Quality assurance and impact measurement of university affiliated programs

Provisions in the Developmental Disabilities Bill of Rights and Assistance Act (PL 101-496) emphasize the need to measure the impact of federally supported services in promoting the independence and productivity of clients and their integration in community settings. As a part of this overall emphasis, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) has initiated a Quality Enhancement System for use in the University Affiliated Programs (UAPs) encompassing both process (formative) and outcome or impact (summative) evaluation. Whereas formative measures and techniques have been used for many years and are well developed, measures and techniques to determine impact have received much less attention in the professional literature. Characteristics of successful UAPs were outlined as a basis for suggesting appropriate measures of impact of UAP programs on clients and their families, on host and affiliated universities, and on the service system. Some barriers to implementation of impact measures in UAPs were discussed.