State Data Brief Template

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Supporting Families Community of Practice Evaluation

Oregon State Data Brief

Evaluation Overview

In 2012, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), through the Administration on 

Disabilities (AoD)1, awarded the five-year National Supporting Families Community of Practice 

(CoP) grant to the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services 

(NASDDDS), which partnered with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institute on Human 

Development (UMKC-IHD). In the first year of the grant, 15 states applied and five were selected 

to participate, including Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and

Washington, with Missouri serving as the mentor state. Given growing interest in the work of the

CoP, NASDDDS and UMKC-IHD decided to expand and sustain the CoP outside of the initial 

grant. A second cohort, known as the expansion states, joined in 2016, including Alabama, 

Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. 

With interest continuing to grow around the nation, the CoP welcomed five new states—

Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, and New Jersey—in 2019 and created 

opportunities for participating states to adjust their level of participation.

Three project outcomes guide the work of the 

National Supporting Families CoP:

¡ State and national consensus on a national 

framework and agenda for improving supports

for families with children with I/DD

¡ Enhanced state policies, practices, and 

sustainable systems that result in improved 

supports to families

¡ Enhanced capacity of states to replicate and 

sustain exemplary practices to support 

families and systems

To examine progress toward federal project 

outcomes and identify which activities are leading 

to success, ACL funded the National Supporting 

Families CoP evaluation. The evaluation team 

gathered data that align with the three project 

outcomes to determine how the CoP is producing 

outcomes of interest to ACL, which reflect the 

five AoD priority areas (Exhibit 1). Findings will provide ACL with outcomes data and 

recommendations to improve supports to families of individuals with I/DD. They will also provide 

information on how the CoP and CtLC framework improve support and systems delivery of 

services to families and individuals with I/DD.

 

1 The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) initiated the evaluation in 2017. The 

Administration on Disabilities (AoD) now oversees the evaluation.

Exhibit 1. AoD Priority Areas

The Five AoD Priority Areas

§ Ensure the continued protection of rights of 

individuals with I/DD and prevent their abuse, 

neglect, and exploitation

§ Improve and maintain effective and responsive 

management of responsibilities under 

Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 

Rights Act of 2000 (the DD Act)

§ Promote Employment First as a key strategy for 

individuals with I/DD to be contributing and 

productive members of society participating in 

the competitive integrated workforce

§ Empower individuals with I/DD and their families 

to access home and community based (HCBS) 

and supports that are self-directed and ensure 

opportunity for community participation

§ Support advocacy efforts of individuals with I/DD 

in order to ensure their participation in system 

and service delivery design
State Data Brief Template

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The evaluation includes all 16 states that participated in the National Supporting Families CoP for 

at least two years between 2012 and 2018. For evaluation purposes, evaluators stratified states into 

three groups based on their stage of development, as described in Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 2. Evaluation Participants

Group One Group Two Group Three

The six original CoP states:

§ Connecticut

§ District of Columbia

§ Missouri (mentor state)

§ Oklahoma

§ Tennessee

§ Washington

States with previous exposure to 

the CoP and CtLC framework before 

joining the expansion state cohort:

§ Maryland

§ Ohio

§ Pennsylvania

§ South Dakota

States with little or no exposure to 

the CoP and CtLC framework before 

joining the expansion state cohort:

§ Alabama

§ Delaware

§ Hawaii

§ Indiana

§ Kansas

§ Oregon

Evaluators collected data from states using four tools:

¡ Reporting tools (one for each state grouping) gathered descriptive data about CoP structure, 

activities, and impact.

¡ Telephone interviews (informed by the reporting tools) collected contextual data about CoP 

activities and accomplishments specific to each state.

¡ Site visits (to select states) with CoP leadership and other stakeholders provided data on the

relationship between CoP activities, outputs, and outcomes.

¡ Materials review (on an ad-hoc basis) collected needed data on areas of interest.

Evaluators analyzed the collected data using a conceptual framework developed by Wenger, 

Trayner, and de Laat2(Exhibit 3), which assesses value creation in communities. Adapted for 

evaluation purposes, the framework considers five different cycles of value creation to capture the 

richness of value created by communities of practice. The following page describes the value 

generated from CoP activities and the CtLC framework within the Oregon CoP.

 

2 Wenger, E., Trayner, B., and de Laat, M. (2011). Promoting and Assessing Value Creation in Communities and 

Networks: A Conceptual Framework. Rapport 18, Ruud de Moor Centrum, Open University of the Netherlands.

Exhibit 3. Value Cycle Framework
State Data Brief Template

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A Look into Oregon’s Community of Practice

Oregon (OR) is one of the expansion states to join the National Supporting Families CoP in 2016. 

