';
CLOSE
Physical Disabilities & Aging

0 1216

By Robert Swift, Staff Writer, Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (March 17) – A clearer picture is emerging of what Pennsylvania can anticipate in federal aid under the newly enacted American Rescue Plan (ARP).

The $1.9 trillion spending plan signed by President Biden last week is the third round of relief from Washington since the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed the nation one year ago.

The Commonwealth and local governments stand to receive billions of federal dollars that can be spent for various purposes during a three-year period.

Schools and higher education institutions in Pennsylvania are due to receive large chunks of federal aid. So are private businesses in Pennsylvania struggling to recover from the accompanying economic recession.

ARP provides aid to individuals and families in the form of recovery rebates and tax credits for children and dependent care assistance and continuing unemployment compensation.

The broad aid categories under ARP include transportation, housing, child care, health and human services which includes COVID-19 vaccination programs, agriculture, food and nutrition and veterans’ affairs, according to an analysis by the House Democratic Appropriations Committee (HDAC).

There are also big programs for which Pennsylvania’s aid share hasn’t been calculated yet: Medicare, Nursing facilities and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Gov. Tom Wolf highlighted ARP’s impact for families and individuals in Pennsylvania when the plan passed Congress.

“It will provide direct payments to more than 5.5 million households,” said Wolf. “It will provide $671 million in emergency rental assistance. It will extend federal unemployment insurance benefits that will help more than 400,000 Pennsylvanians make ends meet.”

ARP will provide nearly $7.3 billion in direct aid to state government for such purposes as recouping revenue losses due to fighting the pandemic, extra pay for essential workers and water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

The issue of ARP aid surfaced Wednesday as the House Appropriations Committee approved two shell bills, House Bill 935 and House Bill 936, to serve as vehicles for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 state budget.

House Appropriations Majority Chairman Stan Saylor, R-York, said the goal is to get the new federal dollars out as soon as possible as part of the next budget.

“This is a historic opportunity, said Appropriations Minority Chairman Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery. “We should be smart in looking at it.”

Bradford suggested giving priority to addressing inequities in education, long-term care for senior citizens, the hourly minimum wage and poverty exemptions for the state personal income tax.

Saylor responded that discussions about ARP aid have to take into account large amounts of unauthorized overspending by the state Department of Human Services in the current budget.

The Senate Appropriations Committee had rescheduled its state budget hearings to run later in March and April in order to account for the coming aid from Washington.

The plan’s impact will be discussed during the hearing for Budget Secretary Jen Swails scheduled for April 22, said appropriations panel executive director John Guyer.

Under ARP, the direct aid to local governments in the Keystone State totals $6.1 billion. Direct local aid was missing from the first two federal COVID relief packages enacted last year. The state’s 67 counties will split an estimated $3 billion from that pot.

“The American Rescue Plan offers counties the flexibility to address a range of local needs, from covering increased expenditures related to the pandemic, to replacing lost revenues, to providing further assistance within their communities, to investing in infrastructure such as broadband,” said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

“This is a significant amount of money,” said Rick Schuettler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League.

Schuettler said it can be used to make up for lost revenue, undertake water, sewer and broadband infrastructure projects and helping local businesses hurt by the pandemic.

The League plans to provide guidance to municipalities outlining best practices for spending the money coming from Washington.

Under ARP, Pennsylvania elementary and secondary schools will receive an estimated $5 billion for use through September 2023. There is aid for private schools, special education students and homeless students.

ARP is placing greater emphasis on addressing learning loss and remedial education needs due to the pandemic and students’ academic, social and emotional needs, according to the HDAC analysis.

This translates in about $900 million going to school districts and charter schools to address learning loss as well as aid for summer enrichment and afterschool programs and $109 million dedicated for special education.

“[ARP] provides dedicated education funding that will help schools make in-person instruction as safe as it can be, while intensifying support and instruction for students who have experienced delayed learning,” said Chris Lilienthal, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Lilienthal added that ARP will ensure schools don’t have to resort to layoffs of educators because of a decline in local tax revenue collections and other pandemic impacts.

Higher education institutions in Pennsylvania stand to receive $1.3 billion in direct federal aid.

“The System is projected to receive a total of $219 million,” said David Pidgeon, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. “Of that, half is to go to students for emergency aid and the other half can be used by the universities to address COVID needs.”

Businesses will receive aid in a number of categories: economic disaster loans, restaurant revitalization grants, grants to “shuttered venues” and economic adjustment assistance. The Pennsylvania share of business aid has yet to be determined.

Under the umbrella category of health and human services, Pennsylvania is to receive $1.2 billion for child care programs, $34 million for Head Start, $5.7 million for family violence prevention, $46 million for a community mental health services block grant, $47 million for a substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant and $260 million for low-income energy assistance.

In transportation, Pennsylvania will receive $1.25 billion in federal transit administration grants.

-30-

0 1215

Today, Xavier Becerra was confirmed, with a narrow approval (50-49), as the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Becerra, currently serving as California’s Attorney General, was also a former member of Congress. He will play a part in the Biden Administration’s  plans to create a Medicare-like public health care option, health care reform, and take on a major role with HHS helping to facilitate COVD-19 vaccinations and testing efforts. Read more.

