When agencies told us they needed better support to deal with specific and complex issues, we listened. In 2016 we responded by re-organizing our staff and leadership structure to create a dedicated team with expertise in QI, performance measurement and system planning.  In 2020, we launched our Quest program.

Our QI team has led four cohorts through the Quest program, with agency projects focusing on a range of challenges including improving access, brief services and organizational systems. We’ve also provided open Lean Six Sigma training outside the scope of the Quest program, to help build and mature a culture of continuous quality improvement across our sector. 

Check out our previous cohorts’ project summaries 

Quest cohort 5 will launch in 2025. We also continue to facilitate a QI community of practice and an advanced QI working group focused on system-level QI topics.

QI is a systematic approach using robust tools and techniques to make changes and improve outcomes for the client, family, service provider or system. Frameworks such as Lean Six Sigma enable us to take a collaborative and methodical approach to examine organizational processes in detail, and optimize and ensure value for stakeholders, including children, young people, families, and service providers.  

QI projects may include clinical issues, such as intake, waitlists, discharge and integrated services between care providers (primary care, educational settings, hospitals and community mental health centres). They may also include more internal-facing issues related to finances, human resources or other administrative processes that impact the services agencies deliver to their clients. 

Some examples include:  

• An agency receives feedback from their clients and staff that their intake process is confusing and difficult to navigate. The agency would like to streamline their processes and increase efficiencies.  

• Data from an agency reveals clients remain in brief services for more than two years instead of being discharged or transferred as intended.  

• Staff who travel to see clients note that it takes a considerable amount of time to sort through the process of submitting travel documentation to finance, for reimbursements. 

• The human resource (HR) department has noticed a high turnover rate over the years and finds it challenging to recruit qualified candidates. The team would like to improve their overall processes and culture to retain staff and recruit efficiently and effectively.  

• An agency struggles to meet their direct service hour targets and does not understand how these targets were set. They set out to increase their understanding of what goes into all clinician hours so they can set achievable targets and facilitate staff meeting these targets. 

Some examples include:  

• Issues/opportunities within an organization that impact clients, families or staff. 

• An existing process issue that doesn’t have an identified solution or an optimization opportunity that needs to be explored.  

• Process challenges such as repeat errors, duplication of work, excess waiting or the capacity of the process to meet the demands.  

• Links to the dimensions of quality in healthcare: effective, efficient, client-centred, safe, timely and equitable.   

The Quest program coaches agency teams through an improvement project with potential organizational or system-level impact. By participating in Quest, child and youth mental health and addictions agencies will make improvements following a facilitated Lean Six Sigma methodology, while building organizational capacity for quality improvement (QI) and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.   

Those selected to participate in Quest will: 

• Receive tailored, team-based coaching in QI and the use of data by our Lean Six Sigma coaches. 
• Receive Lean Six Sigma White and Yellow Belt training and certification for the core team members of their project team.  
• Participate in cohort-wide knowledge mobilization and learning events. 
• Have their agency’s QI culture assessed through an Ontario Public Health adapted QI maturity tool; at the start of the project (June 2024), and optionally at the end of the project (June 2025) and one-year after (June 2026).  

Beginning in June 2024 project teams will be coached through an improvement project following the DMAIC framework for 6 or 12 months, and may receive support to focus on sustainability, spread and scale, knowledge mobilization and organizational quality planning as required. Our QI coaching team will: 

• Work alongside your project lead to guide your team through a QI project using the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC framework (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control). 

• Support your team lead to plan and facilitate core team meetings. 

• Support core team members to participate in QI activities by planning and facilitating virtual or in-person (as appropriate) capacity-building sessions within each of the stages of DMAIC. 

• Document the improvement process through electronic project workbooks with key documents and tools. 

• Coach on indicator and measure selection, data collection and analysis with additional support as needed.  

• Deliver introductory QI sessions for the core team, including Lean Six Sigma White Belt training as needed. 

• Provide guidance to capture the voice of customer insight through engagement activities (gathering knowledge and experiences from key stakeholders, including clients, families, caregivers and staff on the QI project). 

• Provide the option to be coached on building a culture of continuous quality improvement, including further QI training based on your agency’s QI maturity assessment results.