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William Penn SD partners with CCIU to reduce reliance on personal care assistants
Summary
District staff described a multi-pronged partnership with the Chester County Intermediate Unit aimed at reducing PCA use through a formal PCA request process, PCA 'fading' plans, teacher/coaching supports and Medicaid-funded IBHS that can shift funding off the district.
William Penn School District heard Tuesday that a new partnership with the Chester County Intermediate Unit is already changing how the district provides one-on-one personal care assistance (PCA) for students with significant special-needs.
Dr. Harris introduced the partnership and said the effort brings board-certified behavior-analyst staffing and PCA services into a coordinated model. Dr. Polis, assistant director at the Chester County Intermediate Unit, described four goals: analyze PCA staffing efficiency, formalize a PCA request process, implement PCA-fading plans to increase student independence, and expand intensive behavioral health services (IBHS).
The presenters described the PCA request flow as teacher-initiated: teachers flag potential needs, the district collects data, and the IEP team reviews the evidence before any service change. "Teachers are usually gonna be our first people who are recognizing the potential need," Dr. Polis said, and the IEP team and parents make the final determination.
On methods to reduce reliance on aides, Dr. Polis said teams are training teachers to manage classroom adults better, deploying behavior analysts and professional coaches, and using targeted fading plans for students on the cusp of greater independence. "So what we look at is trying to reduce the amount of hours needed per day," he said.
The presenters also explained IBHS, a Medicaid-funded model that can provide in-home, community and school supports at no cost to families once approved. "Once we move students over into IBHS, it removes the complete funding off of the district," Dr. Polis said, adding that the same staff sometimes can continue serving a student under IBHS funding. He noted the CCIU is an Act 50 licensed provider for those services.
Presenters gave specific budget and staffing context. The CCIU and district review uncovered more PCA need than expected; by October the district was "well over a 170 PCAs" and, according to Dr. Polis, PCA services were running at a cost of "$34,000 a day." The CCIU reported month-to-month reductions after interventions and projected additional reductions into January and the next school year, with the largest fiscal certainty to be realized over a rolling 12-month period.
Board members asked how the district monitors progress. Miss Boykins asked about data collection cadence; Dr. Polis said a full-time behavior analyst and additional consultants are now working in-district to observe classrooms, collect data, and jointly identify students for fading. He emphasized parental agreement and IEP-team decisions are required before any service change.
Next steps identified for the board included expanded professional development for teachers and PCAs, scheduled follow-up with building principals and social workers to support family enrollment in IBHS, and continued analysis of budget impacts as transitions to Medicaid and internal staffing changes proceed.
The district did not report a total count of families who could be moved to IBHS; presenters said eligibility is based on assessment, diagnosis and county review and that the district is initially targeting cases most likely to be approved.