0 1023

The Pennsylvania Council on Aging (PCoA) has announced that they will host the first-ever Social Isolation Symposium on March 23 and 24, 2021. The symposium will feature nationally-known speakers focusing on the impact of social isolation, and how to get older adults to ensure their continued health and wellbeing. In addition to older adults, individuals who work with older adults, including caregivers and health care staff, stakeholders, and the public are encouraged to participate.

The two-day virtual event offers attendees a chance to participate in more than a dozen workshop sessions or select those of particular interest. Session topics include older adult suicide prevention; how to prevent social isolation among LGBTQ older adults; engaging, supporting, and empowering family caregivers; using partnerships and collaborations to reduce social isolation; staying social in a socially distanced world; getting seniors online, and more. To view the various sessions and to participate in the symposium, use this registration link.

0 1622

DATES: 3/24/21 – 5/19/21
FEE: FREE

The University of Southern Florida Muma College of Business is offering this free course and certificate to the public. The two-hour weekly modules will begin on March 24 with a new module offered every Wednesday until May 19. Modules/work do not need to be completed live.

0 1401

The Department of Human Services (DHS) has released Racial Equity Report 2021, including a message from Teresa Miller, Secretary of Human Services. The report addresses several areas and concludes with this message about Moving Forward:

In the more than seven years since the Black Lives Matter movement began, there have been overdue
and necessary conversations about the treatment of people who are Black, Latinx, Asian, Middle
Eastern, and other non-White identities in the United States. Open and honest conversation and
education are critically important. Each of us only truly knows the world as we experience it, and there
is no shame in that. It is incumbent on each of us, though, to not let our experiences alone drive our
worldview and the way we treat and empathize with others. We must listen to others’ experiences,
challenge our own reactions and pre-conceived notions, and act from a more informed lens that
includes multiple perspectives.

The work must continue, and we must use these conversations and education to drive meaningful
change. We must use our platform to be actively anti-racist and educate our staff, the stakeholders and
constituencies we work with, and the broader public as much as possible. Challenging stereotypes and
biases is not a fight that DHS can win unilaterally, but we can use our position and our platform to
challenge and change these conversations where we can. We must actively build equity, inclusion, and
diversity into our work to overcome circumstances of the past that still persist. We cannot change the
past, but we can be a part of a solution moving forward by seeking to eliminate unintentional and
implicit consequences and be an active ally in this work. The more than 3 million people DHS serves,
our nearly 16,000 employees, and the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a whole
deserve this.

0 946

RCPA members are invited to join the RCPA Member Update Webinar on Monday, March 29, 2021 at 1:00 pm. This webinar will also feature a discussion on the current PPP & FMAP information presented by Peggy Jo Revay, CPA, Senior Manager, Maher Duessel. Please register here.

Ms. Revay began her public accounting career in 1998 with Maher Duessel after spending eight years in the social services field. She has directed engagements of a wide range of governmental and nonprofit entities, including various human service providers. She has comprehensive experience with Single Audits, and also directs multiple employee benefit plan audit engagements.

If you have questions you would like to submit in advance, please send them to Tina Miletic. We look forward to your participation.

0 995

RCPA has been and continues to work with the Pennsylvania Association of Non-Profit Organizations (PANO) on unemployment issues that have arisen during the pandemic.  Specifically, the largest issue we have been working on is self-insured unemployment compensation claims. PANO has asked RCPA to circulate an unemployment claims survey to our members. RCPA is pleased to work with PANO on this issue. 

PANO has sent the information below to various non-profit entities. In addition, you will find the link to the unemployment survey. Please take the time to fill this survey out and share the survey with other non-profits in your area. 

PANO Information

Since the pandemic started, more than 33% of nonprofits in the United States are in danger of closing within two years in the aftermath of COVID-19 (2021 Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy). As of December 2020, an estimated 60,000 nonprofit employees have been laid off in Pennsylvania.

While many nonprofits found relief from the federal government through various federal programs, loans, and grants, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has not yet provided direct, designated relief clearly needed by their partners in the nonprofit sector, who provide state-mandated and grassroots services for our most vulnerable residents.

One way the state can provide this direct relief is by offering 100% reimbursement for COVID-19-related unemployment compensation claims to all nonprofits, particularly reimbursable organizations (who pay the state back on a claim-by-claim basis).

If you have had any unemployment claims at all, please participate in this 10-question survey and fill in as many fields as possible, including, but not limited to, your status as a contributory vs. reimbursable employer. We are looking for information from nonprofits of all sizes, big and small, so please pass this on to any of your nonprofit colleagues who can contribute.

Together, we are strong! Let’s use our collective voice to make changes in Pennsylvania’s unemployment system.

0 1752

Employment of Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities
CAPE-Youth published a policy brief on “Employment of Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities in a Recovering Economy: Lessons from the Great Recession and Considerations for Policymakers Today.” The brief focuses on youth and young adults with disabilities who face difficulties gaining employment because of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession. It outlines state-level strategies and examples policymakers and program administrators can use to support these young people with finding employment.

EARN Newsletter
The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) released its March 2021 newsletter. Highlighted are two new EARN web pages. “COVID-19 Workplace Resources and Tools” outlines the intersection between the pandemic and disability employment policies and practices. “Neurodiversity in the Workplace” discusses the benefits to businesses and employees of including people with neurocognitive disabilities in the workforce.

Prev1...138139140...251Next Page 139 of 251
© 2021 - Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association