The OR CoP is a collaboration between the Council on Developmental Disabilities (DD) and the 

OR Developmental Disability Services (ODDS). The timeline below (Exhibit 4) provides detailed 

information about OR’s participation in the CoP over time.

Exhibit 4. Timeline of Oregon’s CoP Participation

Using data from the most recent Residential Information Systems Project Report developed by the 

University of Minnesota, the number of people with I/DD known to or served by ODDS in 2016

was 25,612. Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) recipients include people with I/DD who 

receive Medicaid or State-funded supports and services. In 2016, 63% of 20,496 LTSS recipients

in OR lived at home with a family member. The report also shows annual Medicaid Waiver 

expenditures for recipients with I/DD, which amounted to $5,676 per recipient in 2016.3

Understanding the current state of I/DD services and supports in OR is important in better 

understanding how CoP activities and the CtLC framework impact families and individuals with 

I/DD. The evaluation team gathered valuable data from OR through administration of the reporting 

tool, telephone interview, and materials review. After careful analysis of the data using the value 

cycle framework, the evaluation team noted the following key achievements by OR’s CoP during 

evaluation year one:

¡ Strong Start is the Council’s newest leadership and advocacy training that more effectively 

addresses the three buckets approach as articulated in the CtLC framework.

¡ The OR CoP uses the ALL tool with culturally and linguistically diverse families and 

individuals who may or may not have already engaged in the service navigation and delivery 

systems.

¡ ODDS developed a strategic plan for the next several years that outlines new goals, including 

individualized support plan (ISP) development, statewide improvements to the person-centered 

planning process, and development of new evaluation strategies and training opportunities 

based on CtLC.

 

3 Larson, S.A., Eschenbacher, H.J., Anderson, L.L., Taylor, B., Pettingell, S., Hewitt, A., Sowers, M., & Bourne, M.L. 

(in press, 2018). In-home and residential long-term supports and services for persons with intellectual or developmental 

disabilities: Status and trends through 2016. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on 

Community Living, Institute on Community Integration.
State Data Brief Template

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OR’s continued participation in the National Supporting Families CoP shows their commitment to 

the CtLC framework and advancing supports for families of individuals with I/DD. The following 

tables includes a more comprehensive list of OR’s achievements from evaluation year one.

Exhibit 5. Oregon’s Achievements in Evaluation Year One, 2018-2019

Value Cycle CoP Activities and Achievements

Cycle 1: Immediate Value

Value of Activities and 

Interactions Themselves

§ The Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) funds the Family-toFamily networks (OCEN) to better support families of individuals with I/DD and 

build communities’ abilities to welcome and include people with I/DD.

§ Sharing information is a key element of the state CoP. On a quarterly basis, the 

Council brings together leadership from various organizations to share ideas.

Cycle 2: Potential Value

Changes in Knowledge 

Capital

§ OR is using CtLC-based language for strategic planning to discuss the state’s 

goals and create a priority work plan.

§ The DD Council prioritizes training opportunities for stakeholders in the hopes 

that they will embed the curriculum into their future work. For example, a 

senate bill from the last session made Personal Support Worker (PSW) Training 

mandatory and pushed further development. The training intends to expand

the professional knowledge base of PSWs, amplify the Department’s ability to 

influence trajectory, and encourage the value of integrated supports among 

those served.

§ OR incorporated CtLC into the Council’s Advocacy and Leadership Training, 

which is still in development.

§ Family Workforce Association is a new effort and collaboration among 

family/peer support organizations across service silos. They use CtLC for onsite 

technical assistance to improve member relationships and understanding.

Cycle 3: Applied Value

Changes in Practice

§ As a result of the CoP, OR is changing the evaluation strategy of several state 

activities, including the Compass Project and the OCFN.

Cycle 4: Realized Value

Performance 

Improvement

§ Families and individuals are better equipped and supported in navigating the 

service planning process of identifying and accessing appropriate supports.

They are also better informed on the intended role of DD services.

§ One provider agency in OR now uses the CtLC framework and tools as essential 

tools within their service planning toolbox.

Cycle 5: Reframed Value

Redefining Success

§ OR embedded the CtLC framework into its work scope and evaluation process 

for Family/Peer Support Contractors (OCFN). The state adopted this new 

strategy to better articulate the intentions and expected outcomes of these 

contracts, including better equipping family leaders with tools for success.

§ The state CoP and CtLC directly influenced OR's five-year strategic state plan. 

Aside from state agencies, providers are also embracing CtLC and incorporating 

it into their organization's goals.