Program, Quality & Impact Overview

YouthCare’s Program Quality & Impact (PQI) department strives to utilize data as a means to inform and promote efficient and effective service delivery and to achieve the organization’s mission and strategic goals. The ultimate goal of this process is to cultivate a standard of excellence for the services we provide to young people. YouthCare continues to build out the Performance & Quality Improvement initiative, regularly adding new indicators of quality which are collected quarterly and used to guide the agency toward data-informed decisions that enhance the experience of staff while promoting the quality of client service provision.  

The PQI department relies upon stakeholder feedback and involvement in the quality improvement process. Our clients constitute the primary stakeholder group, consisting of participants of all YouthCare services in Engagement & Workforce Services, Centralized Client Services, and Young Adult Housing. Each quarter, we administer our Client Satisfaction & Experience Survey across the agency. Youth voice guides us through programmatic improvements and aligns these improvements according to the needs and feedback of the young people we serve.  Some examples of changes that have been implemented as a result of client feedback are: 

  • Diversification of program activities  
  • Change in program hours 
  • Updated meal calendars  

A complete overview of client satisfaction survey results can be found in PQI reports at the bottom of this page. 

YouthCare also relies on the feedback of staff to promote strategic improvements. The PQI department reviews and reports on staff demographics, retention and turnover rates, incident reports, staff grievances, and exit interviews quarterly. The PQI annual reports outline areas of improvement found in data gathered from 2021 which then generate a list of agency priorities for 2022. 

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Theory Of Change

A Theory of Change is the bridge that links an organization’s concrete, daily operations with its mission. It is the theory of what it takes to create the change the organization wants to see in the world. YouthCare has developed its Theory of Change based on organizational core competencies and how these can best be applied to meet the needs of program participants and create social value.

Our program, quality & impact plan has been informed by this theory of change.

Our Theory of Change is more than a method of service provision. It is an overarching approach that organizes all our business practices and staff efforts towards the outcomes we seek for youth. In addition to programming we must ensure that organizational operations support as many young people as possible in leaving YouthCare having achieved those outcomes. This includes maintaining a strong workforce, robust data collection and data management systems, sound program evaluation and data utilization practices, and an integrated approach to funding that aligns financial resources to our core programming.

What we seek for youth who successfully complete our program is long-term stability—strategies and services will be focused on moving youth toward that outcome. This long-term outcome is the top rung of a ladder of outcomes, and achievement builds upon the attainment of short-term and intermediate outcomes. Short-term outcomes are the incremental changes that occur within program as a result of service provision. Intermediate outcomes are the changes that show that participants are ready to exit, or graduate from, YouthCare. Once a young person has achieved all the intermediate outcomes they will enroll in Aftercare. Long-term outcomes are the enduring changes that participants have as the result of the YouthCare program. These are achieved one year after completion of Aftercare. YouthCare has defined long-term stability as achievement along four dimensions. We will hold ourselves accountable to ensuring that one year after program exit participants:

  1. Maintain housing stability with no periods of homelessness
  2. Maintain a system of support
  3. Maintain financial stability
  4. Maintain wellness

We will work to move each youth toward intended outcomes in a way that is reflective of where they are individually and within our service continuum.

 “I appreciate how honest and open staff and peers are to learning and building community”

YouthCare Client
“This program is really understanding they don’t judge you and they help you when it’s needed”

YouthCare Client
“The staff is understanding and patient. They have amazing meal plans and other resources available.”

YouthCare Client