Opportunity
The National Core Indicators – Aging and Disabilities (NCI-AD™) initiative emerged from the need for states to effectively assess and enhance their long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs for older adults and individuals with physical disabilities. NCI-AD brings an important value proposition to the field of aging and disability services through development of indicators and outcomes that assess quality of life, community integration, and person-centered services. NCI-AD is part of the broader National Core Indicators® initiative, which includes NCI – Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NCI-IDD) and NCI – State of the Workforce.
Approach
Establishing quality measures
Through annual in-person surveys with people receiving services and a provider survey, NCI-AD helps states measure crucial elements of person-centered systems, outcomes, and satisfaction in domains such as:
- Service Coordination and Access
- Relationships and Community Inclusion
- Rights, Choices, and Decision-making
- Employment Status and Goals
- Health, Welfare, and Safety
Each year, NCI-AD produces national and state-specific reports detailing the data aggregated at the state level and also provides publicly available tools to help states understand and report on their data.
Measuring performance
By helping to develop measures, data collection instruments, and protocols—and by aggregating, cleaning, analyzing, and reporting on the data—we help give states a broad view of how their publicly funded services impact the quality of life and outcomes of service recipients. States use the data to track their own performance over time, to compare results across states, and to establish national performance benchmarks.
Improving systems
State agency directors and managers use NCI-AD data to:
- Establish annual program goals and objectives.
- Evaluate the state’s performance scores on NCI-AD domains compared to scores in other states. This has helped secure resources, change policies, and suggest implementation strategies.
- Establishing benchmarks for State Plans on Aging and Multisector plans.
- Improve program and policy planning.
- Assist state leaders in formulating policy positions and direct staff activities in key areas.
- Facilitate productive discussions and activities, and state workgroups and advocates.
Impact
Through NCI-AD participation, states access valuable data that inform quality improvement initiatives and policy development. The standardized measures allow for benchmarking against national norms, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Communities and advocates benefit from the enhanced focus on person-centered services, community integration, and overall quality of life for older adults and individuals with physical disabilities. NCI-AD supports state efforts to strengthen long-term care policy, inform quality assurance activities, and compare performance with national norms. Staff also publish data briefs on specific areas of interest, and the results of analyses of the multi-state dataset have been published in academic research journals and presented at conferences. NCI-AD supports the development of more responsive and effective LTSS systems nationwide.