Consumer Satisfaction Survey

(2012 –2013)

The WV Statewide Independent Living Council conducted a survey of consumer satisfaction with Independent Living services in West Virginia. The Councilcontinued to use the instrument they developed several years ago. In the survey, consumers were asked to rate their level of agreement with statements about the independent living services theyreceived. Consumers were also asked about specific servicesandtheir rights as a consumer. A final section includedopen-ended items designed to determine the consumers’ opinion about program changes or improvements that could be made.

The surveys were distributed periodically toconsumersduring the October 2012 to September 2013 time period. The Council staff received contact information for each closed case and a sample of open cases from each CIL. These lists were randomly sampled with replacements until a total of 50 telephone surveys were completed. All others on the lists received mail surveys.

There were 78completed mail surveys in addition to the 50 telephone surveys. All surveys were conducted using the same instrument. A total of 337 surveys were distributed by mail and 50 were administered over the phone. A total of 128 surveys were completed. Thus, the response rate was 38%. Thisreport summarizes the responses of those 128 surveys and details the findings for the2012-2013program year.

Demographic Information

Coverage by County. Surveys were distributed (by phone or mail) to consumers from 34 of the 55 counties in West Virginia. Responses were received from 25 counties. The following table lists the number of surveys sent and returned by county.

County / N* / Sent** / County / N* / Sent**
Barbour / 6 / 8 / Monongalia / 2 / 5
Berkeley / 1 / Monroe / 1 / 1
Boone / 3 / 3 / Nicolas / 1
Braxton / 2 / 4 / Ohio / 1
Cabell / 15 / 83 / Putnam / 1 / 5
Calhoun / 4 / 4 / Raleigh / 25 / 31
Clay / 2 / 6 / Randolph / 6 / 13
Fayette / 3 / 9 / Roane / 6 / 14
Greenbrier / 1 / 1 / Summers / 1 / 5
Hancock / 1 / Taylor / 1
Harrison / 3 / 4 / Tucker / 4 / 7
Jackson / 9 / 10 / Upshur / 3 / 15
Kanawha / 30 / 78 / Wayne / 1 / 11
Lewis / 1 / 2 / Webster / 1
Lincoln / 1 / Wetzel / 1 / 1
Mason / 4 / Wood / 5 / 4
Mercer / 1 / 1 / Wyoming / 1

In terms of coverage of the state, the people who responded to this survey were concentrated in DRS District1 (see district map). District 1 represented 43% of the returned surveys. District 4 had 25% of the responses, District 2 had 18%, District 5 had 12%, and District 3 had 4%. There were no responses from the consumers from the counties in District 6.

District 1: Boone (3response), Calhoun, (4), Clay, (2), Jackson (9), Kanawha (30), Mason (0), Putnam (1), Roane (6) (58responses = 46% of total)

District 2: Barbour (6 responses),Gilmer (0), Harrison (3), Lewis (1), Marion (0), Monongalia (2),Preston (0), Randolph (6), Taylor (0), Tucker (4), Upshur (3) (25 responses =18%)

District 3: Brooke (0 responses), Doddridge (0), Hancock (0), Marshall (0), Ohio (0), Pleasants (0), Ritchie (0), Tyler (0), Wetzel (1), Wirt (0), Wood (5) (6responses =4%)

District 4: Braxton (2 responses), Fayette (3), Greenbrier (1), Mercer (1), Monroe (1), Nicholas (0), Pocahontas (0), Raleigh (125), Summers (1), Webster (0) (34 responses = 25%)

District 5: Cabell (15 responses), Lincoln (0), Logan (0), McDowell (0), Mingo (0), Wayne (1), Wyoming (0) (16responses = 12%)

District 6: Berkeley (0 response), Grant (0), Hampshire (0), Hardy (0), Jefferson (0), Mineral (0), Morgan (0)Pendleton (0) (0responses = 0%)


Type of Program. Each of the surveys contained codes for the programs in which consumers participated. There were 67 people in the Community Living Services Program, 22 people in the Title I-Part C program,19Family Support participants, 10 were in the Employment Services program,10 received Title VII-Part B services, and 4 people who received DOE services. Some respondents participated in more than one program.

