The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is committed to continuous quality improvement. Quality Assurance is responsible for ongoing data collection and analysis for the purposes of improving programs, services, and processes. This includes oversight of the performance measures and metrics for DDD’s three waiver programs and providing this information to the Quality Improvement Committee bi-annually.
Quality Assurance oversees the Division of Developmental Disabilities’ Incident Prevention and Management System (IPMS), which provides guidance for community providers to ensure critical incident identification, reporting, investigation, and analysis procedures are consistently implemented to protect waiver participants from harm. The Statewide Incident Coordinator oversees the Statewide Incident Review Committee, which reviews critical incident data and other information to identify relevant trends, patterns, or issues that may require systemic intervention to improve the quality of services provided to waiver participants. QA staff in the regional offices provide ongoing incident management by reviewing critical incidents, ensuring proper notifications are made, and making recommendations to community providers to improve service delivery.
Quality Assurance (QA) Specialists provide training and technical assistance to community provider organizations in various system areas as required by the Division of Developmental Disabilities. QA Specialists are housed in the regional offices and may conduct on-site visits, and collect, analyze, and monitor agency-specific plans. QA Specialists may also conduct interviews with waiver participants and community providers to ensure satisfaction with services. Additional technical assistance and consultation are available to community providers upon request.
Quality Assurance maintains the Division of Developmental Disabilities Relias Learning Management System. The DDD Relias system is available to all contracted providers and self-directed services staff, and houses hundreds of modules of valuable material that can be used to improve competency, retention, and quality in our service delivery system. This Learning Management System contains required and elective training for the DDD network to ensure consistency in curriculum throughout the state with an emphasis on person-centered learning.
Quality Assurance also oversees the state-approved Qualified Developmental Disabilities Professional (QDDP) Certification process. This includes online QDDP modules, which are available at https://c-q-l.org/ALtraining.
Quality Assurance ensures satisfaction and feedback surveys are available for people receiving services, stakeholders, and providers. For providers, a survey link is provided upon receipt of Community Services monitoring reports and Certification reviews to provide feedback on the process. The HCBS Community website https://hcbscommunity.alabama.gov/ is also available to ask questions and provide feedback directly related to HCBS regulations.
Each year, the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) invites a randomized sample adults receiving services throughout the state to take the National Core Indicators – Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI–IDD) Survey. The NCI Survey is used by 48 states to assess the outcomes of services provided to individuals. The survey collects information from the person receiving services about the quality of services and supports being provided from their perspective. Data collected from the survey helps to ensure people with lived experience can participate in helping shape the quality of service delivery systems at state and federal levels. The Office of Quality Assurance also oversees provider participation in the National Core Indicators – State of the Workforce Survey. This survey gathers data on the direct support workforce for individuals with IDD. It collects information from provider agencies on topics like wages, benefits, turnover, vacancy rates, demographics, and training to help states and agencies understand workforce challenges, benchmark their data, and identify strategies for improvement.
