The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) are pleased to announce that the latest edition of the Positive Approaches Journal is now available!

This communication announces the release of the ISP Manual that includes changes needed to implement rates that become effective in Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

Please review the announcement for additional information and detail.

Please see the attached informational flyer for several upcoming ACRE Basic Training sessions.  All are welcome to join!  Please direct all questions to the contact listed on the flyer.

ATTENTION College of Direct Supports/College of Employment Services (CDS/CES) Administrators

Join the CDS/CES Administrator User Group Meeting

You can register to vote if in Pennsylvania (PA) if:

• You are a United States citizen at least 30 days before the election;
• A resident of Pennsylvania and your voting district at least 30 days before the election, and;
• Are 18 years of age by the day of the election.

Registering is easy and can be done in multiple ways:

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication ODPANN 24-090: Adult Community Autism Program – Request for Information. The purpose of this announcement is to announce that the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has released a Request for Information (RFI).

Please review the announcement for details.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication update: ODPANN 23-083: Consolidated Waiver Fee Schedule Addition of Residential Needs Group 5 (NG5) and Updated Rate Exception Process. Please review the announcement for updated information in red.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the attached communication, ODPANN 24-064 Update: Medication Administration Notification of System Upgrade and Lock-out Period starting October 10, 2024. The purpose of this communication is to notify Trainers and Learners that the start of the Medication Administration system upgrade has been delayed. The upcoming system upgrade for the Medication Administration system will be starting Thursday, October 10, 2024, and ending Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Please review the attached announcement for additional information. Updates are in red.

The Office of Development Programs’ (ODP) will be hosting the first quarterly residential provider forum to provide support for provider PBC preparedness. During this session ODP will: provide a status update on PBC applications, review the PBC presented to the Information Sharing and Advisory Committee (ISAC) Provider Performance Review Subcommittee, review the emerging themes or trends with the application submissions, and offer the opportunity for providers to ask questions.
Audience: Residential Providers
Date: October 4, 2024, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Registration: Performance Based Contracting Quarterly Provider Forum

Happy Autumn! Below are the PA Family Network workshop and support groups for October. Thank you for sharing these important workshops and Good Life Groups with your network! Register for upcoming events at www.pafamilynetwork.org/events

Support Groups

Below is the information from the September Provider Supported Employment Office Hours.  This email includes:

• Office Hours PowerPoint
• Ticket to Work EN Opportunity PowerPoint
• Links that were provided in the Chat
• Request for Application (RFA) | The Work Site | SSA
• 2021 Payments at a Glance (ssa.gov)
• Becoming an EN | Ticket to Work (ssa.gov)
• Find Help - Search Results - Ticket to Work - Social Security (ssa.gov)
• Employer Identification Number (EIN):
• Obtain from the Internal Revenue Service. Call 800-829-4933 or
• Visit www.irs.gov.
• System for Award Management (SAM) registration:
• Register for free at www.sam.gov
• Brittany Boyd email [email protected]
• [email protected]

The Office of Developmental Programs’ (ODP) requests your assistance sharing the October 2024 training and events calendar. Please share widely.

Please see the attached Invitation to Apply to the Pediatric Capacity Building Institute (Year 2). PCBI is geared toward professionals across child-serving systems that are interested in learning more about how to support young people with complex needs and their families in PA and in initiating system change. The PCBI offers a unique nine month, in person, multi-disciplinary, interactive learning opportunity across the entire service partnership. The Institute’s overall goal is to increase the administrative and clinical capacity across all systems to better support these youth and their families. 

There will be an information webinar this morning, September 12, 2024 at 10:00 AM.

Please see the informational flyer for ACRE Basic Training sessions that can be scheduled with Bucks IU. Please direct all questions to the contact listed on the flyer.

The October class will be October 16-18, and it is in person or virtual.  Bucks IU is also able to schedule in your agency location if you have 5 or more participants.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy recognizes National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) every October to celebrate and highlight contributions people with disabilities make to America’s workplaces. 

The purpose of this announcement is to remind stakeholders of their roles and responsibilities in the Participant Directed Services (PDS) model of service delivery using the Vendor Fiscal/Employer Agent (VF/EA) Financial Management Services (FMS) option.

Please review the announcement for further information and details.

Please find linked below the most recent version of the Adult Autism Waiver’s (AAW) Supports & Services Directory (SSD) for August 2024:

Adult Autism Programs General Information – MyODP.