Quality Indicators Rating Scale (QIRS)

As part of the ongoing effort to insure that we are providing quality services to the families we support in First Steps, the state developed guidance with the help of local stakeholders and national experts from NECTAC in 2004 (Revised in 2005 and 2011) for writing quality IFSPs. This guidance was provided to each SPOE and all Family Service Coordinators are provided training to incorporate these standards into the IFSPs they were helping to develop and write.

As part of the new guidance document, a rating scale was developed as a mechanism for reviewing IFSPs and rating the various components within them on a scale of 1 (Unacceptable), 3 (Acceptable), or 5 (Best Practice). DESE continues to use this document and rating system to periodically review the plans written within each region and provide individual feedback/scores for each Family Service Coordinator, as well as collectively for each SPOE. As part of the contractual obligation with DESE, each SPOE has to meet a certain percentage of plans at acceptable or higher in order to remain in compliance and to avoid penalty.

Until now, this QIRS guidance was mainly directed toward Family Service Coordinators and was not distributed or readily shared outside of the SPOE. However, we feel that this information should be common knowledge amongst all the First Steps providers who participate and contribute to the development of an IFSP.  In order to make sure we continue to meet these standards, it is important that everyone is aware of what is expected and how we are being rated.

Documentation regarding QIRS can be found on the DESE First Steps page at the following link:
DESE QIRS Guidance

QIRS relates to the follow elements of the IFSP (for example):

• Successful completion of all required sections of the IFSP
• Information is specific to the child/family
• Information is written in clear family-friendly language (less jargon)
• Information is routine based
• Family concerns, priorities, resources are clearly documented
• Outcomes are individualized, functional, measurable, and relate back to routines
• Strategies within the outcomes relate back to the family routine and support the outcome
• Services and service levels are appropriately related to the outcomes and support the methods of coaching per the Missouri First Steps model of Early Intervention

We ask that everyone review this guidance and be familiar with the expectations related to writing quality IFSPs. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the SPOE.