The Family Resource Group

We hope you are having a great year. So far, it has been an interesting mix of winter and spring, highs and lows. Sounds just like life! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time. To be sure that you continue to receive all future updates, or information, directly to your email address, sign up on the Family Resource Group mailing list.

Erin Campion

Family Resource Group Editor

ecampion@pattan.net

DCMP: Described and Captioned Media Program

"It's time for this year's Read Captions Across America (RCAA) event, held every year on or around March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday.

The purpose of RCAA is to raise awareness—particularly among children and their parents and teachers—that video-based media can be just as effective at encouraging and fostering reading skills as books, as long as captions are always turned on!

DCMP offers free classroom posters, certificates of participation, and bookmarks for your event. Plus, DCMP members get access to five animated Dr. Seuss stories with captions, audio description, and American Sign Language: Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, The Sneetches, and The Zax! For ASL, after the video starts playing, look for the "Interpret" icon in the video toolbar to launch the ASL pop-up window. "

Money Talks is a free webinar series on financial empowerment for people with disabilities. Each webinar will share information and resources related to finance topics unique to individuals with disabilities. Past webinars are also recorded and posted for continued viewing. PATF helps Pennsylvanians with disabilities acquire assistive technology devices and services by providing financing opportunities, education, and advocacy

• Wednesday, March 15, 2023 6:00- 7:00 pm Learn about PA ABLE Savings (ASL, CART, and Spanish interpretation will be provided for the webinar)
• Thursday, March 30, 2023 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Learn about PA ABLE (With ASL Interpreter)

"Registration is now open for the annual competitions for deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students—Digital Arts, Film, and Animation, and SpiRIT Writing. Digital Arts, Film, and Animation is for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in 9-12th grades as of spring 2023. Students can submit original artwork in one of six categories: web design, graphic media, film, 3D animation, interactive media, and photo imaging. SpiRIT Writing is for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in 10th and 11th grade as of spring 2023. To participate, students submit a writing project of up to 2,000 words—a fictional story, a research paper, an autobiography—any topic they’d like! We are also giving students the option to submit an art or writing project based on deaf author Ilya Kaminsky’s novel, Deaf Republic. Students may request a copy of Deaf Republic shipped to them – be sure to contact us for the book! Students may submit completed works as described above or based on the novel.

Both competitions offer a chance to win a cash prize! Students can sign up for one competition or both. Registration for both competitions will remain open until March 15, 2023."

"The American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project (ACB-ADP) and DCMP are cosponsoring an exciting opportunity for young people who are blind and visually impaired: The Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE) contest!
Students will choose a described video and write a review about their experience with audio description. Reviews can be submitted in writing, in braille, or via an audio recording. Students aged 7 to 21 can participate.
If your student wishes to review the audio description from one of DCMP's 10,000 videos, you can sign up for a free account and create a Student Account for them.

Deadline for entries: March 17, 2023
Grand-prize winner will receive an iPad Mini!

Each first-place winner will receive a $100 iTunes gift card. Second-place winners will receive a $50 iTunes gift card, and the third-place winners will receive a $25 iTunes gift card. Each supporting teacher who has a first-place-winning student will be awarded a $100 Amazon gift card."

The Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center is hosting a one-day conference for parents and professionals, including a youth leadership session, at no cost for attendees! Topics will cover better understanding and addressing stress-related behaviors of children with disabilities, social capital, as well as waiver eligibility and access to services. The PEAL Center website also shares past recorded webinars. The PEAL Center works with families, youth and young adults with disabilities and special health care needs to help them understand their rights and advocate for themselves

The Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf proudly presents their 9th Youth Program "Believe in Your Future": a day to learn about life after high school on Wednesday, March 29 from 8:45 am to 1:30 pm at PaTTAN East in Malvern, PA. This event is geared toward all Deaf and Hard of Hearing students ages 13 and up and will feature education, fun activities, social opportunities, and more. The flyer, agenda, and the registration forms are attached below.

For more information, please contact Sharon Antal at (570) 234-0306 or email info@psad.org (please note that this is an updated email address).

"The Family Resource Center at PSD is pleased to announce our second annual family conference:

"Thrive! Supporting Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children."

This conference is open to any families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 29th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM at PSD! We have amazing workshop presenters lined up and we are especially honored to have Tia-Nikki Ivanko from the National Deaf Center as our Keynote Speaker. " Register by April 19, 2023!

