Category: Government Actions

DHS Proposes Increases in Medicaid Behavioral HealthChoices Rates Through Mid-Year Adjustment to Support Behavioral and Mental Health Care (October 6, 2024)

On September 30, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced its intent to increase rates paid in its Behavioral HealthChoices program, which provides access to mental health, substance use disorder, and other behavioral health services for Medicaid recipients. Once approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the new rates to the Behavioral HelathChoices (BHC) Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will be retroactive to July 1, 2024 for their current 2024 contract agreements with DHS.

The increase to BH-MCO rates come following a mid-year review of managed care organizations’ enrollment and what services and supports beneficiaries are using the most. The increased rates, if approved by CMS, will support access to behavioral health care for Medicaid recipients and ensure these MCOs are better positioned to appropriately compensate providers working in the behavioral health field, ultimately helping to recruit and retain this critical workforce.

More information on behavioral health and crisis resources in Pennsylvania is available on DHS’ website.

Registration Open for PaTTAN Technology Adventure for Students with Vision and Hearing Needs (October 2, 2024)

The first annual Technology Adventure for Students with Vision and Hearing Needs is offered by the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education. It is designed to support educators and families in making informed decisions about assistive technology (AT) for students across the commonwealth with blindness, low vision, deafblindness, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Attendees can explore a wide range of vision and hearing assistive technologies, engage with more than 20 Assistive Technology (AT) vendors, and learn about the latest advancements in the field of AT. Additionally, valuable information on post-graduation support for students requiring assistive technology will be provided.

Over 6,000 PK-12 students in the commonwealth have a sensory impairment of blindness, low vision, deafblindness, or are deaf or hard of hearing. Assistive Technology is a vital tool as it provides equitable access to information, ensuring these students can participate in the general education curriculum alongside their sighted and hearing peers. AT can be a simple adaptive device or tool, an advanced high-tech software or hardware, or any service that directly helps a student with a disability in selecting, acquiring, or using an assistive technology device.

Registration is now open for the October 22 and October 23 Sessions.

Please register at the PATTAN Technology Adventure for Students with Vision and Hearing Needs webpage. 

2024-25 PA Budget Invests in Services for Those with ID and Autism (September 30, 2024)

The bipartisan 2024-25 budget for Pennsylvanians significantly added funding to help those with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A). The budget includes historic investments in Pennsylvanians with ID/A and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for them by securing $354.8 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers. The funding includes $280 million to help raise wages for DSPs and $74.8 million to begin the process of clearing the emergency waiting list. This investment in provider rates will support recruitment, retention, and wages for DSPs who make inclusive, enriching lives possible for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. 

The 2024-25 budget investment in ID/A services sets a transformative course to eliminate the emergency waiting list for services for adults and reduce barriers to care for thousands of Pennsylvanians over the next several years. It will also make Pennsylvania one of a handful of states to end its emergency waiting list and help ID/A community members access vital services to live independently, pursue education and job opportunities, and participate in the Everyday Lives they deserve. 

Learn more about services and resources through the DHS Office of Developmental Programs. 

State Board of Higher Ed. Holds Inaugural Meeting, Aims to Increase Competitiveness, Accessibility, and Affordability (September 30, 2024)

On September 27, 2024, the newly-established State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) held its inaugural meeting. The Board was established by the 2024 Public PA School Code and is tasked with re-envisioning public higher education in the Commonwealth and increasing access and affordability for Pennsylvania’s postsecondary students. 

Established under revisions made to the PA Public School Code this year, SBHE will provide the capacity and the support that higher education leaders need to develop a statewide strategic plan for the sector and work together to achieve goals critical to the Commonwealth. To support these efforts, the Board will create a new postsecondary data system, provide guidance and capacity to institutions facing fiscal challenges, and create stronger and more affordable pathways to postsecondary credentials and degrees.   

Governor Josh Shapiro’s appointments to SBHE consist of leaders from higher education, the business community, labor, students, legislators, and members of the Shapiro Administration. 

The 2024-25 budget has invested heavily in higher ed. with an additional $60 million in community colleges and the Pennsylvania State System universities, and an additional $143 million to PHEAA to make college more affordable for PA students, including: a $54 million increase for student grants, a $5 million increase for disadvantaged students’ scholarships, a $36 million increase for the Ready to Succeed Scholarship and expanded criteria to increase the number of eligible students, and $25 million for the new Grow PA Scholarship Program.

See Board materials by clicking to access the Pennsylvania State Board of Higher Education website.     

For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please click here to visit the PDE website.

Rand Study Raises Questions on Effectiveness of Active Shooter Drills, White House Issues Executive Order to Help (September 27, 2024)

According to a September 18, 2024 Rand Corporation report, despite growing concerns and an increasing number of incidents of gun violence on school grounds in recent years, practice drills to prepare for such an incident remain controversial. Researchers found that “even practice drills — which simulate lockdown situations in an attempt to increase staff and students’ preparedness to respond to actual emergencies — may be troubling for school communities.” In fact, while active shooter drills have been shown to have a negative impact on the school community, their effectiveness remains questionable and only 20% of teachers said drills make them feel safer while half of teachers perceive drills as having no impact on preparedness.

In addition, active shooter drills are linked to increased depression, stress, anxiety and physiological health problems among students of all ages, as well as parents and teachers, according to 2020 research from Everytown for Gun Safety and Georgia Tech University.

Although active shooter drills can be stressful and fear-inducing for students, just 16% of teachers in the Rand research indicated their schools have adults monitoring students for signs of trauma in real time, which the National Association of School Psychologists and National Association of School Resource Officers both recommend.

On September 27th, in response to the above concerns, the Biden administration issued an executive order to improve active shooter drills. The order calls for federal agencies to help schools more effectively prepare for active shooter drills while preventing or minimizing potential trauma and tells federal agencies to improve school-based active shooter drills. Research on active shooter drills shows them to be controversial. The drills have been linked to increased depression and other negative psychological symptoms in students and the White House confirmed the problems in its announcement saying, “Many parents, students, and educators have expressed concerns about the trauma caused by some approaches to these drills.” 

The order thus directs U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and other federal leaders to publish information on school-based active shooter drills within 110 days, including resources on how to create, communicate about, and conduct effective drills in schools.

National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) called the order “a step in the right direction” and Michelle Kefford, principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said the guidance will help schools conduct age-appropriate drills. For more from K-12 Dive, click here and here.