Type of Disability.The consumers were asked to indicate their disability. There were 116people who listed a disabling condition (e.g., Diabetes) or a description of their disability (e.g., Multiple problems after an accident). There were 39 people who indicated that they have a motor-related disability (34% of the sample). The Motor category included spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, right leg amputee, arthritis, and other movement limitations. The Sensory category included vision and hearingimpairments. People reported Cognitive impairmentsincludinglearning disabilities,and Downs Syndrome. The Cardiac/Respiratory category included COPD and heart problems. The "Other/Various" category includes conditions such ascancer as well people who reported having mulitple disabling conditions (e.g., blind, athritis, and brain tumor).

Type of Disability / Respondants / Percent
Motor / 39 / 34%
Other/Various / 29 / 25%
Cognitive / 19 / 16%
Sensory / 12 / 10%
Cardiac/Respiratory / 10 / 9%
Mental Health / 7 / 6%
Total / 116 / 100%

Open versus Closed Cases.About 41% of the surveys were returned by consumers whose cases were still open and about 59% of the responses were from consumers who case had been closed (51 versus 74 responses).

Service Provider.The surveys were color coded to indicate which of the Centers provided services for each consumer. There were 26 surveys from the offices of Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living (20%),560 from the Appalachian Center for Independent Living (47%), and 42from consumers at the Mountain State Centers for Independent Livingoffices (33% of total).

Living Situation. The respondents were asked whether they were "living where I want to live." Of the 119 consumers who responded, all but 20 answeredaffirmatively. This is a little more than 83% of consumers who said they are living where they want to live.

Survey Completed By. Of the 122 responses, 87 consumers completed the survey themselves (71%), 27 had a parent or guardian complete the form, and 8 indicated that someone "other" (e.g., spouse, case Manager) completed the survey.

Satisfaction Items

The consumers were asked to rate their agreement with a series of 14statements about their interactions with independent living services. They used a Likert-type scale that ranged from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree with options to indicate that they were neutral or that the item was not applicable.

All Consumers. Table 1 lists the percent of responders who agreed or strongly agreed with each of the survey items for the previous 2 years and for this year. The first column of the Table is the survey item. The second column indicates thepercent of responders who "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with the statement during the 2010-11 year. The third column represents the 2011-12 year. The lastcolumnof the table displays the current (2012-2013) percent of responders who "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with the item and the number of responders for each item.

As may be seen in Table 1, there is little fluxuation in levels of satisfaction across the 3 years that are displayed. When you take an average of satisfaction level for the previous 2 years, the current level is within just a few percentage points of that average. This may mean that although the absolute numbers change, the relative satisfaction level is fairly stable (within 5 percentage points for each item).

Table 1.
Satisfaction Item / % Agree/ Strongly Agree
2010-2011 / 2011-2012 / 2012-2013
1. My questions were answered clearly by the CIL staff. / 96% / 96% / 97%(n=115)
2. The CIL staff members were good listeners. They understood my needs. / 96% / 95% / 97% (n=118)
3. The information was given in a way that I could understand. / 96% / 98% / 97%(n=118)
4. I chose my own independent living goals. / 98% / 98% / 95%(n=104)
5. I chose the service(s) I needed to meet my goal(s). / 98% / 97% / 94%(n=110)
6. The staff stayed in contact with me so I knew what was happening with my services. / 93% / 94% / 93%(n=110)
7. The services I got helped me to be more independent. / 96% / 98% / 94%(n=108)
8. The CIL staff told me about independent living resources. / 85% / 95% / 92%(n=101)
9. The CIL staff told me about job opportunities. / 85% / 88% / 89%(n=46)
10. The CIL staff treated me with courtesy and respect. / 97% / 98% / 96%(n=114)
11. I am satisfied with the services I received. / 97% / 98% / 95%(n=118)
12. (If you went to the CIL office) The CIL office was accessible. / 90% / 98% / 95%(n=75)
13. Overall, the CIL staff members were excellent. / 95% / 98% / 95%(n=111)
14. Overall, the services I received from the CIL were excellent. / 95% / 96% / 95%(n=115)

Table 1 indicates that for this sample, 90% or more of the consumersAgree or Strongly Agree with all but one of the 14 satisfaction items. Eighty-nine percent of the 46 people who responded Agreed or Strongly Agreed with Item 9 (The CIL staff told me about job opportunities).The lowest response rates (fewest people responding) were for the items concerning(1) receiving information about job opportunities (46responses) and (2) the accessibility of the CIL office (75 responses).This is similar to previous years.

