Accreditation
Posted by: CQL on 12/29/2006
Filed under: South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Human Services Division of Developmental Disabilities
The Situation
The South Dakota Division of Developmental Disabilities has funding, certification, and monitoring responsibilities for nineteen community agencies serving individuals with developmental disabilities. These agencies, which are certified by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, are commonly referred to as Adjustment Training Centers. These nineteen agencies provide services to over 2,000 individuals in a variety of settings
The Division supports people with developmental disabilities and their families in a manner that is flexible, responsive to individual needs, promotes inclusion, growth and choice, enhances productivity, and is cost effective
After several years of conducting its own internal quality assurance process, the Division of Developmental Disabilities sought a partnership with CQL to support them in the critical roles of evaluation and oversight.
What CQL Did
CQL provided training for the Division staff and for providers to orient them to standards and measures and to explain the on-site review process. CQL staff perform accreditation reviews for all community based provider organizations. Each provider receives feedback on its strengths and opportunities for improvements. Personal Outcomes data are summarized for each organization and also compared to the CQL national database
We provide the Division an annual statewide report that analyzes our findings – across providers and compared to the national data – and makes recommendations for Administrative Rule changes and HCBS waiver amendments, as needed.
Using CQL’s measures and review methodology, enables the Division to meet state and federal requirements for quality measurement.
“CQL’s return to South Dakota has created a level of enthusiasm in our providers that our outcome based surveys seemed to dampen. Providers are demonstrating a renewed commitment to supporting people in achieving personal outcomes. CQL’s accreditation process is more comprehensive than what we could offer providers, and makes our role less “enforcement orientated.” We are better able to work with our providers as partners.
Wanda Seiler, Director