WITF Smart Talk: RCPA’s Connell O’Brien on Effect of Budget Cuts on Human Services
Budget Agreement Reached
The Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor have reached an agreement on a general appropriations budget. Please take a look at the Capitolwire article. Questions, contact Jack Phillips.
Wolf Administration Discusses Negative Impact of Proposed Cuts to MH & SUD Funding
Budget Negotiations Enter Final Week
The Pennsylvania General Assembly will be working this week to get a final budget passed by the Pennsylvania Constitution’s mandate of June 30. There are many moving pieces to this year’s budget as well as the continuing question of where legislators will get revenue to balance the budget. Please take a look at the Penn Live article written by Charles Thompson. The article gives a detailed overview of the budget negotiations as they stand right now. Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.
Major Senior, Health Advocates Endorse Governor Wolf’s Unified Department of Health and Human Services
Senate Committee passes SB561
On Tuesday, the Senate passed SB 561 by a vote of 29-20. The senate bill amends the Regulatory Review Act to require the General Assembly and the Governor to approve all regulations with an economic impact or cost to the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, and the private sector that exceed $1.0 million. The bill has been referred to the House State Government Committee.
RCPA staff has been successful in amending the bill to include legislative language – “the private sector” – because of the economic impact regulations have on health and human service providers’ budgets. RCPA continues to work with the prime sponsor and has reached out to House leadership to let them know that this is an important piece of legislation. Questions, contact Jack Phillips.
RCPA President & CEO Richard Edley on Comcast Newsmakers
See RCPA President & CEO Richard Edley on Comcast Newsmakers, discussing state agency unification and the RCPA Annual Conference with host Jill Horner. @ComcastNewsmkrs
OMHSAS Division of Children, Adolescents and Families
The Division of Children, Adolescents and Family Services has been added to the Department of Health and Human Services organizational chart under the Bureau of Prevention, Intervention, Treatment and Recovery. Previous versions of the Unification Plan and the accompanying organizational chart did not include a designated division to represent children’s mental health.
The absence of children’s mental health on the overall plan and chart was brought to the attention of the Children’s Steering Committee and the larger RCPA children’s provider members. Numerous comments in support of a children’s division were shared with RCPA leadership.
Richard Edley, RCPA President & CEO, Robena Spangler, RCPA Director of Children’s Division, and Rhea Fernandes from Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health met with the Governor’s team to discuss recommendations to address the concerns. RCPA presented a number of options that were taken into consideration by the team.
We are proud to report that as of June 8, the recommendations were fully implemented and the organizational chart has now been updated to reflect the change. We believe this demonstrates that our voices are being heard and that the Governor’s office does value constructive feedback and input into the successful implementation of the unification plan.
Thank you to the Governor’s staff for their interest and response to this very important issue.
GOP House Budget Bill Threatens County Funding
RCPA Submits Letter on Agency Unification and Government Efficiencies
Late last week, RCPA submitted a letter to Secretaries Dallas, Murphy, Osborne, and Acting Secretary Smith regarding agency unification and government efficiencies. The letter was also sent to all of the oversight committee chairs. The list of efficiencies was compiled from input received from RCPA members and staff. Questions, contact Jack Phillips.
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