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At The Council on Quality and Leadership Canada (CQL Canada), we are committed to inspiring quality and excellence in the individuals, organizations and systems that serve people with intellectual disabilities and people with mental illness. That’s why we are proud to offer the following resources and tools. We invite you to explore these innovative and one-of-a-kind resources and tools, and welcome you to contact us to begin your own journey to excellence.

The following resources are available in Adobe Reader format.  Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free from www.adobe.com.

Quality in Practice Series

CQL is pleased to have launched a new knowledge sharing endeavor.  Each month a new Quality in Practice guide will be available to download.  These resource tools provide practical tips and suggestions for how to improve quality in the areas that we have found to be most critical for achieving personal outcomes and building responsive services. They are compiled and written by CQL staff from their experiences in meeting with people and visiting organizations across the country – and seeing what works.

We encourage you to share these resources with your colleagues and staff.  Feel free to distribute copies or reprint in your organization’s newsletter or staff training materials. Our goal is to share CQL’s knowledge and experience with all of you. It’s about Quality in Practice – Pass it on!

Quality in Practice - Data System

An organization's data system is an important tool intended to guide decision making and provide valuable information about the work and direction of the organization.

Quality in Practice - Quality Enhancement Plan

Every organization sets out to create strong, solid, high quality services and supports for the people it serves. In order to meet changing environments, regulations, new thinking, and other unanticipated forces, organizations develop and follow quality enhancement plans. Great organizations “plan their work and work their plans” through the quality enhancement process.

Quality in Practice - Advocacy

Organizations make a valuable contribution to the development of law, regulation, and policy related to disability services. They take an active leadership role in communicating the unique perspective of direct service providers. Establishing an advocacy-oriented perspective can be a challenge. Organizations should encourage staff to seek out and/or act on opportunities to engage in advocacy efforts that enhance quality of life for people with disabilities.

Quality in Practice: Human Rights Committees

The Human Rights Committee is charged with an awesome responsibility – to protect the due process rights of people receiving services and supports. This committee must be held accountable to understand due process and to question every situation in which a person’s rights are restricted for any reason.

Quality in Practice: Guardianship

The principles and practice of person-centered planning and self-determination give us the ability to support people with disabilities to live full lives in our communities. This ability allows us to rethink the need for guardianship in its traditional purpose and to assist people to find the assistance they need in making decisions and managing their lives using the same resources available to all community members.

Quality in Practice: Rights and Responsibilities

Supporting people with disabilities to exercise the same rights and responsibilities as all citizens can be challenging. Organizations are encouraged to start by establishing a philosophy and culture where all people are seen as equal and all decisions are made with great thoughtfulness.

Quality in Practice: Leadership

Leadership comes in many forms. Leadership provides guidance and direction for the organization. The best organizations lead by carefully listening to the people supported and following their direction.

Quality in Practice: Social Roles

One of the most important aspects of our lives is the relationships we have with other people and our sense of belonging in our community. Assisting people we support to expand their social roles within their community offers opportunities to expand their social network, find their unique place in community, and assist in building a better community for everyone. Organizations should seek to intentionally build social roles for all the people they support.

Speaking Out Series

This series of booklets reflect the views and opinions of people concerning the quality of services they receive. The National Council on Outcomes Resources (NCOR) conducted several focus groups to find out what people were looking for in a support network and what they had to say.  People featured in the Speaking Out series include: Self-Advocates, Adolescents with Disabilities, People with Brain Injury, People with Physical Disabilities and Parents of Children with Disabilities.

Making Our Voices Heard...Self-Advocates Speak Out About Quality in Services

Teens with Disabilities are Speaking Out About What Matters Most in Their Lives

People with Brain Injury are Speaking Out About Quality in Services

People with Physical Disabilities are Speaking Out About Quality in Services

Listen with Your Heart...Parents Speak Out About Quality in Services

Importance/satisfaction mapä -  A Guide for Exploring Satisfaction with Services

The Importance/Satisfaction MAPä is a tool designed for organizations to assess satisfaction. Staff in these organizations use the ISMAPä to interview people about the importance of services and supports and their satisfaction with those services they receive.  The ISMAPä identifies important aspects of quality as defined by people receiving services and supports.  The ISMAPä is the result of The CQL’s years of experience talking with people throughout the country - learning from them what they expect from services and supports and what they want in their lives.

Practice Guidance for Delivering Outcomes in Service Coordination

This manual sets forth the fundamental requirements for organizations providing services and supports to people with disabilities. This manual is designed to guide you in the use of Personal Outcomes as the basis for quality enhancement in human services. The key to understanding outcomes is learning about people. People live their lives and discover their own priority outcomes. The role of formal and informal service and support systems is to assist people to achieve their personal outcomes.