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Improving Systems, Practices, and Outcomes

COS Form and Documenting Evidence

COS Form

In preparation for completing the COS Process, team members should:

Completing the COS form is how teams document the rating decision and supporting evidence.

See also: COS Rating Fidelity Tool to systematically review COS forms and associated evidence

The COS Form is not an assessment tool. It is a mechanism to document rating decisions and provide evidence that supports the rating from multiple sources (including one or more assessment tools).

Team Instructions for Completion

The Child Outcome Summary (COS) Form documents decision-making for the COS ratings. These instructions describe how to complete each section of the form. See your state's guidance for additional information.

State Considerations and Allowable Modifications

The Child Outcome Summary (COS) form can be used with or without modifications by states. Because some aspects of COS process are state-specific, state leaders may wish to modify portions of the COS form and the form's instructions to align with the unique processes, procedures and data systems. This section provides guidance for leaders of state Part C and Part B, Section 619 programs about the expectations for use of the COS form as well as what can and cannot be modified on the COS form.

  • All practitioners participating in the COS process have been trained. While the form includes basic instructions and prompts, meaningful professional development is essential to procedural fidelity and quality (for example, COS Process Professional Development).
  • Training on the COS process covered multiple facets, including understanding:
  • For in-depth analyses, the data captured in the form will be linked to other information in the state data system such as child demographics and program information. States that cannot do this will add fields to the form to capture information essential to analyses of the outcomes data.
  • All states using the COS form will use the 7-point scale as defined and the scale will not be altered.
    • The scale has been studied extensively and validated.
    • Each point on the scale clearly describes a child's developmental status relative to age expectations.
    • The scale is fundamental to the numerous materials developed to support use of the COS form and process.
    • A single exception applies to states who have expanded the scale to create additional points beyond 7 to describe development that exceeds age expectations without changing the definitions of points 1 through 6. These additional points are rolled together for summary statement calculation and reporting.

The first step for state leaders is to carefully review the COS form, the guidance embedded within the form itself, and the instructions for use at the program and practitioner levels. Identify the items in the form that align with your state practices and procedures and modify those that need to be changed. If you modify the form, you also need to edit the Team Instructions for Completion for completing the form accordingly.

Although these materials are copyrighted, states and programs may use and reproduce COS materials. States should use caution when modifying the COS form. Contact the Child Outcomes Measurement topic specialist for technical assistance on allowable state modifications.

  • Review the information collected and add any items that your state or local program needs for analysis that are not captured elsewhere or cannot be linked to other data (for example, date of first or last service, program name, or program ID).
  • Remove unnecessary items that duplicate data that are collected or available through other means. If your state doesn't use interim COS ratings (between entry and exit), remove the interim rating option.
  • Rename items that don't match usage or labels within your data system.

  • The three outcomes are labeled as Outcome 1, Outcome 2 and Outcome 3. Some state refers to them as Outcome A, Outcome B, and Outcome C, respectively.
  • If your state uses culminating descriptor statements rather than numerical 1 to 7 ratings, you can replace the numbers in the boxes with the culminating descriptor statements.

If the COS form is submitted for centralized data entry by the local program, determine if you would like summary information to appear first on the form, eliminating the need by data entry personnel to page through the document. You may want to include summary fields like the following, and instruct those completing the form to fill them out after completing the COS rating.

Outcome 1
  • 1a Rating:
  • 1b (exit only):
Outcome 2
  • 2a Rating:
  • 2b (exit only):
Outcome 3
  • 3a Rating:
  • 3b (exit only):

Effective Documentation of COS Ratings

Effective documentation is important for high-quality COS ratings for program improvement. Effective documentation:

  • Identifies functional skills the child uses, and how consistently across everyday settings and situations.
  • Describes the presence and absence of age-anchored (AE, IF, F) skills consistent with the rating.
  • Focuses on the child's current functioning, not how much progress the child has made.
  • Identifies information and sources contributing to the rating for each outcome.

States are encouraged to monitor quality of the COS process using the COS Rating Fidelity Tool.

Overall Age-Expected Functioning

7

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's age-expected (AE) functioning.
  • Indicates COS team members have "no concerns."
  • Evidence includes only age-expected (AE) functioning, and no immediate foundational (IF) or foundational (F) functioning.
6

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's age-expected (AE) functioning.
  • Indicates COS team members have concerns and what those concerns are.
  • Evidence includes only age-expected (AE) functioning, and no immediate foundational (IF) or foundational (F) functioning.

Some Age-Expected Functioning

5

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's age-expected (AE) and not age-expected (IF, F) functioning.
  • Evidence includes more functioning that is age-expected (AE) than not (IF, F).
4

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's age-expected (AE) and not age-expected (IF, F) functioning.
  • Evidence includes more functioning that is not age-expected (IF, F) than is (AE).

Not Yet Age-Expected Functioning

3

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's immediate foundational (IF) functioning, and if present, foundational (F) functioning.
  • Evidence includes more immediate foundational (IF) than foundational functioning (F), or only immediate foundational (IF) functioning. Evidence includes no age-expected (AE) functioning.
2

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's immediate foundational (IF) and foundational (F) functioning.
  • Evidence includes more foundational (F) than immediate foundational (IF) functioning, and no age-expected (AE) functioning.
1

Effective documentation:

  • Provides examples of the child's foundational (F) functioning.
  • Evidence includes only foundational (F) functioning, and no immediate foundational (IF) or age-expected (AE) functioning.