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Tags Posts tagged with "PA Office of Developmental Programs"

PA Office of Developmental Programs

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ODP Announcement 19-146 provides an update regarding provider use of the HRST and training participation. ODP established the ambitious goal of completing screenings for the over 14,000 individuals in residential services over a 12-month period. ODP established benchmarks for a timeline for providers to complete screenings based on the individual’s need level. ODP is grateful to all stakeholders who have contributed to the screening process thus far; a great deal of effort has gone into the implementation of this important initiative. The use of the HRST is already enhancing the health and wellness of individuals, and the sooner that screenings are completed, the sooner the individual will benefit from this process.

To date, completed screenings have fallen behind the established benchmarks; however, screenings are continuing to increase weekly. As of October 29, a total of 1,617 individuals have been screened. 1,043 of the anticipated 2,754 individuals with Needs Level 7 have been screened. 2,555 people have completed the Online Rater Training and 1,358 are in the process of completing.

The number of registered nurses who have completed the face to face Clinical Reviewer Training is also lagging behind anticipated goals. This training is necessary to complete the Clinical Reviews on individuals who score a Level 3 or higher for the Health Care Level (HCL). As communicated in ODP Announcement 19-134, there is one final round of trainings for Clinical Reviewer remaining for 2019. All residential providers are expected to use the HRST.

ODP will continue to monitor provider progress closely to ensure that screenings occur in a timely manner and expects compliance on the tool’s use. As of this time, ODP is not pursuing enforcement activities, recognizing providers that are making a good faith effort to implement and utilize the tool. Contact Carol Ferenz, RCPA IDD Division Director, with questions.

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ODP Announcement 19-145 introduces the availability of online courses via MyODP.org that will satisfy the requirements for staff orientation as outlined in Chapter 6100.142. The requirement to complete orientation pertains to the following positions:

  • Management, program, administrative, and fiscal staff persons;
  • Dietary, housekeeping, maintenance, and ancillary staff persons, except for persons who provide dietary, housekeeping, maintenance, or ancillary services and who are employed or contracted by a building owner and the licensed facility does not own the building;
  • Direct service professionals, including full-time and part-time staff persons;
  • Life sharers;
  • Volunteers who will work alone with individuals;
  • Paid and unpaid interns who will work alone with individuals; and
  • Consultants and contractors who are paid or contracted by the provider and who will work alone with individuals, except for consultants and contractors who provide an HCBS or a base funding service for fewer than 30 days within a 12-month period and who are licensed, certified, or registered by the Department of State in a health care or social service field.

This regulation requires staff to complete Orientation Training prior to working alone with an individual with a disability, and within 30 days after hire or beginning to support an individual with a disability. The Orientation Training must cover the following topics:

  1. The application of person-centered practices, community integration, individual choice, and assisting individuals to develop and maintain relationships
  2. The prevention, detection, and reporting of abuse, suspected abuse, and alleged abuse in accordance with the Older Adults Protective Services Act, the Child Protective Services Law, the Adult Protective Services Act, and applicable protective services regulations
  3. Individual rights
  4. Recognizing and reporting incidents
  5. Job-related knowledge and skills

The free courses offered by ODP cover all these topics and may be accessed on MyODP via this link: https://www.myodp.org/course/index.php?categoryid=466.

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ODP Announcement 19-141 provides information regarding upcoming face-to-face sessions for agencies offering Community Participation Support (CPS) Services. All staff providing CPS services through the ID/A waiver programs are required to complete Department-approved training. Due to high demand for these trainings, three additional sessions are being offered in November. The Train the Trainer version of the Community Participation Supports for Direct Support Professionals is the hybrid of the online and face-to face-training and prepares agency staff responsible for training DSPs in the CPS curriculum.

Before registering for the face-to-face course or the individual modules, agency trainers must register as a user via MyODP.org. Prior to participation in a Train the Trainer session, agency trainers must complete via MyODP a self-inventory, pre-test, modules 1–7, a post-test, and certificate of completion. Attendance at one of the sessions is required to access Train the Trainer materials and to provide the instructor-led training.

Each training session is scheduled from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm with a one-hour lunch break. Participants are responsible for their own lunches. Registration is first-come, first-served with a maximum of 20, with a limit of two people per agency.

