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Taskforce Develops Conceptual Framework for Evaluating HCBS

July 30, 2015

A federally funded taskforce has identified “caregiver support” as one of 11 primary “domains” for measuring the quality of home and community-based services (HCBS) in the U.S.

In a July 15 report (pdf), the National Quality Forum (NQF), a multi-stakeholder group funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, defines “caregiver support” as “the level of support (e.g., financial, emotional, technical) available for the paid and unpaid caregivers of individuals who use HCBS.”

The report goes on to explain that caregivers should have sufficient access to respite and crisis support services, as well as being both well trained and, if paid, well compensated.

Some of the other domains identified by the NQF — whose members (pdf) include representatives from the fields of academia, aging services, and labor — are:

  • Choice and control — the level to which individuals who use HCBS are able to choose their services and control how those services are delivered
  • Full community inclusion — the level to which HCBS integrates individuals into their communities and fosters social connectedness
  • Consumer voice — The level of involvement individuals who use HCBS have in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the HCBS system at all levels
  • Effectiveness/quality of services — The level to which HCBS services are able to produce intended outcomes

The NQF’s contract with HHS runs for two years; the July 15 report is the first of three that it will release.

— by Matthew Ozga

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