Philadelphia Vision for Employment - Making Data Work for You

Networks for Training and Development, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting inclusive communities through quality training, consultation, and practice for individuals with disabilities, families, businesses, and neighborhoods. Networks has had a long-standing collaboration with Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health / Mental Retardation Services (Phila. DBH / MRS). For the past three years this has included providing support to Philadelphia’s “Vision for Employment 2010” initiative, which strives to increase employment among Philadelphians with disabilities. There are a total of 27 organizations funded through Philadelphia DBH / MRS that assist people with disabilities to find and maintain employment. In order to assist these organizations in the collection of employment data, and to provide them with prompt feedback concerning the employment outcomes of the people they support, Phila. DBH / MRS wished to implement a data system to track Community Integrated Employment (CIE) outcomes. Networks designed and implemented a data system for Philadelphia CIE providers utilizing Excel and Access. It is our hope that through using this data system, organizations will be better able to systematically collect, analyze and use data to asses program processes and outcomes. Excel spreadsheets are used for the employment organizations to submit their data and for quarterly reports back to the organizations. Data is imported into an Access database for analysis of data. The system is comprised of the following:

The Excel spreadsheet consists of 18 columns including individual demographics, MRS system information, and individual employment outcomes. Two cells at the top of the spreadsheet ask for Agency name / Reporting Period. The data elements are essentially the same as what organizations had been submitting in previous years. The difference is that they are now being promised and delivered quarterly feedback.

On a quarterly basis, Philadelphia MRS emails a report to each organization. Networks receives the data, compiles it, and prepares the reports for MRS to submit to the organizations.

Organizations have been provided with directions, reporting schedules, and cell definitions for their use. Technical Assistance has been provided by Networks to assist those agencies who need it in the completion of the reports.

This system is now in its 9th month of usage, and leaders of these organizations have commented on how they are able to use the statistics tab of the Excel spreadsheet to evaluate what they are doing in their organizations, and to assist them in making decisions. One leader stated that the statistics tab was the first place they looked when they received the data from their staff. Through the quarterly reports organizations are able to determine how effective their outcomes are in relation to other providers, as well as how well the overall progress has been. We have been able to provide organizations with information related to the types of jobs being found throughout the system for people they support and the average wages that are being earned by people they support. It has been our hope that should this system prove effective, its use would be expanded throughout Pennsylvania.

At a recent strategic planning session for employment of people with disabilities in Pennsylvania, the topic of data collection arose, with stakeholders commenting that there is not one consistent system in place that allows for feedback to providers. Our organization has been asked to provide the state with the detials / examples of usage of the data system for Philadelphia for consideration of expansion of its use.