Presentation Materials: 

B8_PerformanceBasedContracting_presentation.pdf

Findings from a study that tested innovative performance based contracts and quality assurance systems in public/private child welfare partnerships will be presented. The five-year study by the National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services includes final outcomes of a cross-site evaluation testing a continuous quality improvement approach to the use of performance based contracts, and practice data to promote organizational, practice, and client outcomes. Presenters will provide three states’ experiences regarding their innovative strategies within the out-of-home care service delivery system, highlighting how they use data to promote evidence-informed practice.

Workshop objectives/takeaways:

• Inform the audience about the history and limited evidence regarding privatization leading up to the national study of privatization and the use of public-private partnerships in child welfare today;


• Discuss the importance of the inclusive and comprehensive planning process implemented during the development of a performance-based contract;


• Review necessary components of performance-based contracts and quality assurance systems that promote the greatest improvements in outcomes;


• Discuss how performance-based contracting and quality assurance systems evolve over time to ensure continued success; and


• Provide the attendees with an opportunity to further their knowledge through open discussion with the presenters.

Presenters: David DeStefano, J.K. Elder & Associates; Teri Garstka, senior research associate, Planning and Learning Technologies, Inc.; Jennifer Hall, associate director, University of Kentucky, National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services; and Judge Kathleen Kearney, visiting clinical professor, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Workshop synopsis:

Child welfare systems are responding to a call for accountability and outcome achievement that has been set into motion by the Child and Family Service Reviews. The privatization of core child welfare services has been a recent strategy in some states and jurisdictions to respond to mounting demands, although contracting discrete services to the private sector has been an historical mainstay.

Much is unknown about the components of a successful public/private partnership for service delivery. The Children’s Bureau funded the Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QIC PCW) to study, provide technical assistance, and conduct research and demonstration projects on public-private partnership.

Based on a knowledge gaps analysis, the QIC PCW determined states need evidence regarding the selection of data indicators, practice standards, and related incentives and disincentives for performance based contracts which support outcome achievement. It is hypothesized that through implementation of organizational structures, a feedback loop is reinforced using data to drive practice change targeted at improving client outcomes through an evidence-based approach implemented in partnership between the public and private agencies. The QIC PCW funded projects in three states that tested a continuous quality improvement approach, including the active engagement of frontline supervisors and staff and the promotion of an evidence-informed practice culture, both in terms of use of administrative data, and through an outcomes-focused approach to practice.

This presentation will discuss final outcomes from three models of performance-based contracting and quality assurance systems within child welfare public/private partnership. The QIC Team will share the experience of these three funded projects: Florida, Circuit 5; Illinois and Missouri. They will also share innovative strategies that were implemented to test the impact on desired outcomes within the out-of-home care service delivery system being administered through both sectors. Lessons learned throughout the planning, development and implementation of the performance-based contracts as well as the design of a public and private agency continuous quality improvement system will be shared.

Final data and outcomes from the cross-site evaluation testing the impact of a continuous quality improvement approach to the use of performance based contracts, and practice data to promote organizational, practice and outcomes for children and families will be provided.