Chapter 7 : Section 16
Quality Assurance
Policy
The Department shall maintain quality assurance and continuous quality improvement mechanisms to evaluate services, identify strengths and weaknesses, and, when necessary, ensure corrective actions are taken.
Quality assurance and continuous quality improvement are the shared responsibility of DCS Program Supervisors, Program Managers, the Reports and Statistics Unit, the Practice Improvement Unit and DCS Administrators.
The Department shall assure quality and continuous quality improvement through:
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clinical and administrative case supervision;
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practice improvement case reviews; and
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the continuous quality improvement process.
The Practice Improvement Unit will complete practice improvement reviews at least annually for every region in the state.
Procedures
Quality Assurance
DCS management receives the aggregate case review results at least annually.
For information regarding case supervision and case reviews, see Providing Strength-Based Supervision.
Practice Improvement Case Reviews (PICRs)
The PICRs provides a method to identify strengths, areas needing improvement, and contributing issues in Arizona’s child welfare system. Practice Improvement (PI) staff review a random sample of initial assessment, in-home service, and out-of-home cases from each unit across the state to measure the rate of outcome achievement and gauge current practice related to the Department’s safety, permanency, and well-being goals.
Review of initial assessment cases focuses on the application of the SAFE AZ process. Review of in-home and out-of-home cases, as well as other areas requiring improvement for which qualitative information if needed, is limited to Department goals that cannot be measured through Guardian other quantitative data.
Using the PICR process, the Department:
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identifies practices and systemic factors that enable or hinder positive safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children and families;
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provides Department management, committees, and workgroups with information to identify and initiate improvement activities;
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provides an opportunity for direct service and management staff to learn from peers; and
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identifies training needs for direct service and management staff.
Upon the request of DCS management, the PI Unit conducts targeted reviews of a specific practice area to more fully understand the scope of the identified practice.
Practice Improvement Communication Reviews- Hotline
Randomly selected communications received at the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline (Intake Unit) are reviewed using a standardized review instrument based on standards set by training, policy, and procedure. Unit feedback meetings are held with Intake Unit staff to share the results and trends identified through the PICR process.
Active Case Supports (ACS)
The purpose of the ACS is to provide support in applying Arizona's safety model to some of the most complex investigations. The ACS offer real-time coaching and guidance to investigators and supervisors while the investigation is occurring. The selection of cases is based on certain case criteria, which when seen in combination, are potential indicators of family conditions that could place children at a higher risk of critical incidents. The criteria include:
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a child victim in the home who is two years and under;
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cases with indications of domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health;
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a significant other in the home who is not a biological parent; and
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a parent who has a history of DCS involvement as a child.
Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs)
The PI Unit coordinates with the federal oversight entity, the Children's Bureau, to conduct the CFSRs, which are periodic reviews of state child welfare systems, to achieve three goals:
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ensures conformity with federal child welfare requirements;
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determines what is actually happening to children and families as they are engaged in child welfare services; and
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assists states in helping children and families achieve positive outcomes.
The CFSRs are a part of the DCS continuous quality improvement cycle, including the development of a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) to address areas identified as needing improvement.
Forms
Legal
A.R.S. § 8-458 Inspections bureau; monitoring and evaluation; quality assurance process
