CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CQI)

Goal:

Continuous Quality Improvement processes are critical for an organization to ensure the most effective, high quality services and operations. The CQI Domain assesses the agency’s implementation of a CQI process to support strategic planning and measure the transformation of services to integrated, community-based employment opportunities. The CQI process builds upon Quality Assurance models by focusing on the broader organizational and systems changes that lead to successful transformation. 

Learning Objectives

The CQI domain focuses on the development of a better understanding of effective approaches for developing CQI processes at the organizational, program and individual levels: 

• Understanding CQI processes in relation to monitoring and managing the Strategic Plan and Business Plans.
• The importance of establishing timelines, metrics, and measures to assess progress, identify areas for improvement and to make modifications as necessary.
• Building from the agency Quality Assurance process in the implementation of person-centered planning with a process for regular individualized service plan reviews, and development of measurable outcomes.  

Audience

Agency Leadership:

• Executive Team
• Board of Directors
• Program Directors

Tools and Processes

Group Discussion Exercise – Continuous Quality Improvement

The following group discussion exercise is structured to help the agency gain a better understanding of the importance of CQI in the transformation/change process and in establishing processes at the organization, program and individual levels.

1.

Get a sense of the agency’s baseline score by completing the Mini ESTA.

2.

This brief podcast defines the “Continuous Quality Improvement Domain” and why the questions in the full self-assessment are important.  

3.

Complete the ESTA or move to the next step.

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4.

.Assemble a group of your agency’s Leadership stakeholders; minimally include Executive Leadership (e.g. CEO, CFO, HR, COO), Board of Directors and Program Directors. For a more expansive group include external participants (individuals and families, community partners, etc.). 
  
A.) Note: This process may also be conducted using multiple groups with each group comprised of discrete stakeholders (e.g. Board members only; Executive Team only)​.

5.

Review the self-assessment of Continuous Quality Improvement from the Mini ESTA (or ESTA if completed).

A.) By reviewing the rating/score from the assessment, the agency will see where they fall on the continuum of progress towards transformation in the Continuous Quality Improvement Domain. Keep in mind the responses to the individual items in the assessment during discussion.

6.

Continue discussion using the prompts below. During discussion, consider potential actions that may be undertaken to make further progress in the transformation process.

​Approximate Time for Exercise:
​60-90 minutes

A). Begin discussion by reviewing the agency’s CQI processes at the organizational, program and individual levels and actions taken to implement and/or enhance CQI processes as related to the transformation, including managing progress with the overall strategic plan.   

B.) Do the agency’s CQI processes comprehensively address all aspects of the organization’s operations and program services? Does the CQI team include representatives from all levels of the organization, as well as individuals and family members involved in this process?  

C.) Discuss how the agency’s CQI process includes the collection of data related to both agency operations and service delivery (i.e., individual and program specific) to inform decisions/actions. How are the data collected and used?

D.) ​Discuss how (or if) data from individual, person-centered planning efforts are aggregated to identify issues and/or trends that require agency attention.

Download Discussion Prompts