criteria for equass assurance _ssgi_ hs

8/6/2019 Criteria for EQUASS Assurance _SSGI_ HS

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CRITERIA FOR EQUASS ASSURANCE

(SSGI)

2008 by European Quality for Social Services (EQUASS)

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying and recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of EQUASS.


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Introduction

The European Quali ty in Social Services (EQUASS) is an init iat ive of the European

Platform for Rehabil i tat ion (EPR). EQUASS provides comprehensive services in the

area of approval and cert i f ication of qual i ty, al l of which comply with the European

requirements for qual i ty in the provision of Social Services. EQUASS aims to

enhance the personal services sector by engaging service providers in qual i ty and

continuous improvement, and by guaranteeing service-users qual i ty of services

throughout Europe. EQUASS wants to contr ibute to the creation of a European

market and the modernization of personal services of general interest where

service providers can distinguish themselves and use the qual i ty of their service

provision as a competit ive advantage.

The Quali ty Assurance in Social Services (EQUASS Assurance) is a cert i f ication

system for qual i ty assurance and qual i ty control in social services. It enables

organisations which provide services in the social sector to engage in an external

cert i f ication process at a European level by which they assure qual i ty of their

services to service users and other stakeholders.

This document presents the cr i ter ia for qual i ty assurance of the European Quali ty

for Social Services, based on the Principles for Quali ty. The EQUASS Assurance

assures fundamental performance on the Principles for Quali ty and an operational

Quali ty Management System which is one of the basic requirements for cert i f ication

with the EQUASS Excel lence.

Certi f ication by EQUASS Assurance is character ised by:

1. 38 cr i ter ia.

2. The cr i ter ia are based on the Principles f or Quali ty.

3. The cr i ter ia cover essential elements of Quali ty Management System (QMS)

4. The internal audit is based on a questionnaire approach.

5. The external audit wi l l be carr ied out based on the questionnaire f i l led in by

the appl icant. The auditor wi l l confirm the answers given in this

questionnaire dur ing the site visi t.

This document has the fol lowing structure:


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1. Description of the Principles for Quali ty

2. Description of relevant dimensions for Quali ty Assurance: a br ief descr iption

why the cr i ter ia are considered to be important3. Description of the EQUASS Assurance cr i ter ia

The EQUASS Assurance is customised for the social sector and offers a

comprehensive approach based on qual i ty cr i ter ia and performance indicators

using a questionnaire for internal audit and external audit procedures. After

sending the appl ication form and the questionnaire for internal audit, a si te visi t is

carr ied out. During this si te visi t, an auditor ver i f ies the appl icants evidence by

reviewing documentation and conducting interviews with staff, service users and

other stakeholders. The results are reported in an audit report. An organisation

that meets the EQUASS Assurance cr i ter ia wi l l be cert i f ied for a per iod of two

years. The process is overseen by t he EQUASS Awarding Committee.


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Overview

Principles for quality EQUASS Assurance dimensions Criteria

Mission, vision and qual i ty pol icy 1 & 2

Communication 3 & 4

Innovation 5 & 6

1 Leadership

Contr ibution to society 7 & 8

2 Rights Rights and duties 9 &10

Policy on ethics 11 & 123 Ethics

Roles and responsibi l i t ies 13 & 14

4 Partnership Partners in service del ivery 15 & 16

5 Participation Involvement of person served 17 & 18

Identi fying customer demands 19 & 206 Person Centred

Individual planning 21 & 22

Delivery process 23 & 24

Continuing service del ivery 25 & 26

7 Comprehensiveness

Holist ic approach 27 & 28

Measuring results 29 & 308 Result Orientation

Evaluating results 31 & 32

Annual planning 33 & 34

Continuous improvement cycle 35 & 36

9 Continuous

Improvement

Quali f ication and development of staff 37 & 38


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1. LEADERSHIP

Principle for Quality:

Organisations demonstrate leadership within the social sector internal ly by good

governance and within the wider community by promoting posit ive images,

chal lenging low expectations, best practice, more effective use of resources,

innovation, and a more open and inclusive society.

Mission, vision and quality policyMission statement and vision on the future give direction to the development of the

organisation and express the core business of the organisation. It creates clar i ty

and transparency for i ts customers, employees and other external stakeholders.

A qual i ty pol icy descr ibes relevant goals and objectives and the commitment of

management in achieving these goals. It also emphasises continuous improvement

of the organisations performance. Pol icy deployment is considered to be a key

function within the organisation ensuring that al l employees understand

organisations vision, mission, objectives and strategy in meeting customers needsand expectations.

