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  • Lessons Learned Through Quality Improvement Efforts

Lessons Learned Through Quality Improvement Efforts

These resources provide examples of quality improvement evaluation efforts, including discussion of both project and process outcomes. State and local examples are provided.

Evaluating the Quality Improvement Center for Research-Based Infant-Toddler Court Teams 
RTI International 
Discusses an evaluation of the Quality Improvement Center for one of ZERO to THREE's infant-toddler court teams. The resource describes the evaluation design, indicators of success, and lessons learned for the future. 

The Importance and Practice Strategies for Including Youth Voice in Continuous Quality Improvement [Webinar]
National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability, and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two-Spirit Children and Youth in Foster Care (2018)
Offers a webinar featuring strategies to include youth voice in continuous quality improvement efforts. The presenters explore reasons for including youth voice, offer a framework for a continuum of youth involvement, identify barriers to effective youth-adult partnerships, review roles youth can play, and more.

Lessons Learned: Cultivating a CQI Mindset and Practice With Social Service Providers
Greene (2020)
RootCause
Discusses lessons learned from a continuous quality improvement (CQI) effort focused on early childhood health and well-being. The lessons cover trusting the CQI coaching process, meeting programs where they are, keeping people at the center of CQI practice, practicing the CQI mindset, defining a program's own vision of quality and success, and more. 

Lessons From the Field: Using Performance Data to Inform CQI (PDF - 220 KB)
Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health (2019)
Highlights the integration of performance data from Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program awardees in continuous quality improvement processes and provides case examples.

Research and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs (2018)
Describes how evaluation can be used to identify successes, challenges, and lessons learned in a quality improvement effort. The website offers key considerations for undertaking an evaluation, links to related materials, information about measuring performance management, and resources on continuous quality improvement.

Using Data and Evaluation to Drive Decisions and Make Improvements During a Change and Implementation Process
Capacity Building Center for States (2019)
Children's Bureau Express, 20(6)
Provides information on collecting, analyzing, and using data and describes the importance of evaluations to improve change interventions and promote effective implementation.

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State and local examples

Better Decisions for Better Results: How Two Counties Are Improving the Quality and Consistency of Child Protection Investigations
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2019)
Examines how two county agencies used continuous quality improvement to improve their systems, which lead to quality outcomes for children and families. The resource explores what each agency's process involved and the tools they employed to improve their decision-making.

Continuous Quality Improvement
New Jersey Department of Children and Families
Provides information on the New Jersey Department of Children and Families' use of continuous quality improvement (CQI) to improve services. The website reviews management use of CQI and data, data analysis, reports of lessons learned, and more. 

Evaluation
Minnesota Department of Health
Presents Minnesota's evaluations of family home visiting services, which helps leadership make decisions about how to improve early childhood and healthcare services in the state. The website links to data collection, evaluation work group resources, and information on continuous quality improvement.

Implementing ChildStat: A How-To Guide for Child Welfare and Other Client-Serving Systems
Annie E. Casey Foundation & PolicyLab (2015)
Reviews ChildStat, a quality improvement process used in New York City to enhance child welfare outcomes. The report examines how the program uses data to improve processes and presents lessons learned about implementation.

Lessons From the Field: Using Continuous Quality Improvement to Refine Interventions for Youth at Risk of Homelessness 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (2020) 
Describes how evaluators working in California and Colorado used continuous quality improvement to learn about the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent homelessness among youth involved with the child welfare system. 

Lessons Learned From the National QIC-AG 
Dinwoodie (2019)
Adoptalk, 4 
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Presents lessons learned from the National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support, which is working with sites across the country to ensure quality pre- and postpermanency services for families. Some of the lessons learned include be thoughtful about staffing; consider coaching needs; plan as far in advance as possible; market services to families; partner with experts; consider your population's cultural needs; and engage stakeholders early. 

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