Idaho’s Participation in the Rocky Mountain Quality Improvement Center Grant

The Rocky Mountain Quality Improvement Center (RMQIC) for Child Protective Services is one of five federally funded collaborative initiatives throughout the United States. The RMQIC supports the development and evaluation of innovative programs and practices designed to improve Child Protective Services (CPS) in the Rocky Mountain states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming and the American Indian tribal groups within these states.

The RMQIC seeks to improve the quality of Child Protective Services (CPS) work -- at the "front end" of the child welfare system where public child welfare agencies investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect -- by financially supporting and evaluating programs or practice methods designed to improve child protection efforts. The RMQIC aims to achieve this by:

• Collaborating with CPS and other related professionals to determine the focus and functioning of the RMQIC. This collaboration, vital to the RMQIC operation, allows the RMQIC to operate based on knowledge from professionals in the field.
• Determining the focus for the RMQIC work through needs and interests assessments conducted in each of the four target states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming) and the American Indian tribal groups located within or near the states. This allows the RMQIC to focus on CPS issues that the states/tribes not only need to address, but also have interest in addressing.
• Increasing the capacity for organizations/agencies to improve their work by funding innovative programs or practice methods. This allows states to try or change programs or practice methods that they may not otherwise be able to attempt.
• Evaluating the operation and outcomes of the RMQIC and the projects it funds. This allows the RMQIC not only to support new and innovative work, but also to determine the effectiveness of the work for improving practices and service provisions.
• Building a network that allows RMQIC grantees, stakeholders, and others involved in CPS on local, state, and national levels to exchange information and learn about the programs and practice methods supported and evaluated by the RMQIC.

Idaho Semi-Annual Report RMQIC Pre-Treatment Program, July 2004: The report shows that project is not at the point of proving long-term outcomes. 

However, immediate indicators for Implementation show that:

1. Clients attending meetings.
2. Clients in the pretreatment group will show greater readiness for change and treatment motivation after the motivational interview.

Although these are very preliminary findings, it increases confidence that the project is going in the right direction.