While all agencies have been implementing preparedness plans since last week to prepare for the safety and protection of their consumers and employees, ODP waited until the arrival of Hurricane Sandy's weather in Harrisburg, after state offices closed,   to announce deadline extensions for the submission of both Community Waiver Cost Reports and ICF/ID Waiver Requests, which were due this Wednesday and Thursday.  

It appears that ODP's announcements are in anticipation of possible power failures or other impediments that might occur on October 31 and November 1 to interefere with filing a submission, hence the timing, and not related to the agencies' needs to implement preparedness plans days in advance and make the safety of consumers and employees the highest priortiy.  Nevertheless, the extensions are appreciated and it was the right thing to do.

Each deadline has been postponed one week.   Following are the announcements from ODP which were sent via email on Monday morning, October 29.    

Due to the severe weather conditions, as a precaution, ODP is extending the deadline for the submission of requests for a waiver of the standard interim per diem rate for ICF/ID and ICF/ORC providers by one week from Wednesday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 7, 2012.  

Due to impending storm conditions, the deadline for the submission of the cost report has been extended for one week.  The revised deadline is now 11:59 PM on November 8, 2012.  The Help Desk will close at 5 PM on November 8, 2012.