Posted on January 22, 2024

By Michael Clausen

The Personal Outcome Measures® (POM) continues to be nationally-recognized tool for truly understanding quality through the unique perspective of people with disabilities. It is used by organizations and service systems around the world to measure the effectiveness of organizational supports, and truly understand what is most important to people receiving services.

Though the POM has now been in use for over thirty years, the fundamental values of informed choice, exercise of rights, and person-centeredness remain more important than ever, and continue to align with consensus best practices in our field. 

As a testament to the continued relevance of the POM, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently recognized the POM as part of the HCBS Quality Measures Set. The assurance that each person has the same rights to community, relationships, and respect are foundational to the POM, and as of March 2023, are a core requirement of service providers receiving funding through the HCBS Settings Rule.

In order to support organizations and service systems to effectively implement the POM, CQL continues to develop and share an extensive collection of training, tools, and resources, many of which are absolutely free. In this edition of Capstone, we’re highlighting numerous resources, some new and others from our archives, which include articles, guides, webinars, and more.

Getting Started With The Personal Outcome Measures®

CQL has created an extensive collection of resources to help you begin your POM journey. These can support you to begin conducting interviews successfully and effectively. 

Personal Outcome Measures® Manual: The POM Manual is absolutely essential to conduct a successful interview. The manual provides detailed descriptions of each of the Personal Outcome Measures®, suggested questions for interviews and follow-ups, decision-making criteria, and critical guidance on implementing the tool successfully at your organization. You can either download the manual for free via the CQL website or purchase a professionally-printed copy of the manual online. 

Consent Form and Companion Guide: Some of the key fundamentals to the Personal Outcome Measures® are rights, choice, and control. This guide supports people to make a truly informed choice regarding not only whether they want to participate in the POM, but also how the information collected can be used and shared. 

POM: Exploring The Fundamentals Webinar Series: In this three-part webinar series, we explore key concepts of the POM and learn what the POM is, why it’s important, and how it’s used. Whether you are new to the POM, or want to brush up on your skills, this series supports users of the tool with foundational concepts and techniques for using the POM.

Essential Skills For Quality Personal Outcome Measures® Interviews: In this article, we explore the essential skills that are recommended for all Personal Outcome Measures® interviews. In order to use the POM effectively, interviewers must be prepared, establish rapport with the person, and communicate effectively. This article provides important guidance that every POM interviewer should keep in mind when using the tool. 

Personal Outcome Measures® Virtual Interview Tips: While it is always best to conduct POM interviews in-person, and on the terms of the person being interviewed, there may be times when people choose to conduct and interview utilizing virtual meeting apps. In this article, we review tips and techniques for making virtual POM interviews a success. 

Honing Your Skills

Everyone Communicates! Tips, Tricks, And Guidance When Using The POM: Some people communicate by using words in your language. Some people communicate with words in a different language. Some people use a device, sign, or an interpreter. Most of the time, people are using more than one way to communicate. Everyone communicates, and the POM can be used with all communication styles, but it may be necessary to use some essential skills and techniques. In this webinar, we explore how to use the POM with all people, including those who communicate differently. 

2018 POM Decision-Making Series / 2019 POM Decision-Making Series: Because human beings are so complex, there is sometimes nuance and situations that are a bit grey. Even the most experienced POM interviewers can sometimes encounter situations that are less than straightforward, and may require additional exploration and consideration. In this webinar series, we go in-depth to explore Personal Outcome Measures® decision-making on some key outcome measures. 

Downloadable Guides, Tools, And Resources

POM in Pictures: The POM in Pictures was developed in collaboration with Opportunities for Positive Growth as a tool to support interviewing with all people, but especially people who communicate differently. The tool can be used during both virtual and in-person conversations, and features images that correspond with POM topics. Each page features a response bar to support people to indicate preferences such as Yes, No, Less, More and I don’t know. We are excited to share this tool as another resource to supplement communication and effective POM interviewing. 

Personal Outcome Measures® Information-Gathering Worksheet: Also known as the POM notes form, this resource supports interviewers to keep all of the information that they’ve collected organized. 

Personal Outcome Measures® Overview Guide: This visual resource supports interviewers to explain the process to people, families, and staff. 

Spanish Language Materials

The Personal Outcome Measures® is used around the world, and increasingly by those who speak Spanish as their first or second language. CQL continues to invest in translating POM resources and tools into Spanish. The Personal Outcome Measures® Factors, Indicators and Suggested Questions, Outcomes Overview Guide and POM Consent Form have now been translated into Spanish.

In December 2023, also released a profile story about Maria Muñoz Ezkergain. Maria, a POM Workshop participant from Spain, shared her perspective on the POM and reflected on participating in the workshop.

