113-1 PURPOSE OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT
The Quality Assessment (QA) review provides valuable statistics and information on the agency's performance in delivering benefits. QA reviews measure:
• Payment accuracy,
• Effectiveness of policy and procedures,
• How well we perform in our mission to promote self-sufficiency and provide basic living expenses to Alaskans in need, and
• National performance ratings on how well DPA administers its programs.
The QA review is the primary tool used by staff to develop training initiatives, policies, and techniques that will enhance the delivery of services and benefits to DPA ’s recipients. For Alaska's Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Child Care programs, the QA review is a federal requirement. For other DPA programs, QA reviews ensure that policies and procedures meet state laws and achieve the agency’s mission.
Two types of reviews are conducted for the Medicaid program; Medicaid Eligibility Quality Control (MEQC) and PERM. MEQC is a targeted review of specific services. Through targeted reviews, DPA is able to extract information needed to design effective and efficient Medicaid policies. Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) reviews are assigned on a cycle, requiring completion of one year out of every three.
113-1 B. ADULT PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The QA review provides information about quality of work, clarity of the program's policies, and effectiveness of the procedures in delivering the benefits.
113-1 c. ALASKA TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The QA Reviewers evaluate the effectiveness of the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program's policies and procedures. QA Reviewers conduct complete case reviews and will contact clients by telephone. The type of information gathered changes depending on the program's performance measures and the focus or desired results of new policies. Yearly, Legislative Audit randomly selects cases from the completed reviews to validate the QA Reviewer's findings.
113-1 D. SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)
The Alaska SNAP Quality Assessment review process is mandated by federal law and is administered by the federal Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Quality Control regulations. The QA review includes all eligibility elements, required documentation, and verifications FNS closely regulates and monitors the process, verifying that case samples are statistically valid, random, and that completing the review process and the transmission of the review findings are within strict time frames. FNS randomly selects cases from those transmitted to monitor Alaska's SNAP compliance with federal regulations, and to ensure QA follows the required FNS review process. Alaska's final SNAP Program payment accuracy rate is established when the process has been completed for all cases reviewed during the federal fiscal year.
113-1 E. CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The Child Care review process is a statistically random sampling of authorized cases, by regional office, in accordance with the federal government's Child Care Development Fund requirements. Results from this review process provide confirmation of proper authorizations, and assist Alaska's child Care Assistance Program with continued improvement of process and procedures.
Often the QA Unit performs ad-hoc review projects for the Division. These include Site Assessments, Management Evaluations, and case reviews that may target an office, unit, worker, or type of client (an example of this might be reading all SNAP cases with members who are commercial fishermen.) The QA Program Officer works directly with leadership or team staff members to define and organize these projects.
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