Achieving Network Accreditation
TN DIDD officially began its journey with CQL following the signing of a formal contract in 2012. Through investment, involvement, and collaboration of numerous stakeholders, including people supported, families, friends, provider organizations, regional offices, and TN DIDD staff, the state of Tennessee set out to achieve Network Accreditation.
TN DIDD Network Accreditation History
2015 Network Accreditation
Starting in August 2012, over the course of three years TN DIDD devoted significant time and resources to improve its service delivery system. This process involved capacity-building, certification, evaluation, and analysis, integrating CQL’s tools, philosophies, and approaches. On January 22nd, 2015, TN DIDD attained Person-Centered Excellence Network Accreditation, becoming the first state system to achieve this designation.
2019 Network Accreditation
During the initial four-year accreditation term, TN DIDD continued to strengthen the supports and services provided across the state. Through reviews, focus groups, training, interviews, certification, and a self-advocacy mentorship initiative, TN DIDD demonstrated its prioritization on holistic transformation. On January 15th, 2019, TN DIDD achieved CQL’s Person-Centered Excellence Network Accreditation for the second time.
2023 Network Accreditation
Leading up to its latest achievement of Network Accreditation, TN DIDD experienced a period of great transition. The Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS) became an official program within TN DIDD. Along with that, this accreditation term included the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. While navigating all of this, TN DIDD was formally recognized with achieving a third term of Network Accreditation on March 23rd, 2023.
Impact of Network Accreditation
The benefits of Network Accreditation and its associated approaches and standards have had far-reaching effects for TN DIDD and the state of Tennessee.
- Accreditation team fully devoted to accreditation efforts
- Intensive training about CQL tools and philosophies
- Empowerment of nine self-advocate mentors across state
- More than 600 Adult POM interviews from 2019 – 2023
- More than 130 Children & Youth POM interviews from 2019 – 2023
- 85 Basic Assurances® reviews completed from 2019 – 2023
- Facilitation of 164 POM Workshops in TN since 2013
- Focus groups held to accompany accreditation activities
- 20 organizations have achieved provider-level accreditation
- Use of data to assess accreditation efforts and track progress
- Accreditation has positively affected 25,000 people with disabilities
Inside Network Accreditation
Types Of Networks
Networks are regional systems and/or provider organization groups. Examples include multi-state agencies and sub-state entities organized by region or county. Networks have a corporate, regional, or state authority responsible for the management of the network. The network management oversees the operation of its members – providers in a larger corporate structure or service providers contracted by a state or region.
Application Of Accreditation
CQL has taken its successful provider-based accreditation program, integrated its metrics designed for a single provider and produced an accreditation system for large, complex networks of service delivery. When CQL released its Network Accreditation model, CQL extended its accreditation process to measure and evaluate the quality of Network Management, Network Member Organizations, and their community partners.
Importance Of Accreditation
Networks need to measure the quality of services provided by each member and support organizations to improve. Network management needs to feel confident that it has the structures and systems in place to discover, remediate, and improve supports. CQL brings exploratory metrics to assess quality of life and quality of service; CQL utilizes standards of performance for individual members and network as a whole.
Accreditation Tools
Basic Assurances® evaluate the essential, fundamental, and non-negotiable requirements for all organizations, involving issues of health, safety, and human security, looking at the provision of safeguards from the person’s perspective. These are not statements of intent but demonstrations of successful operations, where the effectiveness of systems or policies are determined in practice, person by person.
Personal Outcome Measures® (POM) are a powerful tool to explore quality of life areas involving choices, relationships, rights, goals, dreams, employment, and more. In a Personal Outcome Measures® interview, people receiving services share information about the presence, importance, and achievement of outcomes. Their support providers then discuss the services that the organization has in place for those outcomes.
Shared Values represent an alignment in culture and philosophies between CQL’s and the organization’s values. These values influence management decisions, organizational priorities, and the character of the workforce. Most organizational decisions related to budget, human resources, or regulatory matters are ultimately decisions about values – what people and organizations believe are important.
Person-Centered Excellence® assesses quality improvement initiatives, including how the organization can implement or enhance those associated practices. The findings from this process can then facilitate strategic discussions about aligning the organization’s mission to make an organizational transformation.
