ACS Review and Analysis of Approaches to Measurement of Employment and Community Access Services
Project Description:
The recent HCBS Settings Rule (2014) emphasized the need for states to assure that services for people using HCBS facilitate personal autonomy, choice, and community inclusion. This mandate emphasizes the need for services that increase the opportunities of people with a disability to participate in competitive, integrated employment, and access the community at the same levels as their peers without disabilities. In 2017, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) was charged with conducting a performance audit of employment and community inclusion services provided for adults with developmental disabilities in the State of Washington. The purpose of the project was to identify and describe promising instruments designed to measure community inclusion and employment outcomes of people with IDD, review outcome measurement of these programs in WA, and provide recommendations to WA on best approaches to measuring community and employment outcomes. Based on the information provided in the report, recommendations focused in six areas of outcome measurement are outlined: (1) use of guiding questions of interest; (2) use of multiple assessment tools, including person-centered measures; (3) use of measures only for their intended purposes; (4) attention to interviewer training and measure administration fidelity; (5) development of an appropriate sampling frame; and (6) purpose of data collection (summative or formative) with an emphasis on data-driven decision making.
Keyword(s):
Community Inclusion; Employment
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Employment-Related Activities, Quality of Life
Target Audience:
Legislators/Policy Makers
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
None
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
