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After Hours with Policy From the Office of Developmental Programs: Waiver 10: What is a Waiver, and What Does it Do?

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
17
Waiver 101: What is a Waiver, and What Does it Do?
December 4, 2025
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) invites individuals with intellectual disabilities and/or autism (ID/A) and their families to join in a virtual discussion with members of the Division of Policy and Program Innovation. These sessions are informal, meaning the conversation will not be recorded, and rules will be set before the session starts to ensure everyone feels comfortable and safe to provide questions and comments. The session will be held through Microsoft Teams.
Please note: This event is being held only for individuals and family members; this is not an event for someone who is only a professional.
What Will Be Covered?
ODP staff will provide an overview of the ID/A Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) waivers available in Pennsylvania. This session will consist of a brief history of ID/A services in PA, what ODP is, and how the "waivers" came to exist and their purpose. The session will also include time to explore the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) and ODP’s websites for this information.
Register Here

Office of Developmental Programs' (ODP) December 2025 Training and Events Calendar

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
17

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODP’s December 2025 Training and Events Calendar. Please share widely.

ODPANN 25-101: Now Open: Registration for Certified Investigator (CI) Initial Certification Course

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
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Nov
17

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-101: Now Open: Registration for Certified Investigator Initial Certification Course. The purpose of this announcement is to communicate that registration for the January – April 2026 CI Initial Certification Course cohorts is now open in MyODP.

Please review the announcement for registration information and additional details.

Infant Botulism - Product Recall

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
17

The Office of Developmental Programs is sharing this important announcement from the PA Department of Health.

As of November 11, 2025, 15 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism were reported from 12 states: Arizona, California (2), Illinois (2), Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), and Washington. Laboratory confirmation for some cases is ongoing. Illnesses started on dates ranging from mid-August to November 2025. All 15 infants were hospitalized and treated with BabyBIG®. No deaths were reported. Infants ranged in age from 16 to 157 days. State and local public health officials are interviewing caregivers about the foods infants were fed in the month before they got sick. All 15 (100%) reported feeding ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula. This investigation is ongoing, and additional cases may be identified.

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ODPANN 25-100: Scheduled Outage: MyODP Learning Management System (LMS) Upgrade and Course Completion Enhancements

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Nov
10

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-100: Scheduled Outage: MyODP Learning Management System (LMS) Upgrade and Course Completion Enhancements. The purpose of this communication is to announce a scheduled upgrade to www.MyODP.org making the Learning Management System (LMS) unavailable from Monday, November 24, 2025, through Tuesday, December 2, 2025 and to advise that a MyTranscript report will be replacing individual certificates for courses completed on MyODP.

Virtual Autism Training Opportunity for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and Front-Line Supervisors

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
10
To receive a training certificate, attendees must attend both virtual sessions
Virtual Autism Training Opportunity for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and Front-Line Supervisors
Topic: Autism Spectrum Disorders: (ASDs) An Overview and Practical Application
Note: This training satisfies the basic autism training requirement for Residential Performance Based Contracting (PBCs). Please see more details below on Continuing Education (CE) Credits (This training is an approved alternative to the SPeCTRUM offered on MyODP.)
Over the years the prevalence of autism has increased, Pennsylvania’s service delivery system for individuals with autism has expanded, and best practices to provide quality supports have emerged. To support the individual needs of each person with autism across the lifespan, an understanding of core characteristics must be established. It is also important to learn how the individual’s presentation of autism may change across settings and situations. This training will provide attendees with an in-depth presentation on core characteristics of autism and the impact of the characteristics on daily life, routines, and activities. A review of common terms and basic principles used to change behavior, teach new skills, and develop practical application of best practices will be included. Opportunity for discussion and engagement will occur throughout the training in the virtual setting.
Who should attend?
Direct Support Professionals, Front Line Supervisors, and Program Managers supporting individuals with autism in residential and other home and community-based settings. Professionals supporting individuals in the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW), Adult Community Autism Program (ACAP), Consolidated Person/Family-Directed Support (P/FDS), and Community Living waivers are encouraged to attend.
Where and when will sessions be held?
You must register separately for each session.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
This training satisfies the basic autism training requirement for Residential Performance Based Contracting measures CN-DD/Bx.01.1S and CN-DD/Bx.01.1CE for all Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), Frontline Supervisors (FLSs), and program managers.
This training also fulfills 6100 ongoing training requirements.
Please contact the Bureau of Supports for Autism and Special Populations (BSASP) Training Mailbox at [email protected] with questions.

