INSPIRE: Functional Family Therapy
When reviewing your INSPIRE report for accuracy, please examine the reports on two levels:
- Is the data complete?
- Is the data accurate?
A sample INSPIRE Tracking Form is available on the EPISCenter web-site and can be used to help track data entry. If certain data is not being entered into INSPIRE because the information is not available, a plan should be developed for collecting the necessary information.
Two general reminders regarding your data:
- If data was entered into the CSS or you made a correction to CSS data after the most recent data integration with INSPIRE, it will not be reflected in INSPIRE reports until the next round of data integration. (Integration includes data entered into the CSS through the 6th of each month and generally occurs between the the 7th and 10th).
- After entering data into INSPIRE, please wait at least 30 minutes before running your report so that the data entered can be synced with the data warehouse from which the reports are drawn.
If you have questions about these outcomes or any other questions about your report, please contact the EPISCenter at or
(814) 863-2568.
ReportVariable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Population Served
Number of open & active youth / This is the number of youth with an open case during the reporting period, based on date of first session and, if applicable, discharge date. / This data comes from the CSS.
If the number is too low:
· Was a youth’s first session added to the CSS after the most recent data integration with INSPIRE? If so, the youth should be included in the report after the next round of data integration.
· Is the date of the first session or the last clinical contact/last attempted contact correct (i.e., year, month, and day)?
If the number is too high:
· Are there cases that have not been closed out in the CSS?
Number of new youth enrolled / This should be the number of youth who had their first session during the reporting period. / This data comes from the CSS. Reasons for incorrect data in the INSPIRE report include:
· First session date was entered into the CSS incorrectly
· First session date was entered into the CSS after the most recent data integration with INSPIRE.
Youth at imminent risk for placement / The number of youth included should be equal to the number of newly enrolled youth. For example, if 20 new youth were enrolled, the number of youth at risk should be X out of 20 youth. / This data incorporates CSS data with INSPIRE data. The most common problem here is incomplete data because the question about placement risk is not being completed for all youth at the time of enrollment. (If users wait until discharge to go back and enter a youth’s enrollment data in INSPIRE, this information will be incomplete when the quarterly report is run.)
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Number of new parents/caregivers served / Because each youth enrolled must have a caregiver involved in his/her treatment, the number of new parents/caregivers served should be equal to or greater than the number of newly enrolled youth. / If the report is for quarters including January 2012 forward, the most common problem is a too-low number of caregivers because enrollment data is not being entered for all youth.
Reports that include earlier quarters (prior to January 2012) utilize FSRs to determine the number of caregivers. A low number of caregivers would then indicate FSRs were not completed early in treatment for some youth.
Referral sources / This is based on referrals made during the reporting period and entered into the CSS. / If the numbers do not look accurate, check that the referral date and referral source for each youth is accurate in the CSS.
If a youth’s referral date was entered into the CSS after the most recent data integration with INSPIRE, his/her data will not appear until the next round of data integration.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Implementation Quality Assurance
Dissemination Adherence ratings / This is presented as X of Y therapists had ratings in the desired range. / The number of ratings is too low:
· Did some therapists have multiple GTRs completed during the reporting period? If so, an average is taken for each therapist so that he/she is only counted once.
· Was the GTR entered into the CSS during the reporting period? Each rating is included in a reporting period based on the date it was entered into the CSS, not the date of the GTR.
The number of satisfactory ratings is too low or too high:
· A rating of 4 is used as the cut-off. Were ratings entered into the CSS correctly?
Fidelity Adherence ratings / This is presented as X of Y therapists had ratings in the desired range. / See explanation for Dissemination Adherence ratings. A cut-off of 3 is used for Fidelity ratings.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Discharged Youth
Number of youth discharged / This should be the total number of youth discharged during the reporting period, regardless of reason for discharge. / This is the sum of successful, unsuccessful, and administrative discharges for the reporting period.
The most common problem is that the number is too low. Reasons include:
· A case was not closed out in the CSS.
· The case was closed out, but after the most recent data integration occurred. The case will show up in reports after the next round of integration.
· The date of the most recent clinical contact or attempted clinical contact was entered into the CSS incorrectly.
Number of successful discharges / This is not the same as number of completed cases. Also, INSPIRE does not count non-significant outcome as successful. This number should equal the number of cases with a discharge date during the reporting period who completed FFT and had a positive outcome. / If this number is not accurate, first check that your overall number of youth discharged is accurate. A youth may be missing for the reasons listed under Number of Youth Discharged.
Check that youth outcomes are accurately reported in the CSS (i.e., positive, non-significant, negative). Remember that only completed youth with positive outcomes are counted as successful.
Unsuccessful discharges / This should include all youth with a discharge date during the reporting period who do not meet the criteria for successful or administrative discharge. / If this number is not accurate, check that your overall number of youth discharged is accurate. A youth may be missing for the reasons listed under Number of Youth Discharged.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Administrative discharges / This should include all discharged youth who did not complete treatment and were discharged for non-clinical reasons. The reasons counted as administrative are drop-outs due to:
· Administrative (which should include cases placed for pre-referral offenses or reasons, terminated funding, did not meet FFT criteria)
· Moved
· Referred to other services / If this number is not accurate, check that your overall number of youth discharged is accurate. A youth may be missing for the reasons listed under Number of Youth Discharged.
Be sure that drop-out reasons are coded accurately in the CSS.
Average length of stay for successful discharges / Based on first session date to discharge date. / Check that number of successful discharges is accurate. If not, could missing cases be impacting the length of stay calculation?
If number of successful discharges is accurate, but the length of stay does not appear correct, check that first session date and the date of last clinical contact are entered accurately in the CSS.