The trainings are scheduled as follows:

  • Thursday, November 21, 2019 – Allegheny Office of Intellectual Disabilities, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Friday, November 22, 2019 – Capital Area Intermediate Unit, Summerdale, PA
  • Tuesday, November 26, 2019 – Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell, PA

Use this link to register.

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ODP Announcement 19-140 provides further updates to the implementation schedule for the training plan to inform all audiences as to the Chapter 6100 Regulatory Package.

Deputy Secretary Ahrens kicked off the trainings for the new regulatory package with a high-level overview of changes to the regulations. The three opportunities for this topic were filled to capacity. For those who were unable to participate, a recording and PowerPoint of these sessions is available.

The next set of sessions, entitled General Overview and Enforcement and presented by ODP’s Ron Melusky, Director of Division of Program Management, is slated for October 30, November 8, and November 13. This webinar was previously announced in ODP Announcement 19-132. The first two sessions are full; however, there is a third opportunity now offered. Register here for the last available live session on Wednesday, November 13 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am.

The third set of sessions, entitled Approved Program Capacity and Noncontiguous Locations for ID/A Waivers, is scheduled for presentation by Katie Marie-Wilson, Policy Supervisor and Bill Bruaw, Waiver Capacity Manager for the Central Region. This webinar was previously announced in ODP Announcement 19-132 Update. As the first session of this webinar is full, a second session has been added on Tuesday, November 5 from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. Please register via this link.

The fourth session, entitled Chapter 6100 Webinar for Professionals (Fiscal), presented by Rick Smith, Director of the Bureau of Financial Management and Program Support, has one session scheduled for Tuesday, November 12 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am. Register here for this session.

All of the above-mentioned offerings will be recorded and posted on the Chapter 6100 Landing Page, so that those unable to participate in the live sessions have the opportunity to access the materials. A link will be made available to each webinar after the sessions have completed.

For those registering for the live sessions, ODP is encouraging those who can do so to take part in a group setting.

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ODP Announcement 19-133 announces the next Certified Investigator (CI) Forum offered by ODP and Temple University. These forums are an opportunity for current Certified Investigators and other interested parties to receive up to date information about the Certified Investigator Program. The next session is scheduled for November 8, 2019.

There will be two sessions available during the day. If desired, participants may register for both sessions. CI program updates will be the same but other content will be dependent on participant inquiries. Participants can submit questions via email prior to the session until Tuesday, November 5. See announcement for registration information.

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ODP Announcement 19-135 is to release a guide for Supports Coordinators on the Harry M. Class Members’ Communication Assessments and Reassessments.

The Harry M. Settlement Agreement was approved by a federal court judge on August 20, 2013. The Agreement ensures that Pennsylvanians who are d/Deaf and are enrolled in the Consolidated Waiver are provided with necessary communication supports and services based on their assessed needs. Among other requirements, the Agreement requires:

  • That all class members have initial assessments which evaluate expressive and receptive language skills, identify the preferred method of communication, and make recommendations for staff skills (level of ASL fluency, visual gestural communication training, etc.) needed for effective communication, specialized services, and whether a fully signing environment is needed for effective communication
  • That the assessment recommendations be “documented with specificity” in the class members’ ISPs
  • A reassessment of communication needs as recommended by the previous assessment

Questions about this communication and/or the attached documents should be directed to the ODP Deaf Services Mailbox or to the appropriate ODP Regional Office. This announcement obsoletes Announcement 099-16.

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ODP Announcement 19-126 provides information regarding the Adult Autism Waiver Amendment webinar recording that is now available. This webinar discussed the proposed amendment to the Adult Autism Waiver and obtained public comment on the proposed changes. This webinar was held on September 16, 2019. The webinar was recorded and is now available online along with the PowerPoint presentation. You may find this link on MyODP.org by following this path:

Resources > ODP Information > Waiver Renewals & Amendments > Proposed AAW Amendments

The waiver amendment is also accessible online. An online document containing a side-by-side comparison of the waiver in its previous and amended forms is available.

Questions about this communication should be directed to this email.

