Supporting Culture Change
As the health care industry and human services agencies evolve, there is an increased expectation that services and supports will focus on enhancing greater independence, increasing community inclusion, and creating additional and more challenging opportunities for competitive employment for individuals with disabilities. To accomplish this — or any comprehensive change of focus — agencies themselves benefit from a defined strategy to encourage and support exploration of their current menus of supports and services and to build a foundation for the creation of a workplan for transformation.
The Employment Supports Transformation Assessment (ESTA) is a self-evaluation instrument that helps agencies assess the degree to which they are supporting employment and community inclusion for the individuals involved in their services. The ESTA is divided into 9 domains designed to comprehensively assess each area of the organization’s operations and support planning and follow-up by targeting areas of greatest strength and greatest challenge. These domains are:
The Employment Supports Transformation Assessment (ESTA) is a self-evaluation instrument that helps agencies assess the degree to which they are supporting employment and community inclusion for the individuals involved in their services. The ESTA is divided into 9 domains designed to comprehensively assess each area of the organization’s operations and support planning and follow-up by targeting areas of greatest strength and greatest challenge. These domains are:
History and Culture |
Current Status |
The ESTA was developed through a collaboration between the New York State Rehabilitation Association (NYSRA) and Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) in early 2015 and was originally called the Work Center Transformation Assessment. This early version focused primarily on supporting NYS Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)-funded Sheltered Workshops or Work Centers to transform their operations in order to comply with Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) regulations. Using the original tool, agencies were supported to explore new, more integrated and varied opportunities for the Work Center workforce with a goal of increased community inclusion, enhanced supports for competitive employment, and the development of stand-alone businesses that would employ individuals with disabilities.
The use of the Work Center Transformation Assessment was piloted with 12 agencies certified by OPWDD and feedback on the use of this tool was gathered. One participating agency noted the importance of involving all levels of the organization in completing the assessment and shared that the “results helped reinforce the requirement of collaboration required for the success of the Transformation project.” Another agency “... identified a weakness in the lack of an overall strategic plan” after completing the assessment. A third agency shared the “ ... need to engage more with the business sector to build relationships with and become more in tune with local economic development.” Other feedback noted how the tool assisted agencies with prioritizing CQI initiatives, defining their corporate structure, changing Human Resource policies and procedures, performing fiscal modeling, and communicating about change to individuals involved with the agency at all levels. The positive feedback received led NYSRA and CCSI to broaden the scope of the assessment process so that it could be used with a wider range of agencies invested in change, yet continue to be effective with the agencies transforming their Work Centers. Based on the important lessons learned about the steps agencies went through as part of successful agency change, the domain areas in the original assessment tool were prioritized to reflect the need to address the agency- specific “foundational” domains first (Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Financial Sustainability). It was noted that agencies moved toward positive change more quickly when these organizational issues were addressed as a priority, building a foundation for success with the remaining domains. |
To date, the Employment Supports Transformation Assessment (ESTA) has been fully developed and changes based on survey results have been implemented by over 20 agencies. More than 70 agencies have utilized at least some of its components and have benefitted from its content. The success of the ESTA has led to the creation of other tools designed to meet other needs.
The Mini-ESTA provides quick results and is scored by the person/group of people completing the questions. Mini-ESTA results reflect an abbreviated and individual perception of where an organization stands in the process. It can be an effective tool for educating stakeholders, quickly establishing “pre” and “post” test scores, and jump-starting the transformation process. The Electronic ESTA is a web-based tool and is electronically scored. This provides an organization a quick way to learn where an organization stands in regard to the goals of transformation, particularly if it is completed as part of a team process. An individual report is generated with recommendations and links to resources upon completion of the assessment. It can also be used to tease out where individual parts of the organization and various stakeholders stand in the transformation process. We are confident you will find the Employment Supports Transformation Assessment helpful in defining your agency’s “current state of change” as it relates to the changes that need to be made in moving toward the “desired state” that offers the best outcomes for the individuals involved with your organization. |