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Policy Areas

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Following up on the previous RCPA Alert regarding the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s Notice for Public Comment, please note that comments may be submitted via email OR sent directly to the following address:

PA Insurance Department
Attn: Katie Merritt, Policy Director
1326 Strawberry Square,
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Comments will be accepted until Friday, August 5, 2022.

The department is looking to hear from consumers, advocates, and other organizations about challenges they have experienced accessing various provider types. The notice is divided into two categories: physical health services and behavioral health services, including substance use disorder treatment.

On behalf of its behavioral health provider members, RCPA is compiling comments to submit to PID, although members who prefer to submit their comments and experiences on their own are encouraged to do so. Providers wanting to submit comments as part of an RCPA response can send them to Drug and Alcohol Division Director Jason Snyder. PID will accept comments until Friday, August 5, so please submit your comments to RCPA by Friday, July 29.

The Department of Human Services’ Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) is announcing upcoming TRAIN sessions. Individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism (ID/A) are at an increased risk of experiencing trauma; however, few therapists are skilled in both trauma and ID/A support. To bridge this gap, psychologists with the ASERT team created the TRAIN program — 12 weeks of self-guided learnings and live webinars to equip therapists across Pennsylvania currently working with ID/A populations, with the skills to support clients through traumatic experiences. Read more here.

Therapists interested in participating in the fall cohort, which begins in September, should email with their interest.

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

Promising Positive Practices to Address the Mental Health Treatment and Service Needs of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Throughout the Lifespan
August 11, 2022
9:00 am – 12:15 pm
REGISTER

Session Description

In this 3-hour training, Dr. Joan Beasley will present best practices in mental health services and supports for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities throughout the lifespan. The presentation will include the perspectives of people with lived experiences as well as practitioners. The START model will be presented to demonstrate the effective use of these practices in cross systems crisis prevention and intervention. See the flyer for more information.

Session 1
9:00 am – 10:30 am.
Topics include: lessons learned over the past 50 years; integrated health approach; humanistic engagement vs. behavior support; public health tertiary model; and positive psychology/positive medicine.

Session 2
10:45 am – 12:15 pm.
Topic: the START model.

 What is the Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series?
The Department of Human Services’ Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are pleased to announce the Dual Diagnosis Professional Conference Series, which offers presentations focused on supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A) and mental health needs. The selected presenters share their expertise on best and promising practices as well as provide general knowledge. Session topics, which focus on increasing capacity to serve individuals with dual diagnosis in the community, are chosen based on identified needs and with input from the field of professional stakeholders.

  • Invited audience of all professional stakeholders, including direct and clinical supporters for individuals with ID/A, are encouraged to attend.
  • Registration is required and at no charge to attendees.
  • Three (3) hours of training credits and a certificate of achievement is provided.

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Temple University Harrisburg recently announced their fall 2022 online training that is approved to meet the personal care home (PCH) and assisted living residence (ALR) annual training requirements.

Information about the online training sessions (including registration links) are provided below:

Those interested in participating only need to register for one session for each topic. Please read the training announcements in full before registering to ensure you are able to meet the participation requirements. Participation is limited for each course. If you register and later discover you are unable to participate, please cancel your registration to create space for other participants.

Questions about the online trainings or assistance with registration should be sent via email. If you would like information about additional trainings available for PCH and ALR administrators, please contact the Bureau of Human Services Licensing Operator Support Hotline.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) is studying the availability of providers in various specialties, including behavioral health, and geographic areas. This is an opportunity for behavioral health providers, including drug and alcohol and mental health providers, to share their challenges in finding and employing specialists required by state regulations and payer contracts and the subsequent access issues that result.

The goal of the study is to understand areas of need based on the current availability of providers to accept new patients, the amount of time it takes to get an appointment with these providers, and the network adequacy considerations based on the findings. PID is seeking public comment from organizations, consumer advocates, providers, and consumers about their experience with getting an appointment or finding available specialists.

On behalf of its behavioral health provider members, RCPA is compiling comments to submit to PID, although members who prefer to submit their comments and experience on their own are encouraged to do so. Providers wanting to submit comments as part of an RCPA response can send them to Drug and Alcohol Division Director Jason Snyder. PID will accept comments until Friday, August 5, so please submit your comments to RCPA by Friday, July 29.

More information can be found in PID’s published Notice for Public Comment.