Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)

DBHDD reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to no longer house individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in state behavioral health hospitals.

But because individuals with IDD are typically at high risk and need intensive support, DBHDD service reviewers are required to assess them after they are placed with a community-based residential service provider. The assessments are conducted at intervals of 48 hours, on the 9th day, on the 16th day, and afterward at seven-day intervals as needed. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure the individual with IDD is in a healthy and safe environment and is receiving proper care.

One of the challenges for the service reviewer in conducting the assessment is collecting large amounts of data in an easy and purposeful way. The Service Review and Technical Assistance (SRTA) application helps service reviewers easily navigate and collect data using touchscreen technology. It was designed for service reviewers to flag health, safety, and quality of life issues requiring action by the service provider. The application also alerts the service reviewer who performs the next visit to verify the resolution of pending issues.

Before the application’s development, DBHDD’s service reviewers were only able to collect and store data in disparate spreadsheets. The approach caused untimely delays in analyzing how well individuals with IDD were being cared for, and service deficiencies and alerts were not easily shared with other service review teams.

In calendar year 2017, 31 service reviewers performed 3,270 visits with 449 individuals with IDD who transferred from a state behavioral health hospital to a community-based residential service provider. On each of the visits, the service reviewer assessed 200 health, wellness, and safety issues; if any issue was flagged, it was rolled up into one of eight categories. If any issue was coded as life-threatening or severe, clinical oversight managers were immediately notified.

The SRTA application strengthens the ability of DBHDD officials to get in front of potential causes or contributors to the decline in health of an individual with IDD. It enables DBHDD workers to be more proactive and to ensure higher quality of care for vulnerable Georgians.

Other states, facing the same challenges and seeking similar solutions, are turning to DBHDD to learn about the application.