The Surveys
Adult Consumer Survey
A cornerstone of NCI-AD’s mission is to raise the voices of older adults and people with disabilities by collecting data on how publicly funded services and supports impact their quality of life. This is achieved through our flagship survey: the Adult Consumer Survey.
The indicators that make up the ACS go beyond simple measures of health and safety; they also address important personal outcomes such as community engagement, independence, decision-making, self-direction and other person-centered components of a quality life. And the data fill a crucial gap in performance measurement systems in aging and disability: information about the experience of people receiving services directly from those people themselves.
See all domains and indicators at the link below.
Who participates?
NCI-AD surveys occur annually, through in-person, secure video meeting, or over-the-phone conversations with service participants. In addition to the questions for service participants, the survey also collects background information on the person –demographic and service-related data – mainly from service agency records.
Each participating state surveys a sample of at least 400 older adults and individuals with physical disabilities
NCI-AD supports states to develop their sample annually. States may choose to structure their sample frame to allow for comparisons between subgroups such as MCO, LTSS program, or demographics (such as race/ethnicity)
People surveyed are receiving publicly funded services including:
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waiver programs
- Medicaid State Plan programs
- State-funded programs
- Older Americans Act programs
Whose voice?
The main part of the survey contains subjective questions about how well services are supporting the person; these can only be answered by the person themselves. A subset of more objective questions may be answered by a proxy respondent if needed.
An additional Background Information section includes demographic and service-related characteristics of the person. This information provides valuable context about those included in the data.
Who does the surveying? Who analyzes the results?
Participating states are responsible for securing their own surveyors, but all surveyors undergo a standardized training developed and led by the NCI-AD National Team.
The NCI-AD National Team processes and analyzes the survey results. The team presents the results in state-level reports and a national report. States use the reports to strengthen LTSS policy, inform quality improvement activities, and compare their performance with national norms.
The NCI-AD National Team regularly produces smaller data digests and present at national conferences throughout the year. National datasets are also made available to researchers and academics who use the data to look more closely at specific topics. See recent publications and presentations.
State of the Workforce Survey
The State of the Workforce Survey is an online survey of provider agencies supporting older adults and people with physical disabilities in residential, employment, day services and other in-home or community inclusion programs. The survey captures information about wages, benefits, and turnover of the direct care professional workforce, hired by agencies.
How does it work?
Agencies receive the survey through an email invitation (address provided by State) and agencies respond directly online.
This tool is not used for provider-level assessment as the data are de-identified and are reported aggregated at the state level.
Where do data come from?
The SotW collects data about the status of direct service workers (DSWs) from provider organizations, typically someone in HR. The data collected includes important information including: average wages, vacancy rates, benefits provided, and recruitment and retention strategies employed by the provider.
Who analyzes the results?
The NCI-AD National Team processes and analyzes the survey results. The team presents the results in state-level reports and a national report. States use the reports to strengthen LTSS policy, inform quality improvement activities, and compare their performance with national norms.