News & Views, Volume 12, Number 2, February 1990 Page: 3
8 p. : ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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Commission puts quality first
TRC has always stood for
quality services to Texans with
disabilities. 'That's the name of
the game," says Commissioner
Arrell.
But, what is quality? How do
you measure it?
Two years ago, a group of Com-
mission employees, headed up
by Bob Marx, regional director in
the Dallas Regional Office, set
out to define quality and create a
system to measure it.
Measuring quality in coun-
selor performance was the "other
half' of the point system for
evaluating counselors estab-
lished some three years ago at
TRC.
According to John Fenoglio,
deputy commissioner for
programs, this part of the evalua-
tion system took longer than ex-
pected to develop.
"If this were easy to do, it
would have been done already,"
says Fenoglio. He points out that
this is the first time since 1929
any effort to measure quality has
been made at the Commission.
With the combined effort of
field staff, Central Office partners
and researchers from the Univer-
sity of Texas, the Quality Com-
mittee (which later became the
Quality Task Force) studied over
1,000 TRC "26" closures, extract-
ing everything known about
these cases.
After entering the findings into
a computer databank, the com-
mittee came up with a definition
of quality based on client need
and satisfying that need. Further-
more, to measure quality, the
committee discovered its ele-
ments have to be predictable.
From this quality definition,
the group formulated five key
elements of the vocational
rehabilitation process which
could be measured-- clientsatisfaction, needs assessment
and fulfilling those needs, coun-
selor skill in applying the VR
process, case-folder documenta-
tion, and advocacy for clients.
Since January 1989, the
quality system, along with
revised forms and survey instru-
We're
trying to
recognize the
'extra mile'
of effort
toward
quality.
ments, has been tested in pilot
offices in each region, beginning
with the Pasadena Field Office.
Committee members con-
ducted field orientations on the
quality process throughout
January. February 1, system test-
ing and fine-tuning continued,
this time on a statewide basis.
Testing will end at the close of
this fiscal year. On October 1,
the official count on quality
begins.Committee members stress
that the system is still evolving
and changing. TRC officials hope
the system can be improved
during the pilot stage with input
from counselors.
Up to this point, the only thing
TRC officials could measure and
reward counselors for, was quan-
tity of successfully closed cases.
But, as Commissioner Arrell
says, 'The numbers mean a
whole lot more when we can be
sure timely, quality services are
being provided."
'The important thing here is
that we're including customer
(client) need in the measure,"
says Fenoglio.
'There must be a basic as-
sumption that every client gets a
minimum level of quality," he
says. "Here, we're trying to recog-
nize the 'extra mile' of effort
toward quality."
Fenoglio understands that
questions about measuring
quality will persist. Is it
measurable? Are the measures
valid? As he says, "You know
quality when you see it; but it's
hard to put into words."
Even Fenoglio is not totally
comfortable with the system
we've chosen to measure quality--
but he's comfortable with the fact
that we're trying. 'The real issue
is that we're walking what we
talk," he says.The following TRC employees recently received press coverage for
the Commission: Jeremy Martin, counselor in the Victoria Field Office;
Executive Deputy Commissioner James L. Jackson; TRC Board Mem-
bers Wendell Faulkner, Ray Wilkerson, and Ernestine Washington
Pierce; and Board Chairman Jerry Kane.
Gail Mayfield, medical professional relations officer in DDS, recently
published an article in the National Association of Disability Examiners
publication The Forum. The article, entitled "Consultative Examination
Manuals/Guidelines," outlines the TRC/DDS system of manuals and
guidelines used in gathering medical information on claimants.TRC News & Views
February 1990
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Texas Rehabilitation Commission. News & Views, Volume 12, Number 2, February 1990, periodical, February 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1032308/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.