Two years ago, one item (The CIL staff told me about job opportunities or independent living resources) was split into two items to clarify what information consumers are given. New Item 8 addresses independent living resources and New Item 9 address job opportunities. In previous years, the responders agreed that they were given IL and job information at about 84%. This year, there was 92% agreement they responders received IL information. The item about job opportunities was lower at about 89% agreement. The job opportunities item was also the one with the lowest response rate. It appears that splitting the item increased the number of responders to the item about IL resources and is a better measure of the information provided.

The following graph indicates that, although the strength of agreement with each item varied slightly from last year to this year, the patterns are similar.

Respondents with Open versus Closed Cases. There were 74 individuals whose cases were closed when they completed the survey and 54 who were still receiving services (open case). It is difficult to make meaningful comparisons between those groups since the number of people in each group is so different. A comparison of the satisfaction ratings of the two groups was made to determine whether patterns of difference existed. The percent of consumer responses by open versus closed cases are displayed in the following graph and in Table 2.

The mean responses for the Open case group ranged from 82% to 94% agreement with each statement. The mean responses for the Closed case group ranged from 95% to 97% agreement. The "mean of means" was 96% for the Closed group and 88% for the Open Case group.

The pattern of responses (as displayed in the graph) show the differences in reported satisfaction between the two groups. The rating for each item is lower for those in the Open case group with ratings varying from 3% to 14% lower than those in the Closed case group.

Consumers of Different CILS

Of the 128 completed surveys, 60 responses were received from consumers of the Appalachian CIL, 26 responses from the Northern WV CIL, and 42 responses from the Mountain State CIL. The following graph compares the responses to the satisfaction items by CIL. As may be noted in the graph, the overall patterns are similar across the 3 CILS. Given the differences in the number of responses per Center, caution should be exercised in interpreting this graph.

Rights Information

The consumers were asked to indicate which rights information had been explained to them. For each rights item in this survey, the consumers were asked to indicate whether the right had been explained, had not been explained, or that they did not remember being told about that right. There were 86 individuals who responded that at least one right had been explained (67% of the sample). Another 18 people said they didn’t remember being told any rights information, and 4 said they were not told about their rights.

Most individuals indicated that they had received several rights explanations. Therefore, the total number of rights explained was 668. If each of these individuals had been given information about each of the rights listed, the total would have been 774 (86 individuals X 9 issues).

In the following table, Column 1 lists the type of rights information. Column 2 reports the number of individuals who indicated they were told about that right. Column 3 lists the percent of responders who report that they were not told about it. Column 4 lists those who did not remember being told about that right.

Type of rights information / Told / Not Told / Don’t Remember
Appeal any decision about eligibility / 73 / 12 / 24
Choose my IL goal / 75 / 6 / 27
Help develop my IL plan or to have services without a plan / 73 / 6 / 27
Know about available services / 81 / 7 / 22
Request another CIL staff person / 72 / 9 / 25
Appeal decisions about services / 76 / 7 / 22
Choose how services were provided / 77 / 6 / 22
Contact Client Assistance Program (CAP) / 68 / 7 / 29
Choose who provided my services / 73 / 7 / 25

Consumers indicated that they were most often made aware of their rights to know about all the services that are available (81). They were least often made aware of their rightto Contact CAP (68). There were 58 people who said that each right had been explained to them, 5 people who reported that they were not told any rights information, and 18 who said they could not remember being told rights information. This is the third year in which clients were asked to indicate that they had not been told information or don’t remember being told rights information. The responses for this year mimic the previous responses, but this information should be tracked to help assess the process of providing rights information to consumers.

