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| Revision Date | September 3, 2024 |
Policy
All Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) client service contracts must clearly define outputs and outcome goals that can be measured to help determine whether the objectives of the contract are being achieved.
DFPS is committed to developing and implementing a quality improvement system for client services contracts that focuses on contractor accountability for producing results. Essential elements of the improvement system include:
- Establishment of performance measures with clearly defined indicators;
- Development of processes for collecting performance data and information;
- Development of processes for analyzing and reporting data and information; and
- Quality improvement planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Performance measures define how a contractor's performance will be measured so that program and contract staff can assess contractor status and initiate quality improvement efforts to ensure DFPS is receiving quality services.
For some client service contracts, whether the objectives of the contract are being achieved can be measured by successful completion of the contract terms. As a result, the terms of the contract themselves are the defined output and outcome goals. For other client service contracts, successful completion of the contract terms is insufficient to determine whether the objectives of the contract are being achieved.
DFPS has determined that any procurement for residential care for children, including Community Based Care (CBC) or case management of family-based safety services (FBSS), or conservatorship services (CVS) will have performance measures developed and included in all contracts.
For any other procurement of client services, a contract under the procurement will be deemed to have sufficient and clearly defined output and outcome goals based on the terms of the contract and, thus, formal performance measures are not needed if:
- It is an administrative contract or procurement;
- The contract is entered into solely to provide services to a particular individual or for a particular case;
- The contract does not involve direct interaction with agency clients;
- The contract involves a one-time assessment or evaluation of an agency client to assist the caseworker in determining the client's needs and appropriate services; or
- The contract does not involve services intended to directly resolve an underlying condition that led to the need for the agency's involvement.
For all client service contracts, the Office of Data and Systems Improvement (ODSI) will lead efforts and work with program, legal, contracts and other areas as needed, to establish any needed performance measures, including determining if circumstances to forego measures exist. For example, if the performance measures are not sourced from client-level data in IMPACT. If there is no waiver, ODSI will work with program, legal, contracts and other areas as needed to identify available data sources, develop calculation methodologies, establish performance targets, and support staff in incorporating the measures into their monitoring, oversight, and quality improvement practices.