Life Sharing Educational Documents

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
10
ODP is Asking for Your Assistance Disseminating the Attached Documents
Life Sharing is a service that has one of the highest rates of satisfaction aligning with an everyday life (Independent Monitoring for Quality [IM4Q]). ODP wants this service to continue to grow and wants to provide information to educate everyone about the Life Sharing service. The first step was to create promotional materials to assist with our goal. These documents were created with the assistance of Providers of Life Sharing, Administrative Entities, ODP, and feedback from Supports Coordinators. ODP wants to THANK everyone for their assistance with these documents. In the near future, webinars will also be provided on Life Sharing, and ODP will communicate with stakeholders when these dates are set.
What are These Documents?
There are two documents attached:
  1. The Life Sharing Brochure is intended for individuals and families with the hopes that Residential Providers that offer the Life Sharing service and Supports Coordination Organizations would print these out and disseminate at their headquarters as well as pass them out as appropriate. This document easily describes what Life Sharing is at a high level.
  2. This one-page document, "Information to Help Supports Coordinators Talk to Individuals and Families About Life Sharing" is intended for Supports Coordinators to use when having conversation with individuals and families. We hope Supports Coordinators will utilize this form at Individual Support Plan (ISP) meetings and on a more routine basis to help individuals and families to understand what the Life Sharing service is and to help them understand there are multiple options for residential services.

ODPANN 25-099: Registration Now Open for December Certified Investigator (CI) Forum

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
07
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-099: Registration Now Open for December Certified Investigator (CI) Forum. The purpose of this communication is to announce that the Temple University Harrisburg Certified Investigator Program and ODP will be facilitating Forums for Certified Investigators (CIs) and others involved in the incident investigation process. Please review the announcement for information on how to register and other important details.

Dual Diagnosis Conference - A message from Dr. Brandi Kelly

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Nov
03
REGISTER TODAY:
The 2025 Dual Diagnosis Virtual Conference
November 19, 2025, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Understanding Neuroplasticity and Recent Advancements in Enhancing Supports
The Offices of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and Developmental Programs (ODP) invite you to register for the 2025 Dual Diagnosis Conference to be hosted virtually on November 19. Join us for this one-day virtual conference to gain a better understanding of neuroplasticity and recent advancements in enhancing supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
A message from conference speaker Dr. Brandi Kelly:
Watch the video below to hear from Dual Diagnosis presenter Dr. Brandi Kelly! Dr. Kelly provides an overview her presentation on the intersection of wellness and mental health needs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Brandi Kelly, Ph.D. is the Clinical Director for Louisiana’s Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) and received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University in 1998 and a post-doctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology from Alliant University in 2002. She has worked extensively in community and residential-based programs providing support planning, staff training, and behavioral health services to individuals with developmental disabilities and has published research on assessment and treatment of behavioral and mental health concerns of individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Kelly’s presentation will provide a clinical focus on how to use neuroplasticity data.

REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE

ODPANN 25-097: Maintaining and Verifying Medicaid Eligibility

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Oct
31

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-097: Maintaining and Verifying Medicaid Eligibility and it’s accompanying attachments. The purpose of the communication is to inform all parties of the importance of supporting individuals in maintaining their eligibility for Medicaid and in verifying an individual’s eligibility for Medicaid prior to delivering services.

Please review the announcement and attachment for additional information and details.

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ODPANN 25-093 Update: Incident Management (IM) Rebalancing Initiative Phase 1 IM Guidance Updated

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
31

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-093 Update: Incident Management (IM) Rebalancing Initiative Phase 1 IM Guidance Updated. The purpose of this announcement is to provide updated guidance related to the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) IM Rebalancing Initiative. Updates have been made to the Clarifying the Definition of Serious Injury section of this announcement. Updates appear in red text. The guidelines are organized into seven separate topics covering the following:

        • Finalizing Incident Reports
        • Reducing Duplicative and Multiple Incident Reports
        • Clarifying the Definition of Serious Injury
        • Clarifying the Definition for Discovery Date
        • Managing Events Occurring Prior to Enrollment
        • Discontinuing the Use of Optionally Reportable Events (OREs)
        • Discontinuing the Use of Illness/Other and Illness/COVID Incident Categories.

