These trainings are intended for staff within Pennsylvania County Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities (MH/ID) Program Offices and Community Health Choice Managed Care Organizations. They are free to attend and funded by the Pennsylvania Office of Developmental Programs and Office of Long-Term Living through the American Rescue Plan Act.

Accelerating Technology Solutions will cover implementation strategies, funding opportunities, criteria and strategies for organizational change, and emerging technology solutions for people with disabilities and family members. Technology solutions include remote supports and monitoring, assistive technology, and mainstream technology.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-010: Medication Administration 2022 Student Courses Extension, Fillable Forms Now Available, and Course Reset Information. The purpose of this announcement is to notify Trainers of the following:

• To notify Trainers that the 2022 student courses deadline has been extended to February 28, 2025 due to system issues experienced after January 13th, 2025.
• To inform trainers that fillable forms are now available on the Trainer Resources page.
• To provide guidance on the number of attempts permitted for each Medication Administration course before requesting a course reset from the Helpdesk.

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-008 ODP Provides Written Notice of Provider Requalification Requirements. The purpose of this communication is to inform all waiver providers and vendors whose last digit of their Master Provider Index (MPI) number is 3, 4, or 5, as well as new providers who enrolled in the 2023-2024 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, 2025, through March 31, 2025. 

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

Below are the PA Family Network workshop and support groups for February 2025. Thank you for sharing these important workshops and Good Life Groups with your network!

Register for upcoming events at www.pafamilynetwork.org/events.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-007 The Office of Developmental Programs Announces the Opening of the 2024 National Core Indicators® State of the Workforce Survey Portal and its attachment: 2024 NCI®-IDD State of The Workforce Survey. The purpose of this communication is to inform providers that the 2024 National Core Indicators® Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI®-IDD) State of the Workforce (SoTW) survey portal will open on February 10, 2025. 

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance distributing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-006: Quality Management (QM) Recertification for Office of Developmental Programs’ QM Certificate Holders. The announcement advises QM certification holders who achieved certification/recertification in 2023 that they must recertify by December 31, 2025. 

Additional information on the process to follow is included in the announcement. 

The Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the February 2025 training and events calendar. Please share widely.

Summary

• RSV activity is rising rapidly in Pennsylvania, especially among children under age five and adults aged 65 and older.
• RSV is a leading cause of severe respiratory illness, responsible for 60,000-120,000 hospitalizations and 6,000-10,000 deaths annually among adults 65 years and older in the US.
• RSV vaccines (which are not annual) are recommended for pregnant people (32-36 weeks gestation), adults 60-74 years with certain health risks, and for everyone 75 and older.
• RSV vaccines demonstrate moderate to high efficacy in reducing morbidity and mortality especially in older adults.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends all babies be protected from severe RSV by vaccinating pregnant individuals at 32-36 weeks gestational age or administering a long-acting monoclonal antibody to infants aged < 8 months entering their first RSV season and for those aged 8–19 months at increased risk for severe RSV infection.

Recommendations:

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached Health Alert, 2025 Cold Weather Alert. Please review the attached Alert for important information on precautions to prevent cold-weather-related health risks.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-004: Notice of a Change to the Federal Reimbursement of Transportation Costs Effective January 1, 2025. The purpose of this communication is to share that the United States General Services Administration announced a change for the rate of Transportation Mile reimbursement rate, procedure code W7271, beginning January 1, 2025, to $0.70 per mile. This communication obsoletes ODP Announcement 24-001.

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

• ODP Announcement 25-003: Performance Based Contracting (PBC) Residential Services Implementation Guide Updates
• Performance-Based Contracting Residential Implementation Guide
• PBC Residential Services Provider Self-Assessment Toolkit
  • Provider Performance-Based Contracting Preparedness Self-Assessment
  • Provider Preparedness Workbook
• Residential Performance Based Contracting Attestation

Please review the announcement for additional information and details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-002 Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) Provider Information Table and its attachment: FINAL JANUARY 2025 AAW Provider Information Table. The purpose of this announcement is to announce to all stakeholders that the most recent version of the AAW Provider Information Table is now published.

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

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 25-001: Guidance for Benefits Counseling Services . The purpose of this announcement is to provide information about:

• The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program, including when referrals to a WIPA program are required.
• How to locate WIPA programs in Pennsylvania.
• Benefits Counseling services funded through ODP’s Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family Directed Supports (P/FDS) Waivers. To reach out to the MA Help desk if the student does not pass their second attempt at the Post Test for account reset.

Please review the announcement for additional information and detail.