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Mental Health

The RCPA Conference 2022, Together, is committed to being held in-person this year at the Hershey Lodge October 11 – 14, 2022. We will not be offering a virtual option; however, our plan is to record sessions for registrants to access after the conference in order to take advantage of over 60 sessions that will take place live.

We are excited to announce keynote speakers Dick Finnegan, speaker, author, & CEO of C-Suite Analytics, on “Cutting Turnover 20% and More During ‘The Great Resignation,’” as well as Deborah Riddick, Principal Consultant at Alternative Frame LLC, where she works with clients across the country providing policy analyses, engagement strategies, and health equity trainings.

Hear from our national partners Chuck Ingoglia from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and Gabriel Sedor of ANCOR for updates on the current federal landscape. Meg Snead and Jen Smith will share PA perspectives, and returning conference favorite Mike Cohen will close out the conference with a return of “Dear Helga,” who has many new experiences to share.

Each day will be packed with informational sessions from peers and experts in the field. Topics include recruiting and retaining talented employees, value-based payments, managed care organizations’ focus on Social Determinants of Health, use of technology in providing services, the importance of data, leadership skills, trauma-informed care and supervision, telehealth considerations, effective advocacy with legislators and others, supporting people with various challenging needs, guardianship laws, and more. A full schedule will be released with registration information soon.

We are also grateful to our early sponsors and exhibitors! Thank you for showing your support for our 2022 Conference!

  • Allegheny Family Network
  • Beacon Health Options
  • Berks Counseling Center
  • Butler Human Services Furniture
  • CapGrow Partners
  • Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
  • Genoa Healthcare
  • KidsPeace
  • Mission Driven Data
  • MITC
  • Partners for Quality
  • PerformCare
  • Pyramid Healthcare, Inc.
  • Terrapin Pharmacy
  • Vista Autism Services
  • ZMark Health

There are still many sponsorship opportunities as well as available exhibitor spaces! Please contact Carol Ferenz to discuss possibilities.

We look forward to seeing you all Together this October!

As reported by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the Senate last night passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, critical legislation to dramatically increase funding for mental health programs and reduce the threat and incidence of violence in America.

Introduced by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), the bill provides funding to increase access to mental health and substance use services, notably through expanding Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) nationwide. This will connect considerably more people to lifesaving care, while helping support and grow the mental health and substance use treatment workforce.

The bill also includes aid to broaden access to telehealth services and mental health awareness programs, such as Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), and provides additional funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ahead of next month’s 988 implementation, which will help save lives and provide needed support to strengthen the capacity of our crisis care system.

Given the speed the bill is moving, the National Council created an excellent initial analysis of the bill and its potential impact.

Key provisions include:

  • Expanding the CCBHC program to allow any state or territory the opportunity to apply to participate in the demonstration and allocating additional planning grant monies for states to develop proposals to participate;
    • Starting in July 2024, and every two years thereafter, 10 additional states will be selected to join the demonstration.
    • The eight original demonstration sites will be extended until September 2025, and the two newer demo states (Kentucky and Michigan) are extended to six years after their program launch.
  • $250 million for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant;
  • $120 million in additional funding for mental health awareness training programs;
  • $150 million in additional funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for FY 2022; and
  • New requirements for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide guidance to states on how they can increase access to care via telehealth under Medicaid and CHIP, including strategies related to training and providing resources for providers and patients.

If you have questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

Examining Policy and Practice Trends in the LGBTQ+ Community
June 30, 2022 | 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
Register here.

Pride Month is more than just an observance. It’s a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come in meeting the health care needs of the LGBTQ+ community and how much further we need to go. Join this cross-Interest Group (Crisis Response, Substance Use, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Children, Young Adults and Families, and LGBTQ+) collaborative effort to explore mental health and substance use conditions and wellbeing in the LGBTQ+ community, and the latest clinical practices and policies, including crisis response and suicide prevention.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

RCPA hopes that you found the National Council on Mental Wellbeing’s Hill Day at Home 2022 a valuable experience. This year’s focus supported the initiatives that are affecting our organizations and delivery of services to vulnerable consumers across Pennsylvania and our nation.

Be sure to check out the overview from Hill Day at Home 2022 that outlines the issues, impacts, strategies, and “The Ask” from our legislators and stakeholders. These include:

  • Fulfilling the Promise of 988;
  • Support for the Expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs);
  • Curbing the Nation’s Substance Use Crisis; and
  • Addressing the Mental Health & Substance Abuse Treatment Workforce in America.

RCPA will continue to collaborate with the National Council and our members to advocate for these and other critical initiatives.

If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

The next OMHSAS Stakeholder Webinar will take place this Friday, June 24, 2022, from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm. You can register for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Call-in Number: (631) 992-3221
Access Code: 933633245#

In the meantime, if you have suggestions for agenda topics for June’s webinar, please submit them via email by COB this Thursday, June 23, 2022. OMHSAS will monitor the account and will reply to the sender if more information is needed.

If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania’s 2022 Child, Adolescent, and Transition Age Youth Mental Health Conference, Youth in Crisis: A Call for Action will be held on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. This will also feature the panel discussion “Answering the Cry for Help: The Role Adults Play in Addressing the Youth Mental Health Crisis,” which includes panelist Jim Sharp, RCPA Children’s Division Director.

RCPA is looking to gather information regarding your organization’s experience with electronic data systems and is requesting your assistance. This short survey asks questions regarding systems used for Time, Attendance, and Payroll; Electronic Health Records; Service Data Collection; Medication Management; and Billing services.

If you haven’t completed this survey yet and are willing to do so, please complete it by close of business Friday, June 24, 2022. We will be closing the survey at that time.

Thank you to those who have participated already.

Our goal is that, with your responses, we will be able to provide your colleagues with this helpful information! Please note that RCPA will only share de-identified, aggregate data with members. We will not release any individual data unless given explicit permission to do so.

Only a few days remain before the end of the fiscal year, and lawmakers are close to finalizing the state’s 2022/23 General Fund budget. Because of your direct outreach over the last few months, our workforce issues remain among their top priorities.

According to reporting by The Associated Press: … difficulty in finding workers to care for children, the elderly and disabled has budget-makers eyeing more subsidies for those professions.”

You have been tireless advocates for this issue, making lawmakers understand how this workforce crisis is affecting our most vulnerable individuals and families, as well as the providers and professionals who serve them. Let us build on this momentum.

With budget negotiations about to end, if you haven’t done so already, please contact your state senator and representative TODAY and tell them to increase funding to support human services professionals. And please ask your networks to do the same.

Time is of the essence right now. What happens over the next few days will determine the level of care individuals and families in need receive over the next year, and whether providers and professionals can continue to support them.

USE THIS LINK to learn how you can help. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed of our progress. Most importantly, TAKE ACTION TODAY. Tell lawmakers to increase funding to address the workforce crisis facing Pennsylvania’s health and human services. Thank you for your continued efforts and support.