Impact of Services

The consumers were asked, "Did the CIL services help to make your life different?" Of the 121 people who responded to this item, 104 (86%) reported that the services did make a difference, 10% said the services had not made a difference, and 4% were unsure about whether services had made a difference.

The responders were asked to describe how the services had made a difference in their lives. There were 80 comments detailing receipt of services that were helpful in terms of Employment, Home modification, Life skills, Medical supplies/assistance, Transportation, and Other. These comments are listed below.

Received Adaptive Equipment:

  • Helped with devices for visually impaired. I am blind.
  • I can hear better and can hear on phone and call people with just pushing the button (programmed) and use speaker hands free phone feature.
  • I received a hearing aid I could not afford to buy.
  • Provided adaptive equipment.
  • The chair I received has heat and message and it helps a little due to arthritis I have.
  • TheI-Pad has helped my son with speaking and learning. Spio Suite (sp?) is great pressure for calming and therapy.
  • They gave me a walker.
  • They have given her an I-pad for school.
  • They have given her hearing aids and they help her get her medicine.
  • They help me get a lift for the van so I could go to doctor appointment, shopping, and visit family and friends.
  • They help me to walk better and gave me a walker to use when I go shopping.
  • They helped me get a bed, so I could sleep better.
  • They helped me get a lift chair so I could get up.
  • They provided me with a hearing aid.
  • They provided Mom with hearing aids and were very nice.
  • Yes, I will be able to go more places when I can get my wheel chair in the car.

Employment:

  • I found a good job with their help.
  • They are helping me a get a job.
  • They have been helping me fill out job applications and checking on me at work.
  • They have been trying to help me get a job, but I haven't got one yet.
  • They helped me get a job.

Home modification/improvement:

  • A walker and a shower stool.
  • Before they built my porch I could only get in and out of my house by riding a bush hog up and down. Now I feel like I have freedom. I can go by myself in and out and wander the yard with y chair. Thank you very much.
  • Big struggle to get into shower. Got old shower made into walk-in shower and provided shower chair. It is so much safer and now I can hold on to safety bars and lift myself and get myself into shower chair. Has given me more independence and self respect. It has also benefitted my parents who are old and sickly and make to more accessible to them also.
  • Having myasthenia gravis often times I choose to not leave my home out of fear that my energy will be used, making getting back into my home impossible.
  • Help make it easier for my husband to do his bathing easier with the walk in shower.
  • I am able to get out of the house more now that I have a lift to get into the car.
  • I am able to now get in to take a shower commode and sink are great and new floor.
  • I can leave my house now, I can go shopping, work my garden.
  • I get out of the house by myself and I’m around others like myself.
  • I received an outside lift to get from the sidewalk to the front porch. I used to get panic attacks approaching my steps from the store because I had so much trouble making it up the steps. Now it's no problems and I can use my battery operated wheelchair as well.
  • I'm able to get up and down the stairs much easier.
  • It is much easier for him to use the bathroom and get a bath.
  • It made it much easier to get in my house because I couldn't climb steps and my old ramp was falling.
  • Made my bathroom much more accessible.
  • Provided me with a ramp and a walk in shower, and lift chair.
  • She was afraid to get in the bathtub, but now she will take a shower. Thanks. Very much.
  • The work they have done on my deck is above and beyond what I could expect not only can I get out of my house but it is beautiful and I really enjoy it.
  • They are going to help me get a ramp (thank you). Have not received services yet, but, yes it will make a difference.
  • They built a ramp so I could get out the house more.
  • They gave me a new bathroom.
  • They have put up railings in my house and have given me a shower seat.
  • They installed a ramp so I can get in and out of my house.
  • They made my life different, they put in a whole new bathroom for me.
  • They provided my wife and I with a ramp leading to her house so she can get out more.
  • They put in a lift chair and ramp.
  • They put in a ramp for me and I can get out of the house easier now.
  • We can get her in and out of the home much easier with the ramp and the emergency (911) people can get the equipment in the home instead of her having to walk down the steps to the equipment. Thank you so very much. God bless you.
  • Yes, we got ramps put in so now I can go where I need to go.

Daily Living skills: