(a) The department shall develop and use standards based on performance to evaluate and compare programs operated by the department.
(b) When practicable and feasible, the department shall provide specific performance standards for a program serving 10 or more children through an agreement entered into under § 242.053. In the performance standards, the department shall include outcome measures for evaluating the quality of services provided under the agreement.

(c) For the purposes of comparison, the department shall use performance standards that are as consistent as practicable with those used to evaluate and compare programs operated by the department, that measure the benefits and cost-effectiveness of the respective programs, and that measure the average length of stay and rate of recidivism of the children in the program.