1. Quality Assurance in State VR Agencies
Joe Mathews, CRC
Technical Assistance Advisor
Region VIII TACE
University of Northern Colorado

2. What is Quality Assurance?
In developing services or products, quality
assurance is:
any systematic process of checking to see whether a service or product is meeting specified requirements
designed to increase customer confidence and an organization’s ability to improve work processes and efficiencies
allowing an organization to better compete with others and provide the highest quality services

3. So What’s the Big Deal and Why Now?
Congress and State Legislatures are requiring specific goals and outcomes for all programs funded with public dollars.
Open and transparent government is expected from the taxpayer.
Evidence based research, data and service delivery are essential to ensure quality outcomes in agency performance.
Utilizing good data becomes a foundation for future decision making.
A comprehensive quality assurance system reinforces continuous improvement.

4. General Concepts Open and transparent government
Specific goals and outcomes
Continuous improvement is expected
Goal is to reduce waste and inefficiency
Utilizing sound data becomes the foundation for future decision making
An identified process for quality improvement that is transparent, efficient and timely
Evidence based research, data and service delivery is critical to assure quality outcomes in agency performance
Provides the state agency a methodical process to ensure ongoing documentation in the areas of program improvement

5. Building Blocks
The Precept/Mission language of the Rehabilitation Act which broadly guides the values and ethics of the national service culture.
The Standards and Indicators representing the central focus of the federal monitoring process of the states and their service production.
The State/Strategic Plan that connects the first two dimensions to the community experience of the VR constituents.
VR quality assurance systems should be forward thinking and driven by the agency mission, vision and values. These in turn drive how the organization operates.
Services can be directly tied to the goals, which can be directly tied to the mission. This point has been stressed by RSA in monitoring reviews.

6. Essential Components
Federal monitoring reports - Corrective Action Plans (CAP) and Program Improvement Plans (PIP)
Standards and Indicators
State Plan
Strategic plan
Federal data reporting
Public hearings
Focus Forums
Reports to Governor
Legislative reports

7. Essential Components Continued
State Case Management, Fiscal and Data Systems
Agency Case Reviews
Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD)
Input from Key Partners and Ancillary Programs
Evaluations of Service Delivery
Role and Advice from the State Rehabilitation Council
Structured Cycle of Calendared Events (Cycle of Service)

8. Cycle of Service A process for: receiving meaningful input
strategy development
implementation of processes and service delivery
ongoing data collection
evaluation of results
acting on what is learned

9. Cycle of Service Concepts
The process is then repeated and is always aligned with state agency business cycles…
It is critical that this cycle be transparent and disciplined.
This public services cycle is necessarily different and distinct from the commercial private sector marketing model.
It is specifically designed to constantly refresh the definition of quality in direct response to your consumers and partners.
To assure full inclusion and consensus the process should involve agency staff, key stakeholders and the State Rehabilitation Council.

10. Conclusion VR trend toward accountability and continuous improvement
Greater emphasis on justification
Recent push from state and federal agencies toward program evaluation and quality assurance systems

11. Community of Practice Building a community
National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation
Program Evaluation: Quality Assurance Summit
Denver, Sept 16-17
Registration coming soon