Taking Your Skills To The Next Level

Personal Outcome Measures® Workshops: CQL will show you the POM process, share how it will help in person-centered approaches, and reveal its relationship to person-centered planning and organizational strategic planning. Attendees will learn about decision-making with the POM, including the variables that could inform if outcomes and supports are present, along with common challenges you may face in making determinations. CQL hosts Virtual POM Workshops and other training events that can be registered for by the seat, or agencies can contact us to request a workshop at their organizations for their employees. 

Interviewer Certification: Certified Interviewers carry out Personal Outcome Measures® interviews with greater confidence in their information-gathering skills, as well as their ability to make decisions about the presence and importance of outcomes and supports in people’s lives. They become increasingly more reliable as they complete POM interviews and participate in the continuing education required in the certification process. In addition, their reliability is enhanced with each re-certification, as well as through ongoing interactions with CQL staff to address questions and discuss decision-making interpretations. 

Trainer Certification: In addition to completing valid and reliable interviews, POM Certified Trainers have the tools to present POM Workshops and other approved customized POM-related training to staff at their organization. This creates a ripple-effect, sharing the power of the POM with employees through workshops. By having in-house experts to educate staff about the POM, Certified Trainers help an organization transform its culture and practices, where employees at every level learn how to support people to achieve individually-defined outcomes.

Customized Training: CQL also offers a variety of customized training options to meet the need of every organization. Training can be tailored based on goals, target audience, length, and group size. Organizations can contact us to learn more. 

Research And POM Data

Human service organizations are becoming increasingly data-driven in order to become proactive, efficient, and provide the highest quality of services possible. The Personal Outcome Measures® allows organizations to measure and understand quality through the unique perspective of each person receiving support. The CQL PORTAL Data System allows organizations and service systems to collect and analyze POM data. This tool supports organizations to perform in-depth analysis, and the thousands of interviews entered serve as the basis for ongoing research on best practices in our field. 

Natural Supports Improve Every Area of Quality of Life: The research is clear the people’s relationships have a profound impact on their safety, health, and well-being. In this article, we examine the profound impact that the presence of natural support networks have on people’s overall quality of life. 

Continuity and Security: An Important Aspect of Quality of Life: People find stability in their lives through consistent staffing, financial security, and valued relationships. Instability can be created by significant changes in people’s lives. In this article, we look at the impact of continuity and security in people’s overall quality of life. 

Does Denying People with IDD Choice Keep Them Safer? Our Research Says No: People make choices throughout the day, from the time that they wake up, until the time that they go to bed. Historically, people with disabilities have less choice and control over their lives than their non-disabled peers. The denial of this choice and control is often justified as a way to promote health and safety, but does removing this choice and control actually make people safer? In this article, we explore the relationship between people making choices and injuries. 

Personal Outcome Measures® Data Digest: In this collaborative publication with Medisked, we present data in a visual format pulled from over 1,500 Personal Outcome Measures® interviews conducted in 2020 and 2021. The Digest explores topics such as rights, respect, relationships and goals, and contains fascinating insight into how key variables affect the presence of outcomes and supports.

Another way that CQL shares data about the Personal Outcome Measures® and quality of life indicators is through the annual POM Benchmarks report.

POM Benchmarks: 2023 Report

By Carli Friedman, CQL Director of Research

POM interviews can be used to guide person-centered planning and to guide individualized supports. When aggregated, POM interviews can also help guide organizations, managed care organizations, states, and the field more broadly. For the Personal Outcome Measures^® Benchmarks: 2023 report, I analyzed POM interviews from 722 people with disabilities, all of which were conducted by certified interviewers.

In this year’s Benchmarks Report, safety continues to be the most commonly present outcome (72%) and support (79%). The other most prevalent outcomes in 2023 included People Realizing Goals (64%), People Using Their Environments (63%), and People Living in Integrated Environments (57%). 

In contrast, the outcomes that were least frequently present in 2023 often related to relationships and choice. Only a small fraction of people with disabilities chose their services (24%), performed different social roles (32%), had friends (35%), or chose where and with whom they lived (36%) in 2023. This is likely due to most organizations not providing individualized supports to promote these outcomes. Yet, relationships and choice and control over ones’ own life are integral parts of quality of life.

As we set goals for this new year, let them be to improve the quality of services, by providing individualized supports in those areas that are most important to people with disabilities.

Embracing The POM At Your Organization

We hope that the resources listed above provide at least a sampling of all the different tools, guidance, and information you can use in your person-centered discovery with the POM. CQL is always developing new offerings to support you in better defining, measuring, and improving personal quality of life. You can stay up-to-date about our latest resources by subscribing to our email list, which share expertise, insight, and tips to help you improve the human services field.