Criteria for EQUASS Assurance

1. The organisation defines documents and implements i ts vision and mission

on service provision.

2. The organisation defines, documents, and implements i ts qual i ty pol icy by

determining long term quali ty goals, qual i ty objecti ves, and i ts commitment to

continuous improvement.

Communication

Communication relates to the systems present in an organisation for managing,

sharing and distr ibuting information and feedback. Communication is considered to

be effective when internal and/or external stakeholders have access to relevant,

accurate and up-to-date information. With effective communication, potential and

current customers can make informed choices, staff can maximise their

effectiveness and management can plan in a strat egic manner.


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3. Persons served, family members and service user organisations are able to

give feedback on their individual and col lective experience of programmes

and services.

4. The organisation informs i ts stakeholders about the offered programmes and

services avai lable.

Innovation

Innovation should reflect the introduction of new ideas, goods, services, and

practices to support market changes and service development. Innovation can be

considered as a process of converting knowledge and ideas into better ways of

doing business or into new or improved products and services that are valued by

the community. An essential element of innovation is i ts successful

implementation. Innovation is most often viewed at service or process level, where

product innovation satisf ies customers needs and process innovation improves

eff iciency and effectiveness.


5. The organisation introduces innovative ways of working that have beenidenti f ied based on the needs of stakeholders.

6. The organisation manages and documents the identi f ied innovation projects

and their results.

Contribution to the society

Social services have an impact on society through the very nature of their pr imary

business or statutory mandate. The results of these core activi t ies can be

manifested by the satisfaction of their customers, stakeholders, f inancers,

community, and key performance business results. Social responsibi l i ty of an

organisation in the social sector is considered to be an important concept and

should be given special focus beyond t he customers needs.


7. The organisation demonstrates organisations success in satisfying the needs

and expectations of the society.

8. The service provider demonstrates organisations social responsibi l i ty

through activi t ies contr ibuting to the society.


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2. RIGHTS

Principle for Quality

Organisations are committed to protecting and promoting the r ights of the person

served in terms of equal opportunit ies, equal treatment and freedom of choice,

self-determination and equal part icipation. Organisations are ensuring informed

consent and adopting non-discr imination and posit ive actions within their own

services. This commitment is apparent in al l elements of service development and

delivery and in the values of the organisati on.

Rights and duties

A key value in organisations providing services in the social sector is that they are

committed to protecting and promoting the r ights of the person served in terms of

equal opportunit ies, equal treatment and equal part icipation, providing informed

choice and adopting non-discr imination values.


9. The organisation informs the person served about his/her r ights and duties

especial ly to equal treatment on grounds of age, disabi l i ty, gender, race,

rel igion or bel ief and sexual or ientation before receivi ng the services.

10. The organisation has a complaint management system which registers

feedback on performance from persons served, purchasers and other

relevant stakeholders.

3. ETHICS


Organisations operate on the basis of a Code of Ethics that respects the dignity of

the persons served and their famil ies or carers, protects them from undue r isk,

specif ies the requirements for competence within the organisation, and promotes

social justice.


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Policy on ethics

The pol icy on ethics refers to the professions in organisations. It is a code of

professional cr i ter ia containing aspects of fairness and duty to the profession andset of pr inciples and values that govern behaviour in accordance with the notions

of moral i ty such as confidential i ty, accuracy, pr ivacy, and integr i ty.


11. The organisation defines and documents i ts pol icy on ethics that respects

and assures the dignity of the persons served, protects them from undue r isk

and promotes social justice.

12. The organisation defines a set of pr inciples and values that govern behaviour

in service del ivery containing aspects of confidential i ty, accuracy, pr ivacy

and integr i ty.

Roles and responsibilities

The identi f ication of the different roles and responsibi l i t ies of functions including

the mutual relationships between the function in the organisation faci l i tates

transparency, accountabi l i ty and eff iciency in communication in service provision

with the person served. Especial ly when the social process is a complex process in

a mult idiscipl inary approach, the identi f ication of the roles and responsibi l i t ies of

those functions in the process may contr ibute to the eff iciency of a coordinated

service provision.


13. The organisation defines the roles and responsibi l i t ies, authori t ies and the

interrelation of al l personnel who manage, design, del iver, support and

evaluate the service provision to person served.

