About Core Indicators
In January 1997, the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, Inc. and the Human Services Research Institute launched the Core Indicators Project (CIP). The Core Indicators Project is a collaboration among participating National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, Inc. (NASDDDS) member state agencies and Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), with the goal of developing a systematic approach to performance and outcome measurement. Through the project, participating states pool their resources and knowledge to create performance monitoring systems, identify common performance indicators, work out comparable data collection strategies, and share results. This multi-state collaborative effort to improve performance is unprecedented. The effort is now known as National Core Indicators (NCI).
Core Indicators in Wyoming began in FY2002 with funding from the Wyoming Developmental Disabilities Division, Department of Health. Core Indicators is an on-going national study of adults with developmental disabilities who receive services funded by state and federal sources and was established in the late 1980s and currently about 25 states now participate. Its aim is to develop nationally recognized performance and outcome indicators that will enable developmental disabilities policy makers to benchmark the performance of their state against the performance of other states. NCI performance indicators also enable each state developmental disabilities agency to track system performance and outcomes from year to year on a consistent basis.
The Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities (WIND) conducts five major activities in association with Core Indicators: interviews of 400 adults; surveys of parents of adults with developmental disabilities; surveys of parents of children with disabilities; research into supported employment of adults; and research on turnover of direct care personnel.
The National Core Indicators Steering Committee, composed of participating state NCI coordinators, determines the project's overall direction.
The Consumer Interview
The survey consisted of approximately 40 questions that addressed issues like satisfaction with residential and day settings. The first 20 questions of the survey were constructed to gain the information from the person served and if they were unable or if their answers were inconsistent the survey team accounted for these differences in the final aggregate results. The first 20 questions could only be answered by the person whereas answers to the last portion of the interview could be obtained from direct care workers or other guardians or advocates. By allowing others to provide information on issues like community integration and choice the interview becomes more evenly weighted for each of the 400 respondents.
Information, such as community participation and choice, was solicited from the person with the developmental disability or others as appropriate for a total sample of 400 individuals.
The main sections of the survey were: background information (gathered from the ICAP database*), work or daytime activities, home or residential settings, friends and family, service coordination or case management, community inclusion, choices, rights, and access to services and to the community.
*ICAP - Inventory for Client and Agency Planning, for more information go to: www.cpinternet.com/~bhill/icap, or www.arbitreicap.com
The Family Surveys
The Family Survey process consisted of mailing a questionnaire to families who have a family member with a disability. The surveys consist of 35 questions about services and supports in the areas of: information and planning, choices and control, and access to services. The surveys also asked for demographic information regarding the person with the disability and information about the caregiver or family member. Individuals were also asked to specify what services they were receiving.
Provider Surveys
Providers around Wyoming are surveyed for information on board representation and staff turnover. Board representation is concerned with the proportion of voting members of the agency board of directors who are primary consumers or who represent or are family members of primary consumers. The staff turnover surveys ask agencies for the rate at which direct contact staff leave the agency. The average length of employment of direct contact staff is measured as is the number of vacant positions.
Employment
Employment data is gathered for the extent to which the public system of support is available and used in assisting individuals with developmental disabilities in securing paid employment in the community. Information on average time spent working, average wage, and whether the person was able to remain continuously employed are measured.
Incidents and Mortality
The rates and types of crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities are measured. The substantiated abuse and neglect is counted as are serious injuries resulting from such abuse/neglect. Individuals who were the victims of crimes are also reported.
About the Site
This site has been designed to be accessible to the widest variety of visitors, especially individuals with disabilities. To do this, the WIND Web Team has attempted to follow both the Section 508 guidelines and the Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines provided by the World Wide Web Consortium. Additionally, the Web Team has used style sheet positioning, instead of tables to present the information provided through this project. This approach is considered by the Team to be more accessibility to people using assistive technology, as well as people using newer technology, such as cell phones and PDAs.
Many charts and graphs have been utilized in the various reports provided through this site. In order to make these graphical tools accessible to visitors using assistive technology, the information presented in these graphs has been converted into data tables and linked to using a "longdesc" attribute for each image. The data content for each image can be accessed through the URL provided through each "longdesc" attribute.
The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities is dedicated to providing the highest quality web site possible. This effort has specifically been focused on providing an attractive, accessible, and usable site for all visitors. If you find you have any difficulty accessing any part of this site or would like to receive this information in an alternative format, please contact:
Director of Information Services
Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities
Department 4298
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
E-mail: webteam@uwyo.edu