Workshop Held to Assist Individuals With Disabilities
Employment
VIEWPOINT: Finding Ways for Those Who Want to Work
OVR Implements Rate Increases for the Provision of Supported Employment and Pre-Employment Transition Services
The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) is committed to providing quality services to Pennsylvanians with disabilities. Effective partnership with Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) is essential to fulfilling this commitment. Recognizing the unique challenges affecting our CRPs, OVR is modifying service rates for both Supported Employment and Pre-Employment Transition Services as outlined in a memo from OVR Acting Executive Director Ryan Hyde. This change will provide equitable compensation for comparable services funded through both agencies.
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) 101 Webinar — March 31
The Eastern PA Special Needs Association (EPSNA) will be hosting their next meeting TOMORROW, Thursday, March 31, 2022, from 10:00 am–12:00 pm.
Their presenter, Jill Grossberg, will be presenting on Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) 101. Per the PA.gov website:
“The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, or OVR, provides vocational rehabilitation services to help persons with disabilities prepare for, obtain, or maintain employment. OVR provides services to eligible individuals with disabilities, both directly and through a network of approved vendors. Services are provided on an individualized basis. The OVR counselor, during face-to-face interviews, assists customers in selecting their choice of vocational goals, services and service providers. An Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) is developed, outlining a vocational objective, services, providers and responsibilities. Certain services are subject to a Financial Needs Test (FNT) and may require financial participation by the customer. Counseling and guidance, diagnostic services, assessments, information and referral, job development and placement, and personal services such as readers or sign language interpreters are provided at no cost to the individual.”
Join TOMORROW to learn more about how OVR can assist the lives of persons with disabilities!
This EPSNA meeting is open to caregivers and professionals interested in learning more about navigating the PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) system. This is a PA statewide training! This meeting will be held via Zoom.
Please feel free to share the attached Save the Date and forward the Zoom link for the EPSNA meeting. RSVPs are not mandatory but welcomed. If you have any questions, please reach out to Missy Modesti.
ODP Change of Date for ARPA Supplemental Payment Webinar
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): Supplemental Payment to Address Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment Q&A
WEBINAR RESCHEDULED
Monday, April 4, 2022
1:00 pm–1:30 pm
REGISTER
The webinar previously scheduled for March 31 at 2:00 pm will now take place on Monday, April 4 from 1:00 pm–2:00 pm. If you have previously registered for this webinar, you do not need to re-register.
Join the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) Deputy Secretary Kristin Ahrens and Bureau Director of Policy & Quality Management Jeremy Yale to discuss the recent announcement about the ODP American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) One-Time Supplemental Payment to Address Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment.
Employment and Day Services Webinars — March 22 and March 24
Webinar: How Blended, Braided or Sequenced Funding Can Help Drive Employment, Equity and Inclusion
Tuesday, March 22 | 3:00pm–4:30pm ET
Register for the webinar.
The Administration for Community Living, along with federal partners at the Department of Labor, Department of Education, and the Social Security Administration, invite you to attend a federal interagency webinar hosted by the LEAD Center.
Demand for workplace talent is high. Remote work opportunities may be with us to stay. These conditions offer new opportunities for expanded access to workforce activities for people with disabilities.
To ensure that workforce programs are ready to meet this demand and can support job seekers and career changers equitably, programs often need to draw on a range of different funding sources. The ability to blend, sequence, or braid funding with other resources becomes an essential ingredient to support employment, equity, and inclusion. Yet each source of funding usually comes with specific goals, target populations, and performance indicators.
In this federal interagency webinar hosted by the LEAD Center, state practitioners across the workforce system will discuss how they successfully applied innovative, collaborative resource sharing that benefits both businesses and job seekers with disabilities.
Contact Dallas Oberlee with questions.
ACL/CMS Promising Practices Webinar Series: Rethinking Day Services —The Without Walls Approach
Thursday, March 24 | 3:00 pm–4:30 pm ET
Register for the webinar.
This webinar will provide insight into how a without walls approach can be used as part of a COVID-19 response strategy, how to train staff to shift from center-based services to community-based services, and what a without walls approach looks like in practice. For more info, please visit this link.
ARPA: One-Time Supplemental Payment to Address Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment
ODP Announcement 22-031 provides guidance about the process for providers and Supports Coordination Organizations to request one-time payments to address staff training, credentialing, and business associates programs for employment.
As part of the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) strategy to strengthen Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), providers can receive a one-time supplemental payment. The following activities would be supported by this funding:
- Agency adoption of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) core competency training for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs);
- DSP National Association for Dual Diagnosis certifications;
- Agency completion of National Association for Dual Diagnosis Accreditation; and
- Lifecourse Ambassador Series for individuals or agency hosting of the series.
- Providers are encouraged to be creative in their proposals with an eye towards the development of creating or enhancing career ladders for DSPs, portability, and expansion of a well-qualified workforce and employing the principles of Lifecourse.
Providers interested in applying will need to complete and submit the attached Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment Supplemental Payment Application and submit via email to Rick Smith. Applications will be accepted through June 30, 2022. Funding may be requested up to 1% of ODP eligible service revenue from Fiscal Year (FY) 2019/2020, FY 2020/2021, or $100,000, whichever is greater.
Please see the announcement for full details of this program.
How Blended, Braided, or Sequenced Funding Can Help Drive Employment, Equity, and Inclusion
The LEAD Center will host a webinar entitled “How Blended, Braided, or Sequenced Funding Can Help Drive Employment, Equity, and Inclusion” on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 from 3:00 pm–4:30 pm ET. This federal interagency webinar will feature state practitioners across the workforce system discussing how they successfully applied innovative and collaborative resource sharing to benefit both businesses and jobseekers with disabilities.
Register here for the webinar.
Sheltered Workshop or Community Jobs? Inside Missouri’s Debate Over Disabled Adults in the Workforce
Occupational Services Wants to Preserve 14(c) Organizations for People With Disabilities