14. The requirements for competence in the identi f ied roles and functions of staffare identi f ied and evaluated on annual basis.

4. PARTNERSHIP


Organisations operate in partnership with publ ic and pr ivate sector agencies,

employers and workers representatives, funders and purchasers, organisations of


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people with disabi l i t ies, local groups, famil ies and carers to create a continuum of

services and achieve more effective service impacts and a more open society.

Partners in service delivery

The growth in the appl icabi l i ty of information technology in the society, the

requirement for effective use of resources and expertise and the empowerment of

the customer requires cooperation in information, logistics and service provision.

Therefore organisations should operate in partnership with publ ic and pr ivate

sector agencies, employers and workers representatives, funders and purchasers,

organisations of service users, local groups, famil ies and carers. Partnership in

service del ivery in the social process should add value to the outcome of the

service del ivery.


15. The organisation works in partnership with other organisations in the

provision of services.

16. The organisation works in partnership with persons served, purchasers and

other stakeholders in the development of services.

5. PARTICIPATION


Organisations promote the part icipation and inclusion of people with disabi l i t ies at

al l levels of the organisation and within the community. Organisations involve

service users as active members of the service team. In pursuit of more equal

part icipation and inclusion, organisations should faci l i tate the empowerment of thepersons served. They work in consultation with representative bodies and groups

to support advocacy, the removal of barr iers, publ ic education and active

promotion of equal opportunit ies.

Involvement of persons served

Facil i tat ing and encouraging the involvement of persons served in al l key aspects

of their services is an essential and important factor to the success of the social

programme. Service providers faci l i tate the involvement of persons served by


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sett ing up procedures to encourage, to foster and to promote empowerment and

self-advocacy of persons served.


17. The organisation includes persons served as active part icipants giving

direction in al l aspects of the planning and service review.

18. The organisation insti tutes an annual evaluation of part icipation of persons

served both on individual and/or group basis.

6. PERSONS CENTRED


Organisations operate processes aiming at the improvement of qual i ty of l i fe of

persons served that are dr iven by the needs of both the persons served and

potential beneficiar ies. They respect the individual 's contr ibution by engaging them

in self assessment, service-user feedback and evaluation and that value personal

as well as service goals taking into account the physical and social environment of

the person served. Al l processes are subject to regular review.

Identifying Customer demands

Organisations for social services operate processes that are dr iven by the needs of

the persons served, purchasers and potential beneficiar ies. Therefore identi fying

demands of customers and potential customers is crucial for programme

development and service del ivery. The changes in demands also require an

adequate response on these changes so the provided services wil l meet the future

demands of the customers.


19. The organisation selects programmes which are based on a needs

assessment.

20. The organisation del ivers programmes consistent with the identi f ied needs of

i ts customers and objectives for the programme.


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Individual Planning

Social services are designed around the identi f ied needs and desires of the person

receiving services. By analysing the needs, expectations and opportunit ies theorganisation can design i ts services to be responsive to the expectations and the

needs of the person served.


21. The organisation operates individual processes that are dr iven by the needs

of both the person served and potential beneficiar ies.

22. The organisation documents the planning of services based on the

identi f ication of individual needs and expectations of persons served in an

Individual Plan.

7. COMPREHENSIVENESS


Organisations ensure that the person served can access a continuum of hol ist ic

and community based services, which value the contr ibution of al l users and

potential partners including the local community, employers and other stakeholders

and that span from early intervention to support and fol low up. The services should

be del ivered through a mult i-discipl inary team approach or mult i-agency

partnership with other service providers and employers.

Delivery process

In al l organisations there exists a system of processes that need to be managed

and improved. Amongst these processes there are some which are cr i t ical to thesuccess of the organisation. Processes that are cr i t ical to the success of the

organisation often cut across departmental and functional boundaries and require

particular attention.


23. The organisation identi f ies, documents, and maintains the key service

del ivery processes to the persons served in l ine with i ts vision, mission

statement and qual i ty pol icy.


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24. The organisation reviews this del ivery process and maintains control over the

delivery of the service.

Continuing service delivery

A fundamental responsibi l i ty of organisations that provide social services is to

assure a comprehensive programme structure with the aim to faci l i tate a well

coordinated process for the person served in achieving t he desired goals.


25. The organisation ensures that the person served can access a continuum of

services that span from early intervention to support and respond to

changing requirements over t ime.

26. The organisation develops a seamless continuum of services and reduces

barr iers in a mult i-discipl inary or mult i-agency sett ing.

