National Core Indicators (NCI)® -IDD
A Family of Surveys
NCI® is a voluntary effort by public intellectual and developmental disabilities agencies to measure and track their own performance.
The core indicators are standard measures used across states to assess the outcomes of services provided to individuals and families. Indicators address key areas of concern including employment, rights, service planning, community inclusion, choice, and health and safety.
Why states use NCI
Performance data collected by NCI helps states answer fundamental questions such as:
- Are we providing quality service?
- Are people healthy and safe?
- Do services enable people to participate in family and community life?
Today, NCI measures everything from whether individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have jobs; have choices about where they live; have access to health care; and if they feel services are accessible and coordinated.
How it Works
States conduct a face-to-face survey with randomly selected individuals receiving services. In addition, families are randomly selected for a survey by mail. Data from these interviews and surveys are used to create state reports about individual outcomes; health, welfare, and rights; staff stability and competency; family outcomes and system performance. A national report is generated as well as a report for each state.
What We Learn from NCI
State reports, based on the data collected through interviews and surveys, are issued annually and are publicly available. States can use the reports to track their own performance over time, to compare results across states, and to establish national benchmarks.
NCI Reports, Data Briefs and other tools can be found on the NCI-IDD website.
How States Participate
To participate in NCI, states enter into an annual agreement with NASDDDS. NASDDDS and HSRI provide the structure for surveys and data collection; training for interviewers; and data management and report writing. The state is responsible for completing a series of consumer and family surveys and entering survey data into a web-based online data entry system (ODESA) designed by HSRI.
New states are welcome to join NCI at any time. At the beginning of each state fiscal year, NASDDDS issues a formal invitation for member states to join NCI (or to indicate continued participation) for the next “phase” of data collection. Phases run from July 1 to June 30.
