Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Home and Community Based Services

ARKANSAS

Grant Information

Name of Grantee

Department of Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS)

Title of Grant

Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)

Type of Grant

Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Home and Community Based Services

Amount of Grant

$500,000

Year Original Funding Received

2004

Contact Information

Kris Baldwin
Program Administrator, DAAS
PO Box 1437-S530
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
501-682-8509
kris.baldwin@arkansas.gov

Subcontractor(s)

Contractor to be determined through RFP in first year of the grant.

Target Population(s)

Persons who participate in Arkansas' 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers.

Goals

  • Develop a systemwide Quality Management (QM) Strategy that will fulfill the State's commitment to ensure the health and welfare of HCBS 1915(c) waiver participants by implementing the CMS Quality Framework design features and quality functions.
  • Develop an integrated data system that collects, analyzes, and generates relevant, useful, and timely QM information and activity.
  • Design and implement a methodology to secure participant feedback information to apply quality assurance and quality improvement strategies for the State's HCBS waivers.

Activities

  • Develop a comprehensive systemwide QM plan for all HCBS services that can be replicated for all department services.
  • Design and implement a single, automated data collection and analysis system for all HCBS waivers that generates reliable and timely reports to allow for informed program decisions and establishment of performance standards.
  • Provide a framework for developing a comprehensive incident reporting system to determine trends and patterns of complaints, investigations, and outcomes.
  • Design and implement participant feedback mechanisms to assess satisfaction with waiver services, identify participant outcomes, and assist the State in designing quality assurance and improvement strategies.
  • Disseminate educational materials to support participants in directing their own services.
  • Implement a peer-counseling and mentoring program for participants in consumer-directed HCBS waivers.

Abstract

The grant project represents a commitment by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) to (1) assure the quality of the State's HCBS waivers, (2) develop quality management strategies for waiver services, and (3) produce a QM Strategy for home and community based services that addresses quality issues in each of the seven focus areas of the HCBS Quality Framework. At present, the State's HCBS quality assurance initiatives are unevenly developed across waiver programs with varying levels of automated data collection and tracking. The overarching goal of the project is to move HCBS quality assurance and improvement activities from the project or program level to a collaborative, interdepartmental commitment to ensure the health and welfare of all Arkansas waiver participants. DHS, with the Division of Aging and Adult Services as lead agency, will update and standardize quality assurance procedures across programs through the QA/QI grant project.

Successful implementation of this project will result in the following measurable outcomes or products: (1) a sustainable systemwide QM Strategy that meets the requirements of the CMS Quality Framework; (2) a single, automated data collection system for all HCBS waivers that generates reliable and timely reports to allow for informed program decisions; (3) a QA/QI Task Force to provide consumer input on HCBS participant-defined measures of quality (in both services and service delivery) and participant outcomes; and (4) shortening of the response time between identification of quality problems and issues and their remediation.