal, state, and county funding. This bulletin establishes new cost centers, updates existing cost centers, and combines existing cost centers. It enables appropriate reporting and monitoring of expenditure and service information for a number of community mental health services. The reporting of county mental health program costs must conform to the cost centers identified in this bulletin beginning with the County Human Service Plans and Income and Expenditures Report for State Fiscal Year 2026/2027.
The complete bulletin is available here. If you have any questions, please contact OMHSAS via email or RCPA COO and Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp.
OMHSAS Issues Correction to Bulletin on Payment Regulations for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (OMHSAS) is issuing a correction to the OMHSAS-26-01 Payment for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services bulletin that was originally issued on February 6, 2026.
This correction addresses a typo in the service description for Psychiatric Rehab Mobile – Group. The previous bulletin incorrectly listed the group size limit as two (2). The correct maximum group size is no more than five (5) individuals in alignment with the licensing standard in § 5230.54 (a)(2). This update corrects the group size limit to five in the service description for procedure code H0036.
Please refer to the updated version of the Payment for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.
If you have any questions, please contact OMHSAS for further clarification. Members may also direct questions to RCPA COO and Mental Health Policy Director Jim Sharp.
Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices Meeting on April 16, 2026
The Department of Human Services (DHS) invites you to participate in the DHS Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices meeting. Jointly hosted by the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), this quarterly meeting aims to provide the most recent research and resources for people with mental health and behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to live an everyday life. Please see the flyer for detailed information.
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Location: Online – Zoom Webinar
- Morning session: Guardianship Overview: Legal Interpretation, Expectations and Limitations
- Afternoon session: Understanding the Significance of Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs)
Register here. The Zoom link for joining the session will be sent to the email you used to register. This link will be unique to your registration. Please do not share this link.
Please note that Certificates of Attendance are not issued for Statewide Positive Approaches & Practices meetings.
2026 Everyday Lives Virtual Conference “Breaking Barriers and Building Futures” May 6–16
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) invites you to register for its Everyday Lives 2026 Virtual Conference!
The 2026 Everyday Lives Conference will include ODP’s annual Dual Diagnosis Conference as a pre-conference event, jointly hosted with the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS). The biannual Everyday Lives Conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), invites individuals with a disability and/or autism (ID/A), family members, caregivers, and support professionals to engage in presentations and panels focused on sharing information that empowers the everyday lives of individuals with disabilities throughout Pennsylvania. The 2026 Everyday Lives Conference (EDL) will be held virtually throughout the first two weeks of May 2026. The conference theme for 2026 is “Breaking Barriers and Building Futures.” View the conference program for more information, including the full conference agenda.
Learn More and Register Here
What to Expect:
The virtual conference will be hosted through the online platform Whova and will feature six days of presentations. A series of watch parties will be hosted throughout the state as an opportunity for conference-goers to connect and engage with the conference content together. Follow the registration link for more information.
The conference program is broken into three sections. Each conference section (excluding the post-conference) will include presentations for all ODP stakeholders, but some sessions may cater more to one audience than another. Regardless, ODP invites all audiences to attend every session. Content will be accessible and relevant to all.
Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series “Expanding Our World” on March 19
Expanding Our World: Technology and an Everyday Life
March 19, 2026
10:00 am – 2:30 pm
Register Here
The Department of Human Services’ Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) have announced the Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series, which offers presentations focused on supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) and mental health needs.
This session will discuss how innovation meets impact by introducing assistive technology in the lives of people supported in the dual diagnosis community. The speakers come from varied backgrounds, all with the shared goal of improving the quality of life for the people they support. They will demonstrate how to expand independence at the person and provider level, explore how to use technology to create new opportunities that might not have been available without it, and share personal accounts of people and providers who used this technology to demonstrate how lives and operations have changed by adding this measure.
Please view the flyer for additional details.
The session will be offered virtually via the Zoom© platform. The Zoom link for joining the session will be sent to the email you used to register. This link will be unique to your registration. Please do not share this link.
For questions on registration, please send them electronically.
DHS House Budget Hearing Summary and RCPA Divisional Highlights
Youth and Family Training Institute Presents Family Driven Team Approaches Webinar
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has announced an upcoming learning opportunity from the Youth and Family Training Institute (YFTI) that may be valuable to workforce, providers, educators, and anyone supporting children, youth, and families.
On February 18, 2026, from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm, YFTI will host Foundations of Family Driven Teaming Approaches, a free webinar designed to strengthen understanding of how to partner with families in meaningful, collaborative, and effective ways.
This session will introduce participants to:
- The building blocks of Family Driven Teaming;
- Core Wraparound principles and skills that guide this teaming approach;
- The intentional process of transitioning responsibility to the youth/family and the progression from coordination to collaboration, to cheering on within a team; and
- The importance of building a team to plan for complex needs.
Family Driven Teaming places the family’s voice, culture, and priorities at the center of planning and decision making. This approach strengthens engagement, improves outcomes, and helps families build sustainable skills and relationships beyond formal services.
Register for Foundations of Family Driven Teaming Approaches
Questions and comments can be sent electronically.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Added to MA Fee Schedule
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has announced that Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (PRS) has been added to the Medical Assistance Program Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2026.
On January 30, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved the addition of PRS as a rehabilitative service to the Medicaid State Plan, leading to the issuance of OMHSAS-26-01, “Payment for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.” Prior to the inclusion in the Medicaid State Plan, PRS was available only to MA beneficiaries enrolled in Behavioral Health HealthChoices as an in lieu of service. PRS is now available as a state plan service to MA beneficiaries in the Fee-for-Service and Behavioral Health HealthChoices delivery systems.
The published bulletin OMHSAS-26-01 can be found here. Please contact RCPA COO and Mental Health Director Jim Sharp with any questions.
Registration for Rescheduled OMHSAS Stakeholder Webinar Now Open
The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) will be hosting their Stakeholder Webinar on Thursday, February 12, 2026, from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Please register for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
For those that want to join via phone:
Call-in Number: +1 (562) 247-8321
Audio Access Code: 385-114-169
The meeting agenda can be found here.
