How to Complete the Pennsylvania Resident Assessment-Support Plan (RASP)

Pennsylvania’s Resident Assessment-Support Plan, known as the RASP, is the Department of Human Services form that Personal Care Home staff use to evaluate a new resident and document how the home will meet each identified need. To complete it correctly, download the current PDF from DHS, finish the assessment side within 15 days of admission, and finish the matching support plan on the right side within 30 days. Every need flagged on the left must have a written response directly across from it on the right.

Where to Download the Current Form

The RASP is a free PDF on the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services PCH/ALR Compliance Forms page at pa.gov, titled “Personal Care Homes — Resident Assessment-Support Plan (RASP).”1Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. PCH ALR Compliance Forms A facility may build its own version, but the custom form has to contain every element on the Department’s template. If an inspector opens your file and finds a mandatory field missing from your in-house form, that is treated the same as not having a RASP at all.

The Two Deadlines That Matter Most

The RASP has two clocks, and they run separately from admission day.

DHS inspectors compare the dates on the form to your move-in records, so delayed or backdated entries are easy to spot. The administrator, a designee, or a human service agency may complete the assessment.

What Has to Happen Before Admission

The RASP is a post-admission document. Before the resident moves in, Pennsylvania separately requires a preadmission screening on a Department-specified form to confirm the home can safely meet the applicant’s basic needs.4Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 55-2600.22 – Admission That screening is not the RASP and does not satisfy the 15-day assessment requirement. If the screening turns up needs the home cannot meet given its license, layout, or staffing, the administrator should not admit the person.

Filling Out the Assessment Side

The left side of the form captures the resident’s current physical, cognitive, and social functioning. Information comes from interviews with the resident, family members, and the resident’s physician. The goal is a working picture of what the person does independently and where staff will need to step in.

Core areas the assessment covers:

  • Activities of daily living: eating, drinking, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, and continence, each rated by how much staff assistance is needed.
  • Mobility. If the assessment identifies mobility needs, the facility must address them immediately and notify the DHS regional office within 30 days.5Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 55-2600.226 – Mobility Criteria
  • Cognitive and behavioral patterns, including memory, judgment, wandering, and any behavior that could affect the safety of the resident or others.
  • Medication management: whether the resident can self-administer, needs reminders, or needs full administration by staff.
  • Diet, meal preferences, and social or recreational preferences.

If the resident’s physician determines a higher level of care is needed, the administrator must begin planning placement at an appropriate facility as soon as possible.2Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code 55-2600.225 – Initial and Annual Assessment

Building the Support Plan on the Right Side

The right side of the form exists to answer the left side. The layout is deliberately parallel: each finding on the assessment moves straight across to a section on the support plan, and staff write out how the home will address it.6Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Assisted Living Residence – Assessment-Support Plan Form A mobility limitation on the left, for example, calls for the specific equipment or staff intervention on the right that will keep the resident safe.

The written plan must document:

  • Medical, dental, vision, hearing, and mental health services the facility will provide directly or arrange through outside referrals.
  • The medication approach: self-administration, reminders, or full administration by staff.

Leaving a field blank when the assessment flagged a matching need is the single fastest way to draw a citation. Every identified need on the left requires a written response on the right.

Annual Reviews and Significant Changes

After the initial round, assessments are required annually, whenever the resident’s condition significantly changes, or at the Department’s request.7Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code 55-2600.225 – Initial and Annual Assessment The DHS Regulatory Compliance Guide allows a 15-day grace period for any requirement on a one-year or longer cycle, including annual assessments.8Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Pennsylvania Code Chapter 2600 – Personal Care Home Regulatory Compliance Guide

A significant change is generally a decline or improvement that affects more than one area of the resident’s health, will not resolve on its own without staff intervention, and calls for a revised care plan. A short-term issue like a cold that clears in a week does not trigger a new assessment. When a real change occurs, update the assessment and revise the support plan rather than leaning on outdated findings from the last annual review.

Signatures and Resident Participation

Everyone who helps develop the plan signs and dates it. Residents are entitled to participate in developing and implementing the plan, and they may involve a family member or designated person. If the resident cannot sign or declines to sign, staff must document that refusal or inability. A resident or their designated person may request a review and modification of the plan at any time.9Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code 55-2800.227 – Development of the Final Support Plan

If You Operate an Assisted Living Residence Instead

Assisted Living Residences do not use the RASP. They operate under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 2800 and complete a separate form called the Assessment-Support Plan (ASP), available on the same DHS forms page.6Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Assisted Living Residence – Assessment-Support Plan Form The layout is similar, but Chapter 2800 spells out required content more explicitly, the final plan must be reviewed by a licensed practical nurse under RN supervision, and the plan must be reviewed quarterly and revised within 30 days of each annual assessment.9Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code 55-2800.227 – Development of the Final Support Plan If you run an ALR, use the ASP, not the RASP.

Storing the Form and Preparing for Inspection

The completed RASP goes in the resident’s permanent file and must be accessible to direct care staff at all times. During routine and complaint-driven inspections, DHS reviewers check that the assessment was completed within 15 days, the support plan was in place within 30 days, and annual updates are on schedule, cross-referencing every date against your admission records. A clean, current RASP is one of the simplest ways to avoid findings, and one of the most common places homes fall short.