Dear  

On Oct. 10, Governor Corbett announced the addition of ten counties into the Human Services Block Grant program for 2013. The expansion, made possible through the passage of HB 1075 in June, was advanced by the Governor concurrent with his 2013-2014 budget proposal.

First adopted in 2012, the block grant initially permitted just 20 counties to utilize flexibility among seven critical county administered line items to match local needs, including the mental health community and intellectual disabilities community base funds, county child welfare special grants, homeless assistance funding, Act 152 drug and alcohol funds, Behavioral Health Services Initiative funds and the Human Services Development Fund. The expansion to 30 counties still falls short of CCAP's call to allow any willing county to become a block grant county, but is seen as a step in the right direction of placing human need ahead of strict line item funding.

Counties have complained that funding "silos" limit creativity and result in people going without services, when funds available within one line item are exhausted while another line item still has funds but no clients seeking services. With the authority to shift funds among these line items, counties can match funding to citizens' needs as they present themselves, often avoiding costlier services later. The development and expansion of the Human Services Block Grant has been an Association priority for several years, as part of a larger human services and Medicaid reform initiative, to address areas where efficiencies and reduced paperwork take precedence over strict adherence to structures that have little or no impact on outcomes for county human services clients.

During the first year of implementation, counties reported great success in their ability to reduce or eliminate waiting lists for key services, and reduced costs for administration, allowing more dollars to be dedicated to direct services. Counties also report better integration among program areas, making it easier for clients and families with multiple needs to obtain seamless services.

CCAP is prepared to work with Governor Corbett and House and Senate members to continue expanding this crucial program in 2014.

On Oct. 16, the U.S. Senate and House passed H.R. 2775, temporarily addressing federal funding for FY 2014 and debt ceiling issues, about two weeks after the start of the federal government shutdown resulting from disagreement on the same matters.

The bipartisan measure, which was approved by an 81-18 vote in the Senate and a 285-144 vote in the House, funds the federal government through Jan. 15, 2014, and suspends the debt limit through Feb. 7, 2014, although the latter is subject to a "resolution of disapproval" by Congress - a procedural exercise through which one or both chambers can express disapproval for a measure without actually blocking it. According the National Association of Counties (NACo), the federal government will be funded at an annualized level of $986.3 billion through mid-January, reflecting spending levels under sequestration. Federal government employees have returned to work, and states and grantees are to be reimbursed for costs states incurred during execution of federal programs that would normally be paid by federal appropriations; this authority applies to any period in FY 2014 in which a lapse in appropriations has occurred.

As part of the deal, Senate and House leaders must now name participants to a conference committee tasked with deciding final FY 2014 funding levels by Dec. 13. More information on the deal, and potential impacts to counties of future discussions on a long-term solution, is available at the NACo website, www.naco.org. 

The House Human Services Committee held a hearing on Oct. 15 to discuss issues related to the Mental Health Procedures Act, including involuntary commitment of individuals to mental health treatment.

Dennis Marion, DPW Deputy Secretary for the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and former Cumberland County chief clerk, provided an overview of the publicly funded mental health delivery system and emergency services. He noted that the Department is working with the Pennsylvania Association of County Administrators for Mental Health and Developmental Services (PACA MH/DS, a CCAP affiliate) to assess the current emergency response processes across the state, including crisis intervention services and use of the commitment process.

On behalf of PACA MH/DS and CCAP, Christopher Wysocki, administrator of the Juniata Valley Behavioral and Developmental Services, and Edward Michalik, administrator of the Berks County Mental Health / Developmental Disabilities Program, told the committee that the Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities Act of 1966 requires a county to maintain constant access to emergency mental health services. However, involuntary commitment is viewed as a last resort since it is rarely results-oriented and is often more expensive, while voluntary treatment is more likely to result in recovery for individuals with mental illness. They made several recommendations concerning county mental health services, including identifying best practice models for involuntary commitment proceedings and developing training for mental health hearing review officers. In addition, they urged the committee to commit adequate funding for the mental health system so involuntary commitment procedures will be limited in use.

Representatives of mental health providers and consumers, as well as the courts of common pleas, also provided their perspectives at the hearing. The full testimony from PACA MH/DS can be found at www.pacounties.org on the Government Relations page.   

A number of child protection bills, constituting the remainder of a larger reform package, received final passage by unanimous votes in the Senate this week. The bills include SB 24, sponsored by Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny), to establish a statewide database for child abuse reports that would enhance cross-county referrals and assist counties in addressing mobile families. The bill also addresses procedures for electronic reporting of child abuse and requires counties to be able to receive electronic reports at any time. Before final passage, SB 24 was amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee to include county sheriffs, police officers and county detectives in the procedures required of law enforcement in handling complaints of child abuse.

The Senate also approved SB 28, introduced by Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), which amends the definition of aggravated assault under Title 18 to include bodily injury of a child, outlines penalties for false reporting of child abuse, and prohibits intimidation and retaliation in child abuse investigations.

Sen. Pat Vance's (R-Cumberland) SB 29 clarifies existing statute requiring health care providers to report suspected child abuse when a newborn is identified as being affected by substance abuse, expands the bill's provisions to all children under one year of age to align with federal requirements, and reprioritizes the required county action on receipt of such a report to ensure the immediate safety of the child. Senate Bill 31, sponsored by Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny), requires school employees to report any suspected child abuse committed by a school employee against a student and expands the definitions of founded and indicated child abuse reports, in particular requiring the county agency administrator, or designee, and the county solicitor to approve an indicated report.

Finally, SB 1116,authored by Sen. LeAnna Washington (D-Philadelphia), reformats existing statutory language relating to multidisciplinary investigative teams, and further allows a county agency to require a medical exam if deemed necessary because of information discovered during the investigation. Current law authorizes county agencies to require a medical exam only if the investigation indicates serious physical injury of the child.

These Senate bills, in addition to those approved by the Senate earlier in October, now go to the House for consideration. The House approved a similar package of child protection bills earlier in the year which are currently before the Senate, and work now begins to determine which bills and which measures will be included in the final legislation that is sent to the governor's desk. Media reports have indicated that the General Assembly intends to complete its work on these bills by Thanksgiving.  

The state's Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued for comment a proposed rulemaking on the collection and disbursement of the impact fee for unconventional natural gas well drilling under Act 13 of 2012. The proposed rulemaking is intended to codify the procedures the PUC has been using to implement, collect and distribute the impact fees; it does not address the provisions of Chapter 33 governing local ordinances related to oil or gas operations, due to uncertainty surrounding pending litigation. Interested parties have 30 days to comment on the proposed regulation, and instructions on how to comment are contained in the Commission's order.