Action Needed Now
Share your stories regarding these key areas with your Legislators. Share how they can help to invest in ID/A services in the state budget to reduce waitlists, stabilize the workforce, and ensure essential care for thousands of Pennsylvanians.

To Support Increased Funding for Intellectual Disability & Autism (ID/A) Services to address:

• Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are underpaid, leading to severe staff shortages.
• Competitive wages will stabilize care and ensure reliable services.
• Current educational requirements do not meet the demand or initiative of Governor Shapiro’s recognition of work experience in the field.
• Community-based services prevent costly ER visits, hospitalizations, and institutional placements.
• Investing in efficiency to remove the burden from caregivers saves taxpayer dollars in the long run.

The Need is Growing

• Thousands remain on waitlists for essential services, leaving families in crisis.
• Demand for care is rising, but funding has not kept pace.

Ask: Include $175M in the community waiver line-item to continue current program costs and annualize waiting list initiatives in the next budget. PAR also supports $10 million for Early Intervention rates to address some gaps in service, provide key support to families, and can improve the overall quality of life for individuals. 

Support Efficiency Improvements for Intellectual Disability & Autism (ID/A) Services

Share your story of how these three (3) efficiencies in ID/A Services would improve the day to day lives of those ID/A individuals you serve, love, and advocate to be heard:

1. CPS 3-person rule
2. Education Requirements for program specialists
3. Rounding of partial units for CPS, 2380/2390, and EVV required programs

Issue: The Consolidated, Community Living, and Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) waivers state that, “A maximum of 3 participants can be served simultaneously by any 1 provider at a community location at any 1 time.”

• Ask: PAR recommends that CPS providers be allowed to bill the Community CPS rate when a maximum of six (6) individuals are taken into the community at the same time by the same provider.

Strengthen the Workforce

Issue: Currently, the education requirements for Program Specialists do not align across all regulations and waivers.

• Ask: PAR recommends making the program specialist position requirements consistent across all service areas and include experience as an equivalent for educational requirements.

Cost-Effective Solutions

Issue: ODP does not permit the rounding of units for services. Rounding would simplify the process of providers getting paid for the units that are provided, instead of aggregating several partial units to fil a 15-minute unit, which takes specific software, time, and resources, whereas rounding would be a simple way of calculating units.  

• Ask: PAR recommends that ODP allow for the rounding of units for all ODP administered 15-minute unit services, including those utilizing Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), to align with other DHS services that allow rounding of units, such as the Office of Long-Term Care.