About Quality Assurance Management
Reliability and consistency of service is the hallmark of quality organizations. To achieve these standards, agencies identify unwanted variations in service processes that are likely to decrease the quality of outputs such as offender assessment interviews, case planning strategies, treatment delivery, and ultimately, recidivism reduction. The quality improvement (QI) challenge is to find ways of measuring and monitoring service processes to reduce these unwanted variations. QI measures fall into several categories:
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Quality Control (QC) measures assess "whether something happened," for example, whether at least 80% of incoming offenders were assessed for risks and needs within 2 weeks of processing. While basic, QC is essential for ensuring agencies’ follow-through with intended performance goals.
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Quality Assurance (QA) measures assess the degree of accuracy with which a job task is performed. For example, if several assessment interviewers listened to the same offender interview, how many disagreements did they have on scoring tool completion?
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Balanced Score Card measures generate a vision and strategy for an agency to work towards and “score” itself by, based on a “balanced” consideration of vision components such as stakeholder satisfaction, budget, internal processes, and innovation and learning. Once agency vision and strategy are determined, internal process and outcome measures can be created to ensure fidelity to vision objectives. Understanding how a particular task ties directly to one of the four perspectives of an agency mission is key for allowing managers to identify, measure, and encourage those functions that are mission critical.
Our Quality Improvement Services
J-SAT provides consulting, tools, and training for all levels of quality improvement through the following services:
3-D Measures (QC)
These “D-irect, D-own and D-irty” measures focus on specific aspects of employee performance within regular assessment and case planning functions. For example, one 3-D measure for assessment interviewing checks whether an interviewer explained the assessment process sufficiently to reduce offender anxiety, a factor that often impedes accurate information gathering. This kind of 3-D measure is essential for getting staff on the same page regarding specific measures of process quality.
Dashboard Measures (QA)
After your agency has decided which specific, objective QA and QC measures are essential to your agency’s goals, the automated, agency-specific Dashboard application provides precise, graphic presentations of current goal progress. Easy, at-a-glance measurement allows for quick adjustment of sub-optimal agency processes.
Motivational Interviewing Training (QA)
MI training provides your staff with the interpersonal or “clinical” skills they need to minimize offender defensiveness so staff can get better information for assessment, classification, and case planning. Assessments conducted without the use of these research-based interpersonal skills may provide unsound information, resulting in treatment and supervision classification that may increase recidivism and waste system resources.
Offender Interview Tape Critiquing (QA)
Trained J-SAT critiquers listen to tapes of your staff’s assessment or motivational interviews with offenders on their caseload. Interviewers receive graphed and written feedback and phone coaching on clinical skill use, global interpersonal measures, and adherence to assessment scoring rules. Agency averages allow supervisors to see how their staff’s skills compare to Evidence-Based research standards and national averages.
Balanced Score Card (BSC) Consulting
If you are interested in exploring what the BSC approach to vision and strategy might do for your agency, we would be happy to give your management staff a 1-day overview of the BSC process. Contact us to discuss how the BSC might work for your agency.
Our Quality Improvement Experience
Over the past 10 years, J-SAT has helped the following agencies assess their quality assurance structures and implement quality improvement strategies:
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Colorado Community Corrections
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Connecticut Judicial Branch CSSD Adult and Juvenile Probation and Provider Network
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Cook County Juvenile Probation
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DuPage County Probation
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Hawaii Department of Public Safety and Judicial Probation
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Indiana Lake County Probation
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North Carolina Sentencing Division
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Oklahoma Department of Corrections
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San Diego Juvenile Probation
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Utah Salt Lake County Division of Substance Abuse Services
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For specific information about how quality improvement might apply to your agency, contact us. Otherwise, click on the above links to learn more about our specific services.
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