QUALITY STANDARDS
Florida’s Statewide Accountability System for Children’s Residential Group Care
Effective July 1, 2017, Florida Statute Section 409.996(25) required the Florida Department of Children and Families (Department) to develop a statewide accountability system (SAS) for residential group care providers based on measurable quality standards.
Efforts leading up to the Statute led by the Department, the Florida Coalition for Children, and the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, began with convening a statewide workgroup (Group Care Quality Standards Workgroup) tasked with establishing a set of research-based quality performance standards.
Through support from the Department and the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, Dr. Boel-Studt led the development and validation of the Quality Standards Assessment (QSA) to measure residential programs’ performance on quality standards across the following eight domains:
QUALITY STANDARDS ACCESSMENT
1. Assessment, Admission, and Service Planning
2. Positive, Safe Living Environment
3. Monitor and Report Problems
4. Family, Culture, and Spirituality
5. Professional and Competent Staff
6. Program Elements
7. Education, Skills, and Positive Outcomes
8. Pre-Discharge/Post Discharge Processes
Informed by research and developed in collaboration with child welfare stakeholders throughout Florida, the QSA aims to improve the quality of residential care above and beyond licensing and accreditation standards.
Through a series of implementation pilots and studies, the QSA is fully developed, validated, and implemented statewide. The IQCS team continues to support the Department through data management, technical assistance, and developing and managing the reporting system.
MILESTONES
- 2014
Quality Standards Established
- 2015
Draft QSA Completed
- 2016-2017
Feasibility Pilot
Implementation Pilot
- 2017
FL STATUTE 409.996 (25)
- 2018-2019
Statewide Pilot
- 2020-2021
Validation Study
Inter-rater Agreement Study
- 2021-2022
Outcomes Development Pilot
- 2022
“The Department shall develop, in collaboration with the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, lead agencies, service providers, current and former foster children placed in residential care, and other community stakeholders, a statewide accountability system based on measurable quality standards.”
– F. S. Section 409.996(25)
Residential Group Care Accountability
System Report 2023
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Boel-Studt, S., Huefner, J.C., & Huang, H. (2019)
The Group Care Quality Standards Assessment: A framework for assessment, quality improvement, and effectiveness | Children and Youth Services Review, 28
Boel-Studt, S., Huefner, J.C., Bender, Huang, H., & Abell, N. (2018)
Developing quality standards and performance measures for residential group care: Translating theory to practice. | Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 1-22
Huefner, J.C. (2018)
Crosswalk of published quality standards for residential care for children and adolescents | Children And Youth Services Review, 88, 267–273