ODP Announcement 19-130 serves to announce that the amendments to the ID/A waivers communicated in ODP Announcement 19-102 were approved by CMS on September 24, 2019. These  amendments were submitted to CMS on July 19, 2019. Since that time, ODP has been engaged in ongoing discussions with CMS. One substantive change was made as follows, to allow indirect activities to be rendered on behalf of an individual as part of the Housing Transition and Tenancy Sustaining Service in all ID/A waivers based on those discussions:

Housing Transition services are direct and indirect services provided to participants. Indirect activities that cannot be billed include driving to appointments, completing service notes and progress notes, and exploring resources and developing relationships that are not specific to a participant’s needs as these activities are included in the rate. The following direct and indirect activities are billable under Housing Transition:

  • Conducting a tenant screening and housing assessment that identifies the participant’s preferences and barriers related to successful tenancy. The assessment may include collecting information on potential housing transition barriers, and identification of housing retention barriers… (There was no change to the list of activities covered under Housing Transition. Please see the service definition for the full list of activities).

Each full waiver application approved by CMS is available as follows:

Questions about this communication should be directed to the appropriate Office of Developmental Programs Regional Office.

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ODP released Announcement 19-131 to clarify expectations regarding who should attend the Residential ISP staffing face-to-face training sessions that began on October 2, the process to become an ODP designated trainer, and the expectations for ODP designated trainers.

A representative from every provider of waiver funded residential services, SCOs, and AEs should attend one of the scheduled face-to-face sessions listed in ODP Announcement 19-112: Residential Individual Support Plan (ISP) Staffing. The face-to-face sessions expand on the information provided during the July webinars and provide an opportunity to apply the new staffing approach. If a representative from your agency has not yet registered, ODP asks that you do so. There continues to be space available at the remaining training sessions statewide.

It is strongly recommended that the person the agency identifies to attend the face-to-face session have experience in attending team meetings, supervising staff who attend team meetings, and/or reviewing and approving ISPs. In addition, the agency should consider that the person who attends the face-to-face sessions is expected to be an internal resource at their home agency as the new staffing approach is implemented. This may involve:

  • Responding to questions from staff and families;
  • Providing training to staff from your agency;
  • Reviewing material at a staff meeting; and
  • Helping agency staff and families know what to expect and prepare for team meetings.

ODP recognizes this is a significant change and that ongoing training is needed. In order to develop system capacity for additional training in 2020, there will be a train-the-trainers session(s) to become an ODP designated trainer in December. ODP designated trainers must be available to conduct at least two training sessions during 2020 to provider, SCO, and AE staff who are not affiliated with their agency using the material presented/reviewed at the face-to-face sessions.

In order to be considered as an ODP designated trainer candidate, the person must:

  • Attend one of the face-to-face sessions;
  • Have knowledge of person-centered thinking practices and experience in conducting training;
  • Be endorsed by their agency’s CEO/Executive Director; and
  • Complete the “ODP Designated Trainer Nomination Form,” which is available at the face-to-face sessions and on the My ODP website.

In order to be an ODP designated trainer, the person must attend both a face-to-face training and a train-the-trainer session. ODP will notify the candidates who have been selected to become designated trainers.

Upon completion of the train-the-trainer session, a list of ODP designated trainers will be available on My ODP. The ODP designated trainers list shall include the geographic area/region where the person is willing to provide training and instructions for making a training request.

If you have questions, please submit via this email or the appropriate ODP regional office lead:

Central Kathy Zumbrun
Robin Seville
Northeast Kenley Hoats
Joan Accardi
Southeast Mary Citko
Brandi Alexander
Western Nancy Armstrong

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Today, October 4, 2019 the Chapter 6100 regulations and the accompanying changes to Chapter 2380, 2390, 6400, and 6500 (program requirements for licensed residential and day facilities) were released in the online version of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. They will be published in tomorrow’s edition of the PA Bulletin (October 5, 2019). The revisions made to the four licensing chapters align requirements to provide continuity across all programs, eliminate conflict for providers, and reduce DHS oversight complexity and costs. Areas that are now compatible include individual planning, individual rights, staff training, incident management, medication administration, and restrictive procedures. Chapter 6100 replaces Chapter 51, which previously regulated program and fiscal rules for services provided in facilities and in the home, and Chapter 6200 Room and Board Regulations. See the Chapter 6100 Preamble here.

The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved the regulations in October of 2018, and the package had been in review at the Attorney General’s office and the Legislative Reference Bureau until it was approved for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

ODP Announcement 19-129 provides, and ODP’s Implementation plan outlines in detail, effective dates and trainings. Please submit any questions or requests for technical assistance to this email address.

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