Quality Times Template

QUALITY TIMES January 14, 2022 Volume 1 Issue 1 A publication of the Children and Family Services Division Continuous Quality Improvement Program INSIDE THIS ISSUE CRUISING ALTITUDE 1. Cruising Altitude Cory Pedersen, Director 2. The Whiteboard Children and Family Services Division 3. News Ticker 4. Spotlight Welcome to the inaugural edition of Quality Times: the quarterly 5. The Dashboard newsletter for the Continuous Quality Improvement program of North Dakota’s public child welfare system! “Quality is everyone’s responsibility.” The goal of this publication is to provide stakeholders with brief information about the quality improvement process, child welfare ~ W. Edwards Deming data, system issues, and change projects in North Dakota. Quality Time will be divided into 5 sections: • Cruising Altitude delivers the “30,000 feet view” of quality improvement in North Dakota. • The Whiteboard contains educational information for the reader’s quality toolbox. • News Ticker presents some of the latest developments in the quality improvement world. • Spotlight highlights process champions and their commitment to quality improvement. • Dashboard displays an at-a-glance view of the system’s key performance indicators. Quality Times will be published in January, April, July, and October of each year. If you have an idea for an article to be featured in the publication, please contact Lauren Sauer at [email protected].

QUALITY TIMES Page 2 THE WHITEBOARD By CQI Support Team What is Continuous Quality Improvement? Ask yourself, “How are we doing, and can we do it better?” Congratulations! You have just taken your first steps in the world of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). CQI isn’t a top-down, mystical process that is “done to us” and leads to more work with no positive results. Rather it is a complete process of identifying, describing, and analyzing strengths and problems and then testing, implementing, learning from, and revising solutions. First introduced in the Japanese auto industry after World War II, CQI was found to be successful with increasing overall quality, customer services, and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, CQI models and systems have been adopted by a wide range of industries throughout the world including public service arenas. And now, as a well-established and highly regarded process, CQI has begun to show up in the public child welfare system. Key features of a CQI system are: •It is data-informed, systematic, and proactive •It is inclusive, involving stakeholders and staff at all levels •It is holistic, incorporating information about multiple aspects of the system and establishing linkages North Dakota’s child welfare CQI process is informed by principles from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and uses a six-step cycle: (1) identify and understand what is not working, (2) identify solution options and determine the fit of the solution to the identified problem, (3) design an actionable plan based on what is available, (4) determine if the solution is matched to the situation, (5) implement the solution, and lastly (6) monitor for successful implementation of the solution. It is essential for any child welfare agency to have a well-functioning CQI system to • Evaluate the quality of work with children, youth, and families • Measure the outcomes of the work with children and families • Gathering information to guide program improvement efforts, and reinforces best practices in child welfare CQI involves all of us! Only together can we strengthen families by improving quality.

Page 3 QUALITY TIMES NEWS TICKER By CQI Support Team What is Continuous Quality Improvement? Ask yourself, “How are we doing, and can we do it better?” Congratulations! You have just taken your first steps in the world of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). CQI isn’t a top-down, mystical process that is “done to us” and leads to more work with no positive results. Rather it is a complete process of identifying, describing, and analyzing strengths and problems and then testing, implementing, learning from, and revising solutions. First introduced in the Japanese auto industry after World War II, CQI was found to be successful with increasing overall quality, customer services, and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, CQI models and systems have been adopted by a wide range of industries throughout the world including public service arenas. And now, as a well-established and highly regarded process, CQI has begun to show up in the public child welfare system. Key features of a CQI system are: •It is data-informed, systematic, and proactive •It is inclusive, involving stakeholders and staff at all levels •It is holistic, incorporating information about multiple aspects of the system and establishing linkages North Dakota’s child welfare CQI process is informed by principles from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and uses a six-step cycle: (1) identify and understand what is not working, (2) identify solution options and determine the fit of the solution to the identified problem, (3) design an actionable plan based on what is available, (4) determine if the solution is matched to the situation, (5) implement the solution, and lastly (6) monitor for successful implementation of the solution. It is essential for any child welfare agency to have a well-functioning CQI system to • Evaluate the quality of work with children, youth, and families • Measure the outcomes of the work with children and families • Gathering information to guide program improvement efforts, and reinforces best practices in child welfare CQI involves all of us! Only together can we strengthen families by improving quality.

Page 4 SPOTLIGHT By CQI Support Team What is Continuous Quality Improvement? Ask yourself, “How are we doing, and can we do it better?” Congratulations! You have just taken your first steps in the world of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). CQI isn’t a top-down, mystical process that is “done to us” and leads to more work with no positive results. Rather it is a complete process of identifying, describing, and analyzing strengths and problems and then testing, implementing, learning from, and revising solutions. First introduced in the Japanese auto industry after World War II, CQI was found to be successful with increasing overall quality, customer services, and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, CQI models and systems have been adopted by a wide range of industries throughout the world including public service arenas. And now, as a well-established and highly regarded process, CQI has begun to show up in the public child welfare system. Key features of a CQI system are: •It is data-informed, systematic, and proactive •It is inclusive, involving stakeholders and staff at all levels •It is holistic, incorporating information about multiple aspects of the system and establishing linkages North Dakota’s child welfare CQI process is informed by principles from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and uses a six-step cycle: (1) identify and understand what is not working, (2) identify solution options and determine the fit of the solution to the identified problem, (3) design an actionable plan based on what is available, (4) determine if the solution is matched to the situation, (5) implement the solution, and lastly (6) monitor for successful implementation of the solution. It is essential for any child welfare agency to have a well-functioning CQI system to • Evaluate the quality of work with children, youth, and families • Measure the outcomes of the work with children and families • Gathering information to guide program improvement efforts, and reinforces best practices in child welfare CQI involves all of us! Only together can we strengthen families by improving quality.

Page 5 QUALITY TIMES SPOTLIGHT By CQI Support Team What is Continuous Quality Improvement? Ask yourself, “How are we doing, and can we do it better?” Congratulations! You have just taken your first steps in the world of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). CQI isn’t a top-down, mystical process that is “done to us” and leads to more work with no positive results. Rather it is a complete process of identifying, describing, and analyzing strengths and problems and then testing, implementing, learning from, and revising solutions. First introduced in the Japanese auto industry after World War II, CQI was found to be successful with increasing overall quality, customer services, and employee satisfaction. Since its inception, CQI models and systems have been adopted by a wide range of industries throughout the world including public service arenas. And now, as a well-established and highly regarded process, CQI has begun to show up in the public child welfare system. Key features of a CQI system are: •It is data-informed, systematic, and proactive •It is inclusive, involving stakeholders and staff at all levels •It is holistic, incorporating information about multiple aspects of the system and establishing linkages North Dakota’s child welfare CQI process is informed by principles from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and uses a six-step cycle: (1) identify and understand what is not working, (2) identify solution options and determine the fit of the solution to the identified problem, (3) design an actionable plan based on what is available, (4) determine if the solution is matched to the situation, (5) implement the solution, and lastly (6) monitor for successful implementation of the solution. It is essential for any child welfare agency to have a well-functioning CQI system to • Evaluate the quality of work with children, youth, and families • Measure the outcomes of the work with children and families • Gathering information to guide program improvement efforts, and reinforces best practices in child welfare CQI involves all of us! Only together can we strengthen families by improving quality.

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