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OMHSAS

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November 19, 2025
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Register Here

Understanding Neuroplasticity and Recent Advancements in Enhancing Supports

The Offices of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and Developmental Programs (ODP) invite you to register for the 2025 Dual Diagnosis Conference, which is to be hosted virtually on November 19. Join them for this one-day virtual conference to gain a better understanding of neuroplasticity and recent advancements in enhancing supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.

This year’s conference speaker will be Dr. Brandi Kelly. Watch the video to hear from her! Dr. Kelly provides an overview of her presentation on the intersection of wellness and mental health needs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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A Request for Applications (RFA) regarding Fairweather Lodge Initiative Services (25-RFA-13798) has been issued and is available for review at PA-eMarketplace.

The Department’s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is seeking a non-profit (501(c)(3)) registered Pennsylvania-based organization to manage and implement the Fairweather Lodge (FWL) model across the Commonwealth. The FWL model is a structured, community-based program that supports individuals with serious mental illness in their recovery while fostering independence. FWL will expand home- and community-based services by developing two to five new Lodges, which will create permanent housing opportunities for up to eighteen individuals.

If you are interested in this or other RFAs, please sign up for PA State Procurement eAlerts here.

Please submit your questions via email.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has announced that the proposed Licensure of Crisis Intervention Services regulations will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on October 18, 2025. The package is also posted on the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) website and can be found here. OMHSAS’ proposed regulation seeks to codify minimum standards for the issuance of licenses to provide emergency behavioral health crisis intervention services (crisis intervention services) in the Commonwealth in alignment with national best practices for crisis services.

Starting October 18, 2025, and closing November 17, 2025, the public may submit written comments regarding the proposed rulemaking to the Department via email. Please be aware that all public comments must be published verbatim on the IRRC website with the name of the commenter included. OMHSAS fully supports and encourages individuals with lived experience to submit comments on the regulation, but please be sure you are comfortable with the content of your comment being made public with your name.

Comments may also be submitted to the following address:

Department of Human Services
OMHSAS – Bureau of Policy, Planning, and Program Development, Attention: Tara Pride
Commonwealth Tower, 11th Floor
303 Walnut Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105

RCPA will be convening a Crisis Intervention Regulatory Review Team to evaluate the proposed regulations and submit comments. If any member is interested in participating in the review group, please contact Emma Sharp.

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Businessman and team work using a Laptop Computer with Webinar E-business Browsing Connection and cloud online technology webcast concept, business concept

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) will be holding their October 2025 Stakeholder Webinar on Thursday, October 23, from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Visit here to register. 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: (914) 614-3221
Access Code: 562-633-851

Please contact Emma Sharp with any questions.

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November 19, 2025
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Register Here

Understanding Neuroplasticity and Recent Advancements in Enhancing Supports

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) invite you to register for the 2025 Dual Diagnosis Conference to be hosted virtually on November 19. Join us for this one-day virtual conference to gain a better understanding of neuroplasticity and recent advancements in enhancing supports for individuals with intellectual disabilities. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.

Speakers for the day include:

Dr. Ken Martz
Ken Martz, PsyD, MBA, is a licensed psychologist, bestselling author, and expert in emotional development. He has worked in the treatment and management of addiction for the past 30 years across settings including outpatient, residential, and hospital settings. He was formerly the Special Assistant to the Secretary for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Policy Director in Substance Use Disorders of the Governor’s Policy Office. Dr. Martz will start the day with an overview of neuroplasticity.

Dr. Brandi Kelly
Brandi Kelly, PhD, is the Clinical Director for Louisiana’s OCDD. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University in 1998 and a post-doctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology from Alliant University in 2002. She has worked extensively in community- and residential-based programs providing support planning, staff training, and behavioral health services to individuals with developmental disabilities, and she has published research on assessment and treatment of behavioral and mental health concerns of individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Kelly’s presentation will provide a clinical focus on how to use neuroplasticity data.

Dr. Calliope Holingue
Calliope Holingue, MPH, PhD, is a research faculty member at the Center for Autism Services, Science, and Innovation at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. A psychiatric epidemiologist by training, she has a joint academic appointment as an assistant professor at the Department of Mental Health at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Holingue will share current research and developments related to neuroplasticity.

The day will conclude with a Q&A session with all three of our speakers.

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As RCPA, the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), and the stakeholder community continue to partner on the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Facility (PRTF) regulation promulgation process, we have submitted to the PA Independent Regulatory Reform Commission (IRRC) a PRTF Cost Analysis. RCPA’s financial analysis focuses on the implementation costs in key target areas: staffing, accreditation, and non-allowable costs. The information represents a cross section of providers from diverse geographic and organizational perspectives.

We thank OMHSAS for the recent PRTF forum, which provided an overview of the changes the Department has made. The forum was informative, collaborative, and set a framework for ongoing regulatory development.

View the full RCPA PRTF Cost Analysis here.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp.

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Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

Many people feel at a loss as to how to best provide support to individuals with a dual diagnosis (individuals with an Intellectual Disability and Autism with cooccurring mental health issues and challenging behaviors) to lead healthy, happy, and meaningful lives. Current best practices and supportive models that have shown to be most helpful are sometimes beyond the reach of people who work directly with individuals with a dual diagnosis.

The Capacity Building Institute (CBI), presented by the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), addresses these issues from an individual and systemic level through training, integration of knowledge into practice, and opportunities to build a statewide cohort to work together to effect change and build capacity. The participants will share individual best practice experiences leading to recommendations to ODP and OMHSAS to facilitate a more effective delivery of services across systems.

The Capacity Building Institute (CBI) provides an in-depth learning opportunity to professionals across the entire service partnership, including direct support staff and supervisors, supports coordinators/case managers and supervisors, agency trainers, managed care organizations, behavior specialists, psychiatrists, professional counselors and therapists, and dual diagnosis treatment teams. CBI participants represent a wide range of agencies, including Direct Support Providers, Supports Coordination, State Hospitals, State Centers, Adolescent Residential Treatment Facilities, Autism Supports, Education, Resources and Training Centers, Administrative Entities, and the Health Care Quality Units.

The Capacity Building Institute will meet for nine, two-day sessions, beginning October 2025 and ending in May 2026. Three sessions will be live/in-person, and six will be live/virtual on Zoom. Tuition is $300. Hotel reservations are your responsibility at the live sessions. To apply for the CBI, please fill out the Capacity Building Institute Year 9 Interest Survey. Applications are due by September 16, 2025.

Please view the flyer for additional information on purpose, meeting dates and times, and training topics.

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