there is a sustained partnership with the community, including ongoing interaction during the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program. Accountability includes making process and outcome measurements, providing this information to allow for informed decision-making, and financial responsibility.

Quality refers to the degree of excellence; effectiveness has to do with producing the desired result. Judgements about quality contain subjective elements, while measures of effectiveness tend to be more objective. Quality and effectiveness are interrelated in CSHPs—the existence of one implies the presence of the other.

Quality reflects the degree to which the program is consistent with current professional knowledge and standards, is delivered by competent personnel in a manner that respects and protects the dignity of the recipients (students, families, communities), and is delivered within an accountable system in which resources are used efficiently with minimal waste and cost. Effectiveness is the degree to which the program improves desired outcomes—health, developmental, and educational. Effective programs carefully match needs with appropriate and necessary interventions. They ensure the proper use of and access to needed interventions and avoid unnecessary or inappropriate interventions that can waste resources and increase the risk of harmful side effects. An implicit component of a high-quality, effective program is the presence of an ongoing feedback system that monitors processes and outcomes, and continually adjusts processes to optimize outcomes.