Please review the announcement for additional information and detail.

Office of Developmental Programs' (ODP) November Training and Events Calendar

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
17
The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the November Training and Events Calendar.

ODPANN 25-096: Now Available: Supports Coordination Organization (SCO) Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
16

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-096: Now Available: Supports Coordination Organization (SCO) Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The purpose of this announcement is to is to notify stakeholders that ODP has published FAQs received about SCO-PBC. Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

ODPANN 25-095: Questions Removed From the Quality Assessment & Improvement (QA&I) Process Cycle 3, Year 1 (C3Y1) Tools

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
15

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-095: Questions Removed from the Quality Assessment & Improvement (QA&I) Process Cycle 3, Year 1 (C3Y1) Tools and its accompanying attachments. The purpose of this communication is to advise stakeholders of a change to the C3Y1 QA&I tools. Please review the announcement and attachments for additional information on the changes.

QA&I C3Y1 Provider Full Review Spreadsheet-Updated 10.10.25

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Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) Public Comment Now Open

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Oct
13

Please see the message below regarding the public comment period for Personal Care Assistance Accommodations Guidance from the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). Public comment will be accepted from October 6, 2025, to November 25, 2025. The information below includes an overview as well as the link to the process on how to submit public comment.

PHRC is collecting public comment on proposed guidance clarifying how the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act applies to the admission of Personal Care Assistants accompanying individuals with disabilities at public accommodations and commercial properties.

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Adult Autism Waiver's (AAW) Supports and Services Directory (SSD) for October 2025

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
10

Please find a link to the most recent version of the Adult Autism Waiver’s Supports & Services Directory (SSD) for October 2025.

SPECIAL NOTE TO PROVIDERS: Please review your contact information in the SSD.

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Canceled: Planning for and Providing Community Participation Support (CPS) in a Community Setting

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
09
CANCELED
Planning for and Providing Community Participation Support (CPS) in a Community Setting
The purpose for this announcement is to notify you that the training has been canceled. This training may be rescheduled at a later date.
Audience:
All Interested Stakeholders
Date:
October 29, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Registration Open: Virtual Office Hours (VOH) for Trainers, Primary Contacts, and/or Agency Administrators available on October 23rd

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
08
Registration Open:
Two Virtual Office Hours (VOH) for Trainers, Primary Contacts, and/or Agency Administrators available on October 23, 2025
Registration for the October VOH sessions are now available for Trainers, Primary Contacts, and/or Agency Administrators. If interested in joining, please click on the registration link available on your Med Admin Trainer Dashboard. Registration is only available for Trainers, Primary Contacts, and/or Agency Administrators. Please only register for one session. The two sessions for the October 23, 2025, VOH sessions are listed below.
  • October 23, 2025, 10:00 AM–11:00 AM
  • October 23, 2025, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM

ODPANN 25-093: Incident Management (IM) Rebalancing Initiative Phase 1 IM Guidance

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
08

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-093: Incident Management (IM) Rebalancing Initiative Phase 1 IM Guidance. The purpose of this announcement is to provide updated guidance related to the Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) IM Rebalancing Initiative. The guidelines are organized into seven separate topics covering the following:

        • Finalizing Incident Reports
        • Reducing Duplicative and Multiple Incident Reports
        • Clarifying the Definition of Serious Injury
        • Clarifying the Definition for Discovery Date
        • Managing Events Occurring Prior to Enrollment
        • Discontinuing the Use of Optionally Reportable Events (OREs)
        • Discontinuing the Use of Illness/Other and Illness/COVID Incident Categories.

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

ODPANN 25-092: Medication Administration (MedAdmin) Training Program - Agency/Entity/Role Designation/Verification Form Update

by: Ilana Gruber
Category: ODP Communications
Tags
Oct
08

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-092: Medication Administration (MedAdmin) Training Program - Agency/Entity/Role Designation/Verification Form Update and its accompanying attachment. The purpose of this communication is to announce that an updated Agency/Entity/Role Designation/Verification Form is now available. The updated form accompanies the announcement in this email. Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

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