"When: Saturday, April 29, 2023 Time: 11AM to 3PM Where: PSD Gym

This event and admission is free for everyone. All are welcome. Free parking and easy access by SEPTA. Stop by to learn about local services, employment opportunities, Philadelphia resources, and PSD! Event admission is free for everyone. This event will be fully accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, and all are welcome. Free parking and easy access by SEPTA. We are now accepting exhibitor registration requests! To be an exhibitor, click the button on the right for more information. Vendor Tables are free. Questions?? Email development@psd.org"

February 6, 2023

Shapiro Administration Urges Medical Assistance, CHIP Recipients to Update Contact Information Ahead of Imminent Federal Changes Impacting Renewals

Harrisburg, PA - The Shapiro Administration and the Department of Human Services (DHS) is urging anyone enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program, also known as Medical Assistance (MA), to make sure their contact information is correct so they can receive timely updates about their benefits. Under new federal law, continuous MA eligibility will be separated from the public health emergency and will end on April 1, 2023. By keeping contact information up-to-date, recipients of MA and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will receive timely, necessary updates about their coverage and benefits so they are ready when it is time to renew their coverage.

These changes come following passage of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and will force states to resume normal MA renewal determination processes after April 1, 2023.

“Recent federal law changes Medicaid renewal guidelines, and we need everyone to be aware of those and know what they need to do to stay covered. In order to keep as many Pennsylvanians covered as possible, DHS needs the most accurate information available in our system so that when it is time to complete their annual renewal, Pennsylvanians can submit their renewal quickly and easily,” said DHS Acting Secretary Val Arkoosh. “Take the time now to ensure that your information is correct so when your renewal is due, you have what you need to avoid a potential disruption in coverage.”

The Department of Human Services, along with other agencies across the Commonwealth, are undertaking an aggressive, multi-pronged outreach plan to reach Pennsylvanians and inform them of the upcoming changes. Outreach to MA recipients has already begun and will continue to include mail, text, email, and phone calls to make certain they are aware of the federal action affecting their benefits. DHS is also planning coordinated broad public communications via social media, community stakeholders, and press channels to notify the public of this change for MA recipients. This social media outreach – primarily for individuals to keep contact information up-to-date to receive information on time – has been ongoing for months now.

Changes to Federal Policy

The federal public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for individuals to continue to remain enrolled in MA even if they became ineligible based on regular eligibility criteria, except in rare circumstances. This is also known as the MA continuous coverage requirement. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 into law, which affects continuous MA coverage requirements.

No one will lose their health coverage without having an opportunity to complete a renewal, and renewals will be completed over 12 months. Renewals due in March 2023 will be the first affected by the end of continuous coverage. If a person is found ineligible for their current coverage or does not complete their renewal on time, their MA coverage will end. Pennsylvanians who are no longer eligible for MA will be referred to other sources of affordable medical coverage like CHIP and Pennie®, the commonwealth’s health and dental insurance marketplace, so they have no lapse in quality, affordable health care. A schedule and examples of communications that MA and CHIP households will receive leading up to their renewal is available from DHS here.

Prepare for Renewals

Information about when a person’s annual renewal is scheduled can be found on COMPASS or on the myCOMPASS PA mobile app. Anyone can set up a COMPASS account at www.dhs.pa.gov/compass and, if they have a mobile device, can download the myCOMPASS PA mobile app for free. Instructional videos on downloading and using the myCOMPASS PA app are available on DHS’s YouTube channel. Those without computer or mobile access can call DHS’ Customer Service Center at 1-877-395-8930 or 215-560-7226 in Philadelphia, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., or visit their local County Assistance Office.

Keep Contact Information Up-To-Date to Receive Updates

Pennsylvanians whose contact information or personal circumstances have changed can use COMPASS to make the following updates to their case file at any time:

• Changes to the number of people living in your household
• Changes to your email address
• Changes to your phone number
• Changes to your mailing address

COMPASS also allows users to sign up to receive e-notifications about their benefits. Keeping information up to date will help Pennsylvanians receive reminders about their annual benefit renewal quickly so they can prevent an avoidable lapse in coverage or services.

Additionally, DHS encourages Pennsylvanians to opt-in to text messages to receive information about their benefits. The texts read:

“The PA Dept of Human Services would like to text you important messages about your benefits. Carrier rates may apply. To Opt In, please reply ‘YES.’”

If you receive a text like this from the number 1-833-648-1964, it is not a scam. Messages sent by DHS via text will never ask you for personal information, and you should not provide it. These are intended to be reminders about your benefits and other important information about programs administered by DHS and the federal government.

DHS will provide additional information on the end of continuous coverage and other benefits affected by changes to the federal public health emergency in the coming weeks. For more information on the end of continuous coverage for MA and CHIP, visit www.dhs.pa.gov/phe.

For more information on health insurance options available to Pennsylvanians, visit www.pa.gov/health-insurance.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brandon Cwalina, ra-pwdhspressoffice@pa.gov