Beyond compliance to responsiveness: new measures of quality for accreditation

Abstract

The Accreditation Council, a national accreditation organization since 1969, has developed a set of Outcome Based Performance Measures that can be used to assess the quality of services and supports for people with disabilities. The development of the Outcome Based Performance Measures signals a change in the definition of quality from compliance with organizational processes to responsiveness to the individual. Based on individual and focus group interviews with individuals with disabilities, the new measures of quality indicates the outcomes that people expect from services and supports. These generic outcomes apply to work and employment settings. The new approach to quality assessment treats work and employment as methods or organizational processes which facilitate outcomes for people. Work and employment are important for the outcomes they facilitate.