Family Support
Quality Assurance
Family Support Services is licensed through the Developmental Disabilities North Dakota Department of Human Services.
These guidelines/requirements describe the policies and procedures by which the provider must abide under the statutory authority of Chapter 25-16 of the North Dakota Century Code (North Dakota Legislative Branch: Information Center: States Laws) and the regulatory authority of Chapter 75-04-01 of the North Dakota Administrative Code (State Administrative Rules).
The intent of licensing review is to ensure the existence of those structural standards necessary for provision of quality services to individuals with developmental disabilities. These requirements apply to all entities offering or providing basic services as identified in NDAC 75-04-01-17.
FSS is accredited by the Council of Quality and Leadership (CQL). CQL’s Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation is a four year accreditation, expanding upon the use of Basic Assurances®, Personal Outcome Measures®, and Shared Values®. Its purpose is to deeply integrate internationally-recognized tools for quality improvement, human service providers pursue CQL’s Person-Centered Excellence Accreditation.
Basic Assurances are the essential, fundamental and non-negotiable requirements, through accreditation, that NDAC as a service provider must ensure for the people we support. Basic Assurances demonstrates NDAC’s commitment to provide quality support in the areas of health, safety and human security.
Basic Assurances require more than just compliance with required licensing and certification standards; they must also address the provision of protections from the person’s perspective.
Basic Assurances must be assessed and implemented at both the individual and organizational level.
Basic Assurances are evaluated for each person at least annually at the time of their annual team meeting and more frequently if needed/desired or if significant changes occur in the person’s life.
Basic Assurances related to Personal Outcome Measures are assessed informally through conversation, monitoring through Individual Service Plan (ISP) Program data, and spending time with people.
The assessment results provide vital information to the planning process for the on-going supports provided. Each assessment is essential to the development of each person’s Person-Centered Plan. The assessment process is intended to be a team process with each person receiving support taking an active role in the development of their programs. Each person’s QDDP is responsible for ensuring that the assessments related to Basic Assurances are completed and implemented as required.
Each person is encouraged to learn about areas related to Basic Assurances through education and training. Training and supports related to this area are incorporated into each person’s plan as needed.
Monitoring takes place monthly to ensure that all key components to the person’s plan are in place and effective. In addition, the monitoring process ensures that the team is analyzing the effectiveness of the person’s support plan in achieving their goals and dreams. Daily data collection is completed by Direct Support Professionals who work closely with the person. Areas of focus include health, safety, activities and progress towards goals. Monthly monitoring is conducted by the QDDP who pulls together the entire quarter’s monthly data and examines the documentation for patterns and trends.
Through the process of documenting, assessing, supporting, monitoring and educating; people are supported to have all Basic Assurances present in their lives.
Policies related to each of the Basic Assurances factors are in place. These policies are developed by the In Home Support Director and approved by the Executive Director and Board of Directors. The policies are reviewed by the Quality Enhancement Team annually and as needed. All employees and consumers read and sign each policy upon hire and the policies are available to all people affiliated with the organization through hands on copies located at the NDAC office or electronically upon request.
Several reviews are in place at the North Dakota Autism Center to monitor for the presence of Basic Assurances at both the consumer and organizational level. Each review contains a record of discussed activity and actions taken. Information collected from these reviews are aggregated and shared with the Quality Enhancement Team for planning and improvement purposes.