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BSASP

Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) providers are invited to participate in the AAW Provider Quarterly Incident and Risk Management meetings.

These meetings will be held for all Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) providers and Support Coordinators (SC) providing AAW services. Pam Treadway and Heather Easley will facilitate these meetings with the intent to provide updates on incident and risk management related activities, share AAW data, inform providers of any upcoming changes, review ODP expectations, etc. Providers will be able to network with one another and ask questions directly to the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP).

The upcoming meeting will have a focus on BSASP’s observations related to investigations, corrective actions, and a review of the current compliance data. The meeting will be held Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. You can register for the meeting here. Multiple staff from a provider may attend but should register separately. Be sure to complete all required information to confirm attendance. A link to the meeting will be send prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Please contact the Provider Support inbox at with questions.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has shared ODPANN 24-007. The purpose of this announcement is to inform all waiver providers and vendors whose last digit of their Master Provider Index (MPI) number is 0, 1, or 2, as well as new providers who enrolled in the 2022/23 fiscal year, that they must submit their qualification documentation to their Assigned AE and/or ODP’s Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP). This documentation is due between February 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024. Please view the announcement for information and details.

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Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) and Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) providers are invited to sign up for a scheduled one-on-one virtual office hour (VOH) session to discuss incident management topics with ODP-BSASP. Providers may sign up for one 30-minute session, and multiple staff from the provider may join at the provider’s discretion. Topics for discussion may include:

  • Provider-specific IM issues or concerns;
  • EIM reports;
  • General questions about certified investigations;
  • Brainstorming ideas of how to improve “performance” related IM tasks;
  • A review of provider IM data and compliance; and
  • Discussion of provider trends.

We encourage AAW providers and ACAP to take advantage of this opportunity. Sessions are offered in 30-minutes intervals and are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Friday, December 15
First Scheduled Session Begins at 8:30 am
Register Here
Please be sure to complete all required information in order to reserve your time slot. 

Please contact the Provider Support Inbox with questions.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) and Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) providers are invited to sign up for a scheduled one-on-one virtual office hour to discuss incident management topics with ODP-BSASP. Providers may sign up for one 30-minute session, and multiple staff from the provider may join at the provider’s discretion. Topics for discussion may include: provider-specific IM issues or concerns; EIM reports; general questions about certified investigations; brainstorming ideas of how to improve “performance” related IM tasks; review of provider IM data and compliance; and discussion of provider trends.

We encourage AAW providers and ACAP to take advantage of this opportunity. Sessions are offered in 30-minutes intervals and are on a first-come, first-served basis. The first session is scheduled to begin at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, September 13. To register, visit here. Be sure to complete all required information to reserve a time slot.

Please contact the Provider Support Inbox with questions.

The upcoming AAW quarterly meetings will be held for all Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) providers and Support Coordinators (SC) providing AAW services. Pam Treadway and Heather Easley will facilitate these meetings with the intent to provide updates on incident and risk management related activities, share AAW data, inform providers of any upcoming changes, review ODP expectations, etc. Providers will be able to network with one another and ask questions directly to BSASP.

The upcoming meeting will have a focus on restrictive interventions. Our BSASP clinical colleague, Jordan Hollander, will join for this focused topic presentation/discussion.

Friday, April 14
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Register Here
Multiple staff from a provider may attend but should register separately. Be sure to complete all required information to confirm attendance.  A link to the meeting will be send prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Future Meeting Dates:

  • July 18, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
  • October 19, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Registration announcements for future dates will be sent out prior to the meeting date.

Please contact the Provider Support inbox with questions.

ODP Announcement 23-003 serves to inform all waiver providers and vendors whose last digit of their Master Provider Index (MPI) number is 6, 7, 8, or 9, as well as new providers who enrolled in the 2021/2022 fiscal year, that they must submit their qualification documentation to their assigned AE and/or the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP). This documentation is due from February 1 through March 31, 2023.

If the provider is enrolled to provide services in BOTH an ID/A waiver and the AAW, providers should submit all supporting documentation to both their Assigned AE and BSASP via email. If your agency is enrolled to provide services in an ID/A waiver only, providers should submit all supporting documentation to their Assigned AE.

For reference to provider qualification, please see PA Code Chapter 6100, Subsections 6100.83-84, which contains provider qualification citation specifications. Inquiries about this communication regarding the ID/A qualification process should be sent to the ODP Provider Qualification inbox.

Inquiries about this communication regarding the AAW qualification process should be sent to the AAW Provider Qualification inbox.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) and Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP) providers are invited to sign up for a scheduled one-on-one VOH session to discuss incident management topics with the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP).

Providers may sign up for one 30-minute session, and multiple staff from the provider may join at the provider’s discretion. Topics for discussion may include: provider-specific IM issues or concerns; EIM reports; general questions about certified investigations; brainstorming ideas of how to improve “performance” related IM tasks; review of provider IM data and compliance; discussion of provider trends; etc.

Due to the positive feedback received from attendees of our previous sessions, ODP will be offering additional 30-minute sessions on a first-come, first-served basis.

Sessions begin Wednesday, March 9, 2022, with the first scheduled session beginning at 12:30 pm.

Register here. Be sure to complete all required information to reserve a time slot.

Please contact the Provider Support Mailbox with questions.

The ODP Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) requires Supports Coordinators (SCs) to administer a battery of assessments at intake, annually, and as needs change. Included in that battery of assessments is administering the Scales of Independent Behavior – Revised (SIBr). It has come to the department’s attention that the SIBr software will not be compatible with the most recent versions of Microsoft.

ODP Announcement 19-166 informs that as of January 1, 2020, the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) expects all SCs to administer the SIBr and send the raw scores to BSASP, as currently designed, with these changes:

  • Since the scores will not be calculated, it is expected that SCs and teams use the raw scores and SIBr response booklet to do an item analysis that will aid in planning for the participant’s supports and services.
  • Identifying those items in the assessment in which the participant’s score is low should be a prompt for the team to consider goals and supports that address the potential area of weakness.

The SIBr response booklet should be kept in the participant’s file and may be reviewed for completion during monitoring activities. Please submit questions here.

ODP Announcement 19-147 serves to clarify the billing process of respite services in a non-residential setting. Respite services are direct services that are provided to supervise and support participants living in private homes on a short-term basis for planned or emergency situations, giving the person(s) normally providing care a period of relief that may be scheduled or due to an emergency. This communication does not apply to services in the Adult Autism Waiver or any services offered by the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP).

The correct procedure code to use for these services depends on the Needs Level of the individual and the site where the respite is provided.

Respite services could be provided as a service at a residential site or in the community under a site enrolled as a Provider Type 51 specialty 513. Services can be provided under this specialty combination in settings such as:

  • A residential site such as a private licensed home in Pennsylvania under the 6400, 6500, 3800, 5310 licensure requirements;
  • An unlicensed residential Life Sharing home in Pennsylvania;
  • A participant’s private home or an unlicensed private home located in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, DC or a state contiguous to Pennsylvania;
  • Other private homes, hotels, or rentals during temporary travel in accordance to ODP’s travel policy;
  • Camp settings that meet applicable state or local codes; or
  • Community settings that maintain the participant’s schedule of activities.

A new billing option has been created for respite services provided in respite-only homes under the 52 / 513 combination:

  • The site would be a respite only home.
  • The site would be licensed under the 55 Pa Code Chapter 6400 and the Approved Program Capacity approved prior to enrollment.
  • This would not be the same as a residential home licensed under the 55 Pa Code Chapter 6400 providing residential services being billed as a site enrolled under the Provider Type 52 specialty 521. You would not enroll the specialty 513 in combination with a specialty 521 at a PT 52 site.
  • The site could also be providing Exceptional Day Respite at a licensed intermediate care facility for individuals with ID (55 Pa Code Chapter 6600) that are owned and operated by private agencies or a Licensed Nursing Home (28 Pa Code Chapters 201, 203, 205, 207, 209 and 211).

When a participant has a Needs Group 3 or 4 that indicates medical or behavioral needs, and the participant is unable to locate a respite provider to render services in a community setting, they may be approved for Exceptional Day Respite. A variance may be requested for Respite services in licensed intermediate care facilities for individuals with an intellectual disability (55 Pa. Code Chapter 6600) that are owned and operated by private agencies, Licensed Nursing Homes (28 Pa. Code Chapters 201, 203, 205, 207, 209 and 211).

And Licensed Community Homes (55 Pa. Code Chapter 6400) located in Pennsylvania within the home’s approved program capacity of 5 to 8 may be requested for approval from the regional office.

For more detailed information, including charts with the appropriate billing codes, please refer to the ODP Announcement.