TCOM: What does it mean?
Let’s talk about Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM). It might sound like ‘management’ speak, but as you find out more, you’ll discover a uniquely person-centred approach to transforming lives that’s grounded in evidence and real, practical improvement. So, let’s break it down.
“Human services, including health care, are often complex because of the number of different people involved in the process of care. In complex systems, participants always have different perspectives and often have competing responsibilities and objectives.
Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management is a framework for managing such a complex system.
Within this framework there is a philosophy, an assessment strategy, and a set of tactics all designed to facilitate an effective and integrated approach to addressing the needs of people.”
TRANSFORMATIONAL
The TCOM approach is entirely focused on personal change. Just like the work that we all do as practitioners, managers of services, and commissioners or policymakers. We’re not here to tick boxes, but to protect and often positively transform the lives of individuals in need of our support.
TCOM shifts our focus to measuring and understanding individual change in a more holistic and person-centred way, and to putting that knowledge at the heart of our work.
COLLABORATIVE
Collaboration is at the heart of the TCOM England approach; collaboration that simply isn’t possible without effective communication through reliable, meaningful assessment.
TCOM’s assessment strategy provides a structured, evidence-based a framework of understanding that gets everyone on the same page, able to communicate more effectively as a team around the individual, child and/or family. It represents the requirements of all agencies and specialisms in the complex care system, even diagnostic criteria. We call this the ‘shared vision’.
Collaboration of this kinds enables us to move from a situation of silo-working (where different perspectives and poor communication can cause confusion and even conflict – sometimes even preventing an individual from receiving appropriate support) to a situation where individuals, practitioners, social workers and other agencies can work together with shared understanding and goals, with the child and family always at the centre of those conversations.
This move can be incredibly powerful, particularly in complex systems such as children’s social care.
OUTCOMES MANAGEMENT
Outcomes management is often misunderstood, or confused with performance monitoring. Often, in our assessment and outcome monitoring frameworks we’re capturing ‘outputs’ not ‘outcomes’.
Effective outcomes management is a whole system approach, where our measure of success is the change we’ve achieved with individuals. We sometimes call this ‘distance travelled’.
“TCOM and its communimetric assessment strategy is arguably the leading theoretically-driven, ethical approach to outcomes management currently in existence for high need children and families – one that will improve outcomes and in doing so save money.
We have not only the opportunity to
improve child-centred practice, service and care system strategy, but also
to contribute to our sector’s wider
understanding of what works, when,
where and for which children. How else will we pursue the goal we share – improved outcomes for children looked after, at a cost society can afford?”
This is important not only for care planning within organisations, but also for communicating the progress of our support and interventions – between agencies and with those who commission services. This understanding helps us see what works, what’s needed and where to focus our efforts.
For outcomes management to be effective, the outcomes we measure must be relevant and meaningful to the individuals and populations we’re working with. We need to assess them consistently, and over time, to really understand what’s happening, and to demonstrate change in the way that matter for the children and young people in our care.
When we work in this way, every piece of information collected in our assessments contributes to greater knowledge and understanding of what works, when, where and for which children, young people and families. As a sector, we can use that greater knowledge to shape and improve the care we provide reliable, person-centred, and ethically evidence-based way.
SO HOW DOES IT WORK IN PRACTICE?
The TCOM approach is based on reliable, comprehensive and collaborative assessment of needs, risks and strengths - made possible by a set of universal assessment tools, designed for use throughout whole systems of care. So while the TCOM approach might sound complex, the way it works in practice doesn’t have to be.
To get a feel for how these tools are used, why not book onto a free webinar with our team? Also, keep an eye on our News & Insights for snapshots from training and feedback from practitioners.