Holistic approach

Complementary social services focus on hol ist ic care (which has become known

international ly as 'wel lness' care) concentrating on maintaining and improving

persons performance rather than just treating pain, disease or disorder. The

holist ic care descr ibes an approach in which the physical, mental, and social

factors in the person served are taken into account, rather than just the diagnosed

disorder.

The service involves consider ing the entire person as a complex system rather

than focusing only on part icular parts of the person or systems. Person served wil l

view outcomes from a hol ist ic perspective, covering - for instance - housing,

transport, employment, income and benefi ts, and broader issues around

discr imination and equali ty.


27. The organisation operates services from a hol ist ic approach based on the

needs and expectations of the person served with the aim of improving the

quali ty of l i fe for the person served.

28. The organisation identi f ies the needed competences, ski l ls and support for

staff to enhance the qual i ty of l i fe for person served.


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8. RESULT ORIENTATION


Organisations are outcome focused, in terms of both perceptions and

achievements, on the benefi ts to the persons served, their family members, carers,

employers, other stakeholders and the community. They also aspire to the

achievement of best value for their purchasers and funders. Service impacts are

measured, monitored, and are an important element of continuous improvement,

transparency and accountabi l i ty processes.

Measuring results

Organisations are aiming for business results, in terms of both perceptions and

achievements, on the benefi ts of the persons served, their family members, carers,

employers, other stakeholders and the community. A successful social process is

defined as: Achieving the objectives set in the Individual Plan ( IP). Results of the

processes must be measured in relation to the defined objectives stated in the

Individual Plan. Val id judgements on the outcome of the qual i ty of the social

services should be based on an evaluation system based on facts and objective

cr i ter ia.


29. The organisation identi f ies i ts business results and provides formal per iodic

and independent review.

30. The organisation identi f ies and registers the aims and objectives of the

Individual Plan and measures in to what extent these objectives have been

met.

Evaluating results

31. The organisation evaluates i ts business results in order to determine best

value for purchasers and funders ( best value can also be expressed in

relation to qual i ty of l i fe of person served).

32. The organisation evaluates the individual and col lective satisfaction of

persons served by internal and/or external evaluation.


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9. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT


Organisations are proactive in meeting market needs, using resources more

effectively, developing and improving services and uti l ising research and

development to achieve innovation. They are committed to staff development and

learning, str ive for effective communications and marketing, value users, funders

and stakeholders feedback and operate systems of continuous qual i ty

improvement.

Annual planning

The organisation should provide leadership, management and stabi l i ty for the

organisation so that i t can achieve i ts stated mission. Therefore the organisation

should str ive for and maintain stabi l i ty in service del ivery, development and

innovation and balanced f inance structure. Annual planning is crucial for

implementation and control of these objectives and therefore i t should be l inked to

the strategic planning.


33. The organisation management establ ishes and documents an annual planning

and review process.

34. The plan includes:

Annual outcomes / targets

The activi t ies to be undertaken in achieving the annual targets

Monitor ing of the performance of the organisation in meeting i ts

annual targets

Time-scales and procedures for review and revision.

Continuous Improvement Cycle

Providing and assuring qual i ty in social services provision are considered to be a

cycl ic process of reviewing of current performance and continuously making the

desired changes. In this process of continuous improvement of the social services

new areas for improvement wi l l occur. The systematic approach in continuous

improvement is a key character ist ic of the Quali ty Management System.


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35. The organisation has a standard procedure for continuous improvement on

the basis of an improvement cycle.

36. The organisation identi f ies performance indicators for measuring the results

of the improvement actions.

Qualification and development of staff

A key determinant of the qual i ty in service provision is the qual i f ication and the

competence of the staff and the level of education and training of staff. I t is

essential that every service provider has a systematic approach to the recruitment

and further professional development of staff engaged in social service del ivery.

Organisations should ensure that staff has suff icient experience and expertise to

fulf i l their designated roles and that staff members have access to and are

encouraged to use the given support and development opportunit ies. There should

be a systematic approach to the identi f ication of their training and development

needs.


37. The organisation has a plan for staff training, development and supportbased on annually gathered feedback and on a commitment to non-

discr imination on the grounds of age, disabi l i ty, gender, race, rel igion or

bel ief and sexual or ientation.

38. The organisation has a staff recruitment and retention pol icy that promotes

the selection of qual i f ied personnel based on required knowledge, ski l ls and

competences.

criteria for equass assurance _ssgi_ hs

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