Average length of stay for unsuccessful discharges / Based on first session date to discharge date. / Check that number of unsuccessful discharges is accurate. If not, could missing cases be impacting the length of stay calculation?
If number of unsuccessful discharges is accurate, but the length of stay is not, check that first session date and the date of last clinical contact are correct in the CSS. For noncompleters, the last date of attempted clinical contact is used as the discharge date.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Youth satisfaction / The number of youth included in the calculation should be similar to the number of youth discharged. For example, if 20 youth were discharged, the number of satisfied youth should be X of 20 youth, if data is entered for all youth. / The discharge item on youth satisfaction is not being completed in INSPIRE for all youth.
Parent/caregiver satisfaction / The number of youth included in the calculation should be similar to the number of youth discharged. For example, if 20 youth were discharged, the number of youth with satisfied caregivers should be X of 20 youth, if data is entered for all youth. / The discharge item on parent/caregiver satisfaction is not being completed in INSPIRE for all cases.
Outcomes at Discharge
Drug free / The table below the outcomes graph indicates how many youth were included in the calculation for drug-free youth.
The bottom-most row is the number of youth for whom data is reported. This number should reflect the number of youth who meet three criteria:
· identified drug & alcohol issues at intake
· had drug screens during the last 3 months of treatment
· discharged successfully or unsuccessfully / The “# reporting” may be significantly lower than the number of youth successfully/ unsuccessfully discharged for several reasons:
· Few youth were referred with drug & alcohol issues. No action needed.
· Many more youth are referred with drug & alcohol issues, but this information is not being entered on the Enrollment screen.
· Results of drug screens known but are not being entered at discharge.
· Date of drug screen does not fall within 3 months prior to discharge.
· Results of drug screens are unknown. Develop a plan to communicate with those completing drug screens to learn the outcome so that data can be entered.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Improved school attendance / The table below the outcomes graph indicates how many youth were included in the calculation for improved school attendance.
The bottom-most row is the number of youth for whom data is reported. This number should reflect the number of youth with identified attendance issues at intake, who were then discharged successfully or unsuccessfully. / The “# reporting” may be significantly lower than the number of youth successfully/ unsuccessfully discharged for several reasons:
· Few youth were referred with school attendance issues.
· More youth had school attendance issues than indicated by “# reporting,” but this information is not being entered on the Enrollment screen and/or the discharge question about whether school attendance has improved is not being completed.
Improved school performance / The table below the outcomes graph indicates how many youth were included in the calculation for improved school performance.
The bottom-most row is the number of youth for whom data is reported. This number should reflect the number of youth with identified school performance issues at intake, who were then discharged successfully or unsuccessfully. / The “# reporting” may be significantly lower than the number of youth successfully/ unsuccessfully discharged for several reasons:
· Few youth were referred with school performance issues.
· More youth had school performance issues than indicated by “# reporting,” but this information is not being entered on the Enrollment screen and/or the discharge question about whether school performance has improved is not completed.
No new criminal offenses / This is based on the number of youth meeting two criteria:
· The CSS discharge question about new law violations is answered
· Discharge was successful or unsuccessful / If this number does not look accurate, check that the number of successful and unsuccessful discharges is accurate (under Discharged Youth).
Then, check that the CSS question about new law violations is answered correctly for each youth discharged during the reporting period.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Families with improved functioning / This is based on two criteria:
· The average TOM, COM-A, and COM-P ratings. An average of 3 or higher is considered improvement.
· Discharge was successful or unsuccessful / If the percent is lower than expected, first remember that this outcome is based on all discharges except administrative ones, so it includes unsuccessful cases.
Second, check that outcome measures are accurately entered into the CSS.
Living in the community / This is based on the number of youth who were successfully or unsuccessfully discharged. If a youth’s drop-out reason is coded in the CSS as incarceration or placed out of home, he/she will not be counted as living in the community. / If this number does not look accurate, check that the number of successful and unsuccessful discharges is accurate (under Discharged Youth).
Then, check that completion status and drop-out reasons are entered accurately in the CSS.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
Outcomes at 6 Months Post-Discharge
First, please note that a youth’s data will only be counted if his/her follow-up interview occurred 149-211 days from the date of discharge. The following tool may be useful for determining if this is the case: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html Also, administrative discharges are not included in follow-up outcomes. Be sure that the youth’s discharge date in the CSS (date of last clinical contact or last attempted contact) and the youth’s interview date in INSPIRE are entered correctly.
No new charges/placements / This will reflect youth for whom there is follow-up data about both criminal offending and placement. / If this data looks incomplete, check that the youth meets the follow-up criteria noted above. Then, check the INSPIRE follow-up screen for the following:
· The item regarding offending is answered
· The question about behavior issues is answered NO or it is answered YES and further information is provided.
If any of these criteria are not met, the youth’s follow-up information cannot be included in the report.
Report
Variable / What it should look like / Trouble-shooting: Why don’t the numbers look the way they should? / Complete/
Accurate? / Program
Comments
No drug use / This will reflect youth for whom there is information about substance use at follow-up. / If this data looks incomplete, check that the youth meets the follow-up criteria noted above. Then, check the INSPIRE follow-up screen for the following:
· The question about behavior issues is answered NO. (This will be the # Reporting)
· Youth did not have behavior issues OR, if the youth had behavior issues, alcohol or drug use was not reported. (This is the # With Positive Outcome.)
No School Problems / This will reflect youth who are in school or a work training/vocational program and for whom the question about school issues is completed. / If this data looks incomplete, check that the youth meets the follow-up criteria noted above. Then, check the INSPIRE follow-up screen for the following:
· Current educational status is indicated as Work training program/vocational or Still in school.
· Question about school issues is answered.
6/6/2012