Transcript Iowa 6th Judicial District Prison Diversion Court,Cedar

Introduction - Who are We?
• Prison Diversion Drug Court
• Iowa 6th Judicial District
• Grant Recipient Department of
Correctional Services (Probation)
• Enhancement provides for supportive
employment services for Drug Court
• Two counties / courts, “Max Capacity”
approx. 25 each*
www.NIATx.net
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
AIM (plan)
Our initial focus was to increase referral rates in our Johnson
County (Iowa City) Drug Court.
• Baseline = 1 referral per month since program’s inception.
Secondary Aim = reduce wait time from referral to admission.
• Baseline = 13 days from referral to screening (measured over
3 months)
• Baseline = 25.6 days from initial staffing to admission.
(measured over 5 months)
• Visual Walk through / Flow chart to Identify areas of Concern
www.NIATx.net
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
CHANGE (do)
Increasing Referrals Aim:
1. Met with Half-Way House management and probation staff and clarified
program requirements – data suggested they were referring less than
possible.
2. Streamlined Referral Process / cut out “middle man” for jail social
workers.
3. Quarterly Newsletter for all community partners
Decreasing Wait Time Aim:
1. Changed Screening form to handwritten checklist. With less narrative.
2. Added referral date to staffing form to monitor for potential outliers*
www.NIATx.net
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
RESULTS (study)
Days
www.NIATx.net
Number of
Referrals
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
NEXT STEPS (act)
• Adopt Changes (Broader Referral Criteria,
modified screening form, dates on weekly
agenda)
• Continue to monitor and improve on wait time
aim – more PDSA cycles likely – next one
possibly focused on time to substance abuse
evaluation. (Baseline = 6 days)
• Begin work on retention strategies, use of
social media?
www.NIATx.net
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation
IMPACT (lessons learned)
Success:
• 400% increase in rate of referrals
• Targeted components of admission process reduced by
30% and 15% in separate PDSA cycles.
• Average daily census increased by 7 clients (35%)
compared to pre-NIATx. Savings in saved prison costs
from NIATx project alone = over $200,000 per year.
Cautionary tale:
• Unexpected consequences of progress: Increased
referrals = increased burden on intake process
• Key staff change stalled “progress” x 3 months
www.NIATx.net
Reduce Waiting & No-Shows  Increase Admissions & Continuation