Another amazing and particularly busy year is wrapping up for all of us here at CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership. There is so much to be proud of and reflect upon before 2019 starts. This year held many highlights, including changes to one of our accreditation options, celebrations of significant milestones, and us connecting with more people in the field than ever before. We have dedicated this month’s Capstone e-Newsletter to look back at just a few of the standout moments from 2018, sharing a snapshot of each month.
January | Another Year Of Capstone E-Newsletter
Yes, it was another year full of practical, applicable information shared through our Capstone e-Newsletter. We covered topics including dual diagnosis, family wellness, rep payees, and more! The response to these articles has been amazing. From the nearly dozen different editions we’ve distributed this year, we have had more than 15,000 total views of these online articles.
February | Rights Are No Game! Until Now
In February we released a fun new tool to help spark discussion about rights, along with the responsibilities and supports associated with those rights. Our Rights Conversation Cards use a variety of popular card games to interact and engage with people supported about rights like decision-making, privacy, voting, healthcare, finances, accessibility, and more! So far, nearly 500 sets have been used by organizations around the world, to help promote rights for those receiving supports.
March | New Opportunities For Staff Development
Training and staff development are a big part of an organization’s transformation. We’re always looking at new options for CQL Training to assist organizations. In March, we developed two new Basic Assurances® trainings to better equip organizations as they ensure the fundamental requirements of health, safety, rights, respect, and more exist not only in systems, but also in practice. Many have participated in this training, as well as our other offerings. In 2018, we conducted around 100 training activities with more than 2,000 attendees!
April | Momentous Transformation In Maryland
Maryland is the second state system in the United States to pursue CQL Network Accreditation, and in April 2018 we held the kick-off meeting with stakeholders in Maryland and employees of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). Attendees also benefited from a presentation by Courtney Kelly from the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (TN DIDD), which was the first and currently only state system to achieve CQL Network Accreditation. TN DIDD will be achieving CQL Network Accreditation for their second term effective January 15, 2019.
We are now in the process of partnering with the Maryland DDA to build capacity across Maryland to set the stage for people supported, families, provider organizations, and others to understand the process and embrace the values of person-centered excellence CQL Network Accreditation brings. This accreditation process will act as ‘The Key To Full Lives’ for people receiving supports throughout the state.
May | A Birthday Party For PORTAL
We celebrated the one-year anniversary of CQL’s PORTAL Data System by highlighting updates, features, and benefits in a PORTAL article on our website and sharing information on social media. Currently, there are more than 800 agencies and roughly 2,900 individual users accessing the system, with more than 11,000 surveys completed. Through analysis using the PORTAL Data System, we’ve produced numerous research articles covering topics like confidentiality, respect, choosing services, and more.
June | Acknowledging The Contributions Of Mary Kay
CQL’s President and CEO Mary Kay Rizzolo was recognized by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) with two notable honors. She received the respected designation of Fellow of the Association (FAAIDD), as well as the 2018 AAIDD Leadership Award. We’re very proud of you, Mary Kay!
July | Making Accreditation Even More Distinct
After announcing enhanced standards for Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation, With Distinction, CQL shared a presentation about the changes in July. These changes include adjustments to the eligibility requirements, standards, and expectations to draw even greater differences between other CQL Accreditation options.
August | Out And About At Conferences
CQL participates in many regional, statewide, national, and international conferences each year, through exhibiting, sponsorship, presentations, and attending. For example, in August CQL exhibited at the 23rd Annual Conference of QDDPs and presented in two separate breakout sessions, one covering Person-Centered Planning and the other about Employment Outcomes. Overall in 2018, we participated in more than a dozen different conferences, exhibiting and/or sponsoring at 11 conferences and presenting in 12 of them.
September | Thank You Direct Support Professionals!
We were excited to partner with The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) for the third year in a row during Direct Support Professional Recognition Week, to share stories of DSPs who are helping people achieve outcomes.
In September, we shared more than a dozen of these stories, featuring the impact of DSPs who are using the Personal Outcome Measures®.
October | Celebrating A CQL Milestone
2018 marked the 25th Anniversary of the creation of CQL’s trademark tool, the Personal Outcome Measures® (POM). To kick-off the celebration, we released a report ‘25 Years of Person-Centered Discovery and Achieving Outcomes‘ which aggregates data from the last 25 years about the quality of life of people with disabilities. We also launched a social media campaign for #25YearsOfPOMs with history, tips, testimonials, resources, and more all related to the POM. On the final day of the campaign, we announced the ‘save-the-date’ for the 2019 CQL Conference: Dare To Dream.
November | Sharing Best Practices, For Free
We host many free webinars throughout the year that cover an array of topics. In November, we held two webinars with a total of 673 registrants. Over the course of the year, we presented on topics including supported decision-making, data management, ableism and disability prejudice, decision-making with the POM, employment, and more. In total, we conducted 30 webinars with just over 6,700 registrants.
December | Improving Quality, Inside And Out
Earlier in the year, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership, The Institute on Public Policy for People with Disabilities, and Mosaic organized a symposium including 25 thought leaders in the field. Symposium attendees discussed value-based quality measures for people with IDD to ensure that as the industry moves to managed care, there are meaningful quality metrics utilized. In December CQL, in collaboration with symposium organizers and attendees, produced a detailed report ‘Building The Framework For IDD Quality Measurement’ summarizing the symposium findings as well as our data analysis of 28 service agencies supporting 3,000 people.
In December, CQL also announced operational expansion and changes to enhance internal processes within CQL, and more importantly, external experiences for organizations and systems. As our partnerships continue to expand around the world, we’ve created new positions to help strengthen these valued relationships through more strategic and effective allocation of staffing and resources.
Grateful For A Wonderful 2018
We would like to thank you all for your support and collaboration in 2018. The organizations that partner with us continually validate the importance of our mission of being dedicated to the definition, measurement, and improvement of personal quality of life in a world of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.
CQL Spotlight on 2018