PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Standards for High Quality Services

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” (Source unknown; attributed to several persons, including Dr. Ted Estabrooke, William A. Foster, and John Ruskin)

Catholic Charities’ philosophy includes a commitment to providing the highest quality services. Staff members and affiliated personnel are expected to demonstrate the agency’s core values as they daily seek to fulfill the agency’s mission. Our commitment to integrity and excellence requires focused efforts on continuous growth and improvement. In response, Catholic Charities has established a structured performance and quality improvement (PQI) system.

Key characteristics of the PQI system include:

• Commitment to being mission-driven while achieving both strategic and program goals
• Broad-based structure, seeking input from stakeholders (employees, volunteers, community partners, clientele) at all levels and encompassing all functional areas of the organization
• Focused attention to the achievement of both individual and program performance targets
• Collection, analysis, and utilization of data* to measure performance and identify areas in need of improvement
• Promotion of positive client outcomes as the goal of all we d

*Data is collected and reviewed on a regular schedule. Data collection includes information related to strategy map metrics, annual work plan performance indicators and monthly progress measures, client and employee satisfaction surveys, incident/accident reports, and employee performance scorecards. Data reports are reviewed by supervisors, managers, senior leadership team members, and the Board of Directors as appropriate.

The PQI system includes an agency-wide PQI Committee and standing subcommittees (Administration, Client Services, and Safety) that meet quarterly to review aggregated data and other reports to monitor performance, assist with risk management, and make recommendations for improvement. The Board of Directors receives a PQI summary report at least annually.

For information on the agency’s accomplishments, click here to see our most recent annual report and newsletters.

COA Accreditation

Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is proud to announce its accreditation by the international Council on Accreditation (COA), an independent, not-for-profit, child and family service and behavioral healthcare accrediting organization. COA accreditation recognizes Catholic Charities of Fort Worth as an outstanding social service provider that maintains and delivers the highest level of quality services, and is committed to providing accessible, appropriate, culturally responsive, evidence-based and outcomes-oriented programs for the community.

Catholic Charities underwent a detailed review and analysis of both its administrative operations and its service delivery practices. All functions were "measured" against national standards of best practice. As part of the accreditation process, Catholic Charities was evaluated against 820 quality and service standards. Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth is one of only two COA accredited service organizations in Tarrant County, and one of eight COA accredited service organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

During the COA accreditation process, Catholic Charities was commended on how well its mission was integrated throughout the organization. Specifically, a Peer Reviewer stated, "We did not have to ask your staff about the agency's mission because we could see it being lived out in their daily work."

To see a copy of the COA standards for private organizations, click here.

For more information about how we meet these standards, visit our Media Library (annual reports, newsletters, etc.)