The Center for Outcome Analysis, Inc., (COA) is a non-profit firm founded in 1985 to perform evaluation, research, and demonstration projects in the human services and health care services. COA is founded on the principle that service agencies should be guided by the measurable individual quality of life outcomes of their services and supports. Many qualities of life are reliably measurable, and they should be measured. The ultimate unit of accountability for human services must become the quality of life of the people receiving supports.
Write to jconroycoa@gmail.com
It's Time to Begin Creation of a National Place of Memory and Learning about the Disability Rights Movement. The Pennhurst Memorial Alliance and the Museum of disABILITY History gave a presentation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Symposium on Disability Rights February 21. Judith Gran, Jim Conroy, and David Mack-Hardiman created the PowerPoint, which can be seen here.
The Evidence for Self-determination and Personal Budgeting (also called Individual Budgeting and Person-Centered Budgeting) - twenty years of scientific evidence - here.
Self-Determination - The Book. A compendium of the writings and studies that emerged from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Initiative on Self-Determination for People with Developmental Disabilities has been completed, and is available to order here.
Nick Romeo's Story of Institutional Abuse: Read a classic 1984 expose of conditions at an institution - Pennhurst - and the victory of Nicholas Romeo, whose case of systematic abuse went all the way to the Supreme Court.
Brief History of Quality Thinking in the Disability Field: A 2 page summary of Western thought about what Quality of Life means, and how we can support it, among people previously excluded from society, is here.
Quality of Life & Supports Measurement Instruments: Interested in short, one page, demonstrated reliable and valid instruments to measure choice, integration, productive activity, work & income, person-centered practices, and qualities of life? See them at Personal Life Quality measurement tools.
Deinstitutionalization Study in Korea: A quantitative study of changes in quality of life among 9 people who moved from an institution to small family-like homes in Daegu City, South Korea is here. It was published in a major international journal.
Memorializing the Disability Rights Movement: Dr. Conroy is Co-President of the Pennhurst Memorial & Preservation Alliance, devoted to respectful memory of the human rights struggle of people with disabilities. Our work is centered on the historic tragedies and triumphs that unfolded at the Pennhurst institution. See our website here.
Outcomes of Holistic Practices - When people with intellectual & developmental disabilities who are challenged with problems in comfort, happiness, and behavior get involved in therapies like massage, Reiki, reflexology, acupressure, aromatherapy, breathing exercises, and related practices, do their lives improve? See a new study design and how we'll attempt to measure this scientifically here.
The classic Pennhurst Longitudinal Study can be viewed and downloaded here.
For information about our rapid, efficient IRB review process, write to SDevlinCOA@gmail.com.