Welcome to the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs’ Division of Quality Management. The Division has been established in order to bring together and coordinate the many quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives that have been an ongoing tradition at DDSN for a number of years.
The purpose of this Web site is to help people supported and their service providers stay apprised of the quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives and how they are coordinated within the DDSN network. This site may also serve as a source of reference to a number of other important initiatives in the quality management arena nationwide.
DDSN utilizes a multifaceted approach to assure that quality services are being provided. The principles of Continuous Quality Improvement and Total Quality Management guide DDSN in determining whether the services and supports provided to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are meeting the high quality expectations.
The work of DDSN’s Division of Quality Management is compatible with and supportive of both The Council on Quality and Leadership in Supports for People with Disabilities (The Council) and the Developmental Disabilities Quality Coalition (DDQC) of which The Council is a founding member. DDQC was formed in the summer of 2000 to serve as a national collaborative forum for addressing the quality issues, challenges and opportunities associated with building stronger, more inclusive community support networks for individuals with developmental disabilities.
After assuring a foundation of health, safety and financial integrity, personal outcome measures and customer satisfaction are priorities in DDSN’s approach to planning and service delivery. A primary measure of quality and success is how the person with the disability and the family view the responsiveness and effectiveness of the service and support system.
In conjunction with quality assurance and quality improvement, the Division is also charged with the task of coordinating and expanding the risk management activities of the DDSN, and correlating these activities with quality assurance initiatives. After all, quality assurance and risk management are two sides of the same coin. Risk management activities strive to reduce and/or eliminate negative or untoward events in the lives of people, while quality assurance and quality improvement activities strive to increase the positive qualities and experiences in the lives of people.
Additional responsibilities for the Division include maintaining and updating the corpus of departmental policies, directives and procedures, and for taking the lead in the development of the Department’s response to the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision.
DDSN's Quality Management Program consists of two entities, Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement. Click on each link for further information regarding each entity.
Contact Us
We welcome your feedback. Please use one of the email addresses listed below or give us a call at (803) 898-9691.
Ann Dalton, Director, Division of Quality Management adalton@ddsn.sc.gov
Dawna Keith, Quality Assurance Coordinator dkeith@ddsn.sc.gov
Teresa Abrams, Quality Enhancement Coordinator tabrams@ddsn.sc.gov
Carol Neese, Incident Management Coordinator cneese@ddsn.sc.gov
Patrina Dawkins, Administrative Assistant (Licensing & QA) pdawkins@ddsn.sc.gov
Pat Hudson, Administrative Assistant (Incident Management) phudson@ddsn.sc.gov
Thank you and have a great day!