The Department for Children and Families Prevention and Protection Services has leadership and ownership of a Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) process which is applied consistently across the State. The process shall be utilized by state and provider staff at all levels as a systemic problem solving process and cycle of learning and improvement. The CPI cycle includes identifying and understanding the root cause of problems, researching and developing theories of change, developing or adapting solutions, implementation of solutions and monitoring and assessing solutions.
The functional components of CPI include data collection, data analysis and interpretation, communication and collaboration and support for sustainable CPI.
PPS shall maintain a CPI Procedure Handbook providing a comprehensive picture of CPI in Kansas Child Welfare. The handbook shall address CPI functions, activities and steps, annual training activities as well as the outcomes and standards reviewed on a regular basis.
Prevention and Protection Services (PPS) Continuous Performance Improvement staff shall be responsible for providing support and accountability for the structure, methodologies and administration of quality assurance and continuous performance improvement activities for the DCF Regions and Providers. Outcomes are reviewed at least quarterly by state and provider staff.
DCF Regions shall participate in Quality Assurance and Continuous Performance Improvement activities.
DCF Regions shall coordinate Continuous Performance Improvement activities with their Child Welfare Case Management Providers.
Standard case reads are conducted by the DCF Regional Offices on an ongoing basis and focus on the timeliness and accuracy of service delivery. Additional targeted case reads are conducted as required for policy compliance or continuous performance improvement projects.
Stakeholder meetings are organized at the case specific, community and statewide levels to involve customers and stakeholders in discussions about the delivery of Child Welfare services.
Residential/Group Home monitoring is conducted initially by the DCF Regional Offices and then annually by the Child Welfare Case Management Providers. Administrative Reviews are conducted annually by DCF/PPS.
The primary systems used for continuous performance improvement include FACTS, KIDS, KIPS, SCRIPTS and the Case Read Application.
PPS has processes in place to identify and address data quality issues which include the use of Federal Validation Utility program, a PPS Error and Reporting Correction process, and case record reviews for AFCARS elements in addition to other tools used by field offices to correct potential data entry errors.
PPS monitors federal requirements and guidelines related to AFCARS, NCANDS, CFSR data profiles, and NYTD through a review of information and utilization of quality tools for AFCARS and NCANDS.
PPS utilizes (not limited to) statewide stakeholder interviews, case specific stakeholder interviews, surveys, provider reports, statewide Management Information Systems (MIS) reports and standard and targeted case reviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data to assess performance and identify opportunities for improvement regarding systemic factors.
Outcomes data collection and reporting is standardized to provide consistency and enable comparison throughout the Agency on a statewide basis, by DCF Regions and Providers.
The case read sample for each program is derived from the respective case population that has been active during the last three months in a twelve month period under review. A “Stratified Random Sample” strategy is utilized to establish the sample size. The statewide population is broken out by DCF Region. The number of cases in the sample for each Region is proportionate to the number of cases in the total population for each Region. Cases are assigned a random ID number and randomly selected until the correct percentage for each Region is achieved.
The number of cases in the sample is set at a level sufficient to maintain statewide statistical validity. This level is established by consulting a table of recommended sample sizes from the DCF Office of Strategic Performance Management.
Data are analyzed to determine the performance of processes, and to identify opportunities for improvement.
Opportunities for improvement will range from those that are systemic or statewide to those that are specific to DCF Regions, Child Welfare Case Management Providers or individual staff.
Standard CPI reports include (not limited to) national and state outcomes and indicators reported from the state MIS and case read system. In addition, providers draw upon their internal QA and performance improvement activities and information to enhance the PPS CPI process.
Training shall be provided to state and provider staff on an annual basis and will include (not limited to) the understanding of: the PPS CPI Cycle and structure, utilization of MIS outcomes reports, case read reporting application basics, data analysis, performance improvement project tools and techniques, spread sheet basics and orientation to individual case read instruments.
Training shall be offered to community stakeholders on the PPS CPI Cycle and structure and the availability and utilization of CPI reports.
To assess performance of the Contractor, the state will review and monitor accountability for child welfare programs through direct oversight, case read processes and administrative site visits. Case read and oversight activities are used to assess and improve the delivery of services to families. Results of case read and oversight activities may be published by DCF on the internet or in other public information material.
Using clearly identified sources of data which identify problems that will be investigated.
Completing a root cause analysis to identify the cause of a discrepancy or deviation and suggest corrective actions to potentially prevent recurrence of a similar problem, or preventive action to ensure that discrepancies do not occur.
Implementing corrections to rectify the problem which is identified.
Monitoring Contract Outcomes: Contractor performance is also measured, in part, through contract outcomes. Contract outcomes include the national data standards for safety, permanency, and well-being. Performance based outcomes shall not be rewarded with monetary or other bonuses/awards for staff.
The contract performance year is the state fiscal year (SFY) July 1- June 30. Reports published may reflect both federal and state fiscal year periods.
If contract outcomes are not met at the completion of the first SFY of the contract, the contractor shall develop a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) approved by DCF to address unmet outcomes. The PIP shall include action steps to be taken to create improvements and demonstrate continued improvement for each unmet outcome. Failure of the Contractor to meet PIP requirements may result in liquidated damages.
The PIP will be developed for a period of 2 years, and individual outcome(s) will be deemed completed as successful when the outcome performance meets the negotiated improvement goals by the end of the SFY.
Failure of the contractor to meet the negotiated improvement goal(s) by the end of the SFY using year- end performance data may result in the termination of the contract. If negotiated improvement goals are not met a liquidated damage may be assessed for each outcome not met. DCF may withhold any damage amount from the July base payment in the year following the completion of the PIP. DCF may also impose liquidated damages if Outcomes/Standards are not met during the following year(s) of the contract.