Quality Assurance Department

The primary function of the Office of Quality Assurance (QA) is both far-reaching and simple: to improve the quality of services offered by all programs in the agency. The age-old concept of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," will never apply here. Rather, the QA Office follows the principle of "There's always room for improvement."

The Office of Quality Assurance has as one of its duties the protection of human rights, and while this must be the base for all its activities, it considers its true mission to be well beyond that--as a leader in promoting best practices throughout the organization. Indeed, the Director of the Office of Quality Assurance insists that "QA" means "Quality Added."

The QA Office has the following organizational goals:

• The organization promotes access to services that are coordinated, comprehensive, and continuous.
• The organization has a formal structure for continuous quality improvement.
• The organization uses positive approaches in all services and activities.
• The organization protects and promotes the rights of people.

Additionally, the QA Office is promoting the following Quality Initiatives:

• Person-Centered Planning
• Incident Management Team
• Direct Support Professional Training of all staff