"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted."— Albert Einstein

The State Plan should include a statement regarding the outcomes expected to result from the goals, objectives, and strategies identified in the Plan. Outcomes measure the benefits to consumers to be derived from the State Aging Plan.

The outcomes developed by the Aging Network will respond to the desires of older persons and their caregivers for services and supports to enable them to remain in the community. A related outcome is the need to ensure a stronger, more visible role for the Aging Network in the state's long-term care system.
Critical Questions

• How will the Plan provide older people greater access to community long-term care options?
• How will the Plan provide for a stronger, more visible role for the Aging Network in long-term care?
• How will we know the State Plan goals and objectives were accomplished?

Reliable and valid performance measures are critical to documenting the success of the Aging Network in meeting its goals. Performance measures should be selected based on their usefulness in demonstrating progress and achievements in relation to the Plan goals, objectives and the state's vision for the long-term care system.
While tied to the Plan's goals and objectives, it is important to keep in mind that performance measures are not needed for every objective. The focus should be on performance measures that have the most relevance in relation to the overall goals that have been set for the planning period. Another critical factor to consider is the availability of data to provide an accurate picture of the current situation and measure progress in achieving a specific benchmark.

At a minimum, the State Aging Plan should describe and provide information relative to:

• Performance measures and methodologies used to evaluate program implementation
• Quality measures used to evaluate the performance of specific programs.

Given the importance of responding to the 2006 Older Americans Act Amendments and AoA Strategic Plan priorities, it is necessary to ensure that performance measures address such issues as: 1) empowering older people and families to make informed decisions about long term care; 2) enabling seniors to remain in their homes and communities; 3) supporting healthy and active aging through evidence-based prevention programs; and 4) ensuring elder rights and freedom from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Individual performance measures may focus upon a specific area. Some examples include:

• Financial performance
• Resource utilization (efficiency/productivity)
• Quality of services
• Innovation
• Consumer wants
• Consumer satisfaction
• Employee/provider satisfaction
• Service system results

In addition, the performance measures form the basis for evaluating State Plan implementation. The Plan should include a planned schedule for reviewing progress in achieving the performance measures. The Plan should be seen as a living document. Based upon the progress review, it may be necessary to modify the Plan, such as making changes in programs and services to respond to demographic shifts or utilization patterns, altering timelines, or identifying new strategies to ensure success.

    DECISION POINT: Outcomes & Performance Measurement