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The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL) is offering a webinar on the PA Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Program. A PA ABLE savings account gives individuals with qualified disabilities (Eligible Individuals) and their families and friends a tax-free way to save for a wide range of disability-related expenses while maintaining important benefits. The state and federal tax-free investment options are offered to encourage Eligible Individuals and their families to save private funds to support health, independence, and quality of life.

Some of the topics OLTL will discuss include eligibility requirements for opening a PA ABLE account; federal and state tax benefits of PA ABLE; and how a PA ABLE account interacts with current benefits.

OLTL Service Coordinators, Direct Service Providers, Community HealthChoices Managed Care Organization staff, and any individuals who work in employment supports are strongly encouraged to participate in this webinar, as it will help them understand the PA ABLE Program and how it can benefit the OLTL participants they serve.

Please register for the PA ABLE Savings Program webinar scheduled for July 23, 2025, from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm using this registration link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you require accommodations to participate in this webinar, please send them electronically.

If you have questions regarding this email, please contact Randy Loss at OLTL.

As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ (DDAP) monthly technical assistance series, Mercer, the contracted actuarial firm for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, will lead a training from 10:00 am – 11:00 am on Monday, July 7, which will be heavily focused on the infrastructure component of the upcoming American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) ambulatory level of care (i.e., outpatient) alignment audits. The goal is to help providers understand foundational requirements and allow time to develop or refine policies prior to upcoming audits. While the record review portion of the auditing tool created by Mercer will also be discussed, the primary emphasis will be on preparing providers from a systems and infrastructure standpoint.

Mercer will also share the expected timeline for the next audit cycle and provide an overview of how behavioral health managed care organizations will conduct the audits.

To receive future calendar invitations for DDAP’s technical assistance webinars, email DDAP.

Use the Microsoft Teams meeting information below to connect to the monthly technical assistance webinars.


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Phone conference ID: 894 440 996#
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Message from Rep. Dan Williams’s Office:

HARRISBURG, June 24 – Bipartisan legislation introduced by state Rep. Dan Williams, D-Chester, that would help Pennsylvanians take advantage of new federal Medicaid rules that give patients and clinicians more telehealth options for behavioral health services passed the PA House today with overwhelming support.

“The longstanding and outdated ‘four walls’ requirement has limited Medicaid reimbursement to services within the physical walls of a clinic,” said Williams. “This only creates barriers to care, particularly in rural areas and regions experiencing mental health workforce shortages.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave states the option to waive the requirement on Jan. 1. In response, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has submitted a State Plan Amendment to adopt this flexibility, which is currently awaiting federal approval.

House Bill 1590 would repeal state regulations that conflict with the new federal flexibility. Importantly, the bill would not change existing rules requiring in-person treatment hours for outpatient behavioral health clinics.

“Under this bill, Pennsylvania can fully implement the change, expanding access to behavioral health services and reducing care gaps for our vulnerable populations across the Commonwealth,” Williams said.

The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.


It is important to note that, at this time, OMHSAS is awaiting approval from CMS. To address the Federal Medicaid payment conditions in the Pennsylvania statute, there was a need for this legislation to permit services be covered under Medicaid, and HB 1590 would achieve this. It is also important to reiterate that this bill will not change outpatient behavioral health clinic rules requiring in-person treatment hours. The passage of this bill will address these conditions for outpatient clinics as well as the delivery of SUD services.

Both the CMS SPA approval and the legislation would be retroactive to January 1, 2025.

Until then, the completion of both the SPA and the legislation on 4 walls flexibilities will remain in place. RCPA is grateful to have partnered with OMHSAS, House legislators, and other stakeholder associations on the development of this bill. We will continue our efforts in getting the legislation to the Governor’s desk.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO and Director of Mental Health Services Jim Sharp.

African Woman Filling Survey Poll Or Form On Laptop Computer

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Human Services (DHS), and the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), is conducting a Women’s Health Survey to better understand the health experiences and coverage needs of women across the commonwealth.

The survey is open through July 7, 2025, and takes 10 minutes or less to complete. It is designed to capture voices from all backgrounds — including women impacted by substance use disorder — so the administration can better identify and address gaps in care, coverage, and support.

Providers are asked for their help in sharing the survey by posting the flyer in their facilities and promoting the survey link on their social media or publishing the link in newsletters. All responses are anonymous and will help inform future outreach, programming, and policy decisions.

Cooling centers are designated locations with air conditioning where people can go to escape the heat during extreme temperatures. They are typically open during the hottest parts of the day and offer a cool environment, water, and sometimes other support services.

Types of locations that typically serve as cooling centers during a heatwave include:

  • Senior centers;
  • Libraries; and
  • Other community spaces.

Please call PA 211 or visit the Search Pennsylvania 211 website for more current and up-to-date information.

Additional resources about cooling centers:

Please note:

This is not an all-inclusive list. There are more cooling centers than those listed on the PA211 map link.

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Through a contract with the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA), the Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is supporting a specialized training on the reporting requirements for incidents involving children served in Child Residential and Day Treatment Facilities. This training is designed for child residential facility staff, their related purchasing entities, law enforcement agencies, OCYF Regional Office Reps, MCO staff, and staff of other entities that interact with Child Residential and Day Treatment Facilities.

Title of TrainingReporting Requirements for Children Served in Residential Care Facilities

Training Hours: Three (3) Hours

Format: Live Virtual

Register for an Upcoming Training:

Training Summary:

This training is for providers and other child serving entities and clarifies what allegations must be reported to ChildLine as suspected child abuse and/or HCSIS as a reportable incident, and further clarifies when an alternative plan of supervision must be put into place. This training also teaches minimal facts interviewing skills to better determine when to make a report, and then explains how those reports of suspected child abuse are categorized and handled at ChildLine. Lastly, internal follow up recommendations and communication are discussed. Other entities that interact with these 3800 facilities are also welcome to attend – OCYF Regional Office Reps, Law Enforcement, MCOs, etc.

This training mirrors the information outlined in the OCYF Bulletin # 3800-21-01 issued January 19, 2021, and is meant as additional training (not a replacement for the mandated reporter training).

Please contact Emma Sharp with any questions.

Effective Monday, June 16, 2025, the PA Consumer Service Center (Inspiritec) began accepting Long-Term Care (LTC) and Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) applications over the phone. Individuals can call 1-866-550-4355 to apply for Medicaid, including LTC and HCBS. This information can be found on the DHS website, as well.

To communicate this change, the Department of Human Services (DHS) publicized this info with external stakeholders, posted banner messaging to multiple DHS web pages, added messaging to the Statewide Customer Service Center (CSC) wait time menu, and shared this information internally. DHS also provided Consumer Service Center staff with additional information needed to accurately capture information specific to LTC and HCBS applications.

Questions regarding this initiative can be directed to the DHS helpline at 800-692-7462.

Image by Dirk Wouters from Pixabay

The PA Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) has issued a bulletin on the Draft Needs-Based Plan and Budget Guidelines for FY 2026/27. OCYF is seeking comment and feedback to be sent electronically by June 14. The subject of the email should state “Draft NBPB Comments.”

If your organization submits comments regarding this bulletin, please copy RCPA Policy Associate Emma Sharp on your responses. For members of the RCPA Children’s Residential Services Committee, please contact Emma Sharp for thoughts or guidance that will be included in the RCPA Bulletin Comments.

The Incident Reporting Cycle From Discovery to Closure
June 25, 2025
10:00 am – 11:30 am

The purpose of this webinar is to provide a high-level overview of the incident management process, specifically the path of an incident report in the incident reporting system, from discovery through closure.

This includes:

  • Determining the discovery date;
  • Initial reporters;
  • Regulatory timeframes;
  • Management reviews;
  • Impacts of management reviews that result in a “Not Approved” status; and
  • Using the workload dashboard.

Audience: All Interested Stakeholders

Registration information to follow.