Children and Adult Disability and Educational Services

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Primary stakeholders: infants, toddlers, children and adults identified as living with an intellectual, developmental, physical and/or medical disability. Secondary stakeholders: family, caregivers, guardians and advocates of primary stakeholders; employees and volunteers who support primary stakeholders.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Suggestion box/email,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

After a survey of our Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and their experiences, we learned that the two weeks of training received before their start was not enough to make them feel prepared and successful. They expressed a need for more coaching. As a result, the role of our Orientation Trainers was revised so they could become 180-day coaches. Now, their coach comes and meets them at their site weekly to practice and enhance their skills. We also created a new role, the Assistant Director of Professional Learning, as a result of feedback we received from managers and their direct reports. The feedback made it clear that growing emotional intelligence managing team dynamics would benefit the organization. This new role would develop trainings and provide real-time coaching.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

The positive impact of asking for feedback and listening with purpose to the people who receive services through CADES continues to grow exponentially year over year. The questions we are asking in this past year are a result of asking for feedback and listening, with intention, for what people value and how they feel valued. As a result of that listening, we have been shifting what we do and how we do it to get to the nuance of the value our individuals seek. Over the 2022 calendar year there are several examples that stand out where there are observable, positive shifts to improve the lives of the children and adults we serve, but one stands out that is inextricably linked to the CADES mission and core values: Person centered planning.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,