Accomplishments (continued)
APS Go Team
APS formed a rapid response team, called the APS Go Team, to help clients after catastrophic weather events. APS activates the Go Team after major events such as flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that affect Texas. Assistance to clients may include help with groceries, medicine, utility bills, and shelter.
Partnership with WellMed
In 2019, APS continued its partnership with WellMed Charitable Foundation and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. A project from 2012 to 2016 demonstrated increased collaboration between clinicians and APS, as well as increased reporting of abuse, neglect, and exploitation by clinicians. Since then, APS staff has continued to provide WellMed staff with training, consultation, and help with case coordination. In 2018, the partners began a new project focused on preventing self-neglect by adults 65 or older or who have disabilities. Both projects were funded by grants from the federal Administration on Community Living. In 2019, the self-neglect project completed its intervention phase and finished collecting data for a randomized, controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. These interventions were designed to prevent or minimize the risk of self-neglect and included:
- Screening primary care patients who were at high risk of self-neglect.
- Providing home visits, needs assessments, and service plans.
- Follow up by clinical social workers over a four-month period.
The study continues and is expected to make an important contribution to research on adult abuse interventions.
APS Performance Management
APS continues to perfect its efforts to improve the quality of its work. The APS Quality Assurance (QA) team checks performance by reading and scoring two cases per caseworker and completing an analysis of each unit in the state about every three months. This lets supervisors see how each worker and unit is performing, including strengths and areas for improvement. The QA team also offers face-to-face meetings with field staff and managers.
APS uses what it calls “target zones” in its management approach. Target zones are acceptable variations in key performance metrics that help define “healthy casework.” APS gives managers at all levels monthly data and a more in-depth quarterly analysis. Managers use this information to ensure APS is doing quality work consistently across the state, to improve practice, and to track progress on meeting program expectations.