KEY PROJECTS Evaluation - Performance Monitoring and Decision Support… EMT has been a leader in development and support of performance monitoring and decision support systems for prevention, health promotion and related social services programs. Early in our corporate experience we promoted “management-focused evaluation” as a tool for improving performance. Our work in this area has included federal, state and local levels. At the federal level we are currently the prime external contractor for performance monitoring and evaluation of CDC-INFO, the new consolidated contact center in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are also currently a major sub-contractor in the U.S. Department of Education’s national development process for a Uniform Data Set to guide collection of data on substance use and violence in the nation’s schools. Historically, we have contributed to the development of performance monitoring and decision systems at state and national levels, including the development of CSAP’s Minimum Data Set. Other projects in this arena include the evaluation of the First 5 LA Connect information and referral service in Los Angeles County and projects for the State of California on NOMS and Community Indicators. Information on each of these projects appears below. CDC-INFO Program Evaluation CDC-INFO is a new program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide a single point of contact to the public for public health matters involving CDC. Until recently, all of the call centers or hotline numbers were separate by public health topic (e.g. HIV/AIDS, immunization, emergency response). Over the next few years, all of these call centers will be consolidated into CDC-INFO. A private sector company – Pearson Government Solutions – was awarded the contract to operate CDC-INFO for a seven-year term. EMT Associates was awarded the contract to provide evaluation services. The evaluation includes several activities and data sets which are being implemented in a staged fashion. The first major data set derives from a call monitoring scorecard whereby EMT staff monitor a sampling of CDC-INFO calls. Other data sets include an IVR satisfaction survey and a follow-up phone satisfaction survey. CDC-INFO also responds to e-mail contacts and EMT is evaluating these contacts through monitoring and surveys. EMT will also be extracting data from the Pearson data warehouse on both individual contacts (phone and e-mail) and aggregate data on call volumes and process flow. First 5 LA Connect Evaluation First 5 LA Connect is a large, 24 hour hotline service to provide information, referral, and parent support and assistance to families with young children (prenatal to five years) and pregnant women in Los Angeles County. The project is funded through a four-year grant from the Los Angeles First 5 Commission, the local agent of California’s innovative Children and Families First program. This program was created through California Proposition 10 and uses funds from a special tax levy on tobacco products to fund local services that support the health, safety and school readiness of young children. EMT serves as the external evaluator for First 5 LA Connect. Our responsibilities include monitoring program performance relative to established performance standards, monitoring calls for professionalism and content accuracy, placing calls to the hotline to monitor compliance with First 5 LA requirements, conducting follow up telephone surveys to evaluate caller satisfaction and the utility of the information received, and using focus groups and other in depth research methods to assess the degree to which the program is meeting community needs. Our work for this project emphasizes focused analyses that meet specific decision needs for both the project contractor and the Los Angeles First 5 Commission. For example, we have conducted analyses of the effectiveness of different outreach techniques to diverse communities by analyzing the relation of media messages to call volume. In another example, we have analyzed the equity of call access across geographic areas and racial/ ethnic groups and recommended actions to improve equity in access and utilization. At a more operationally specific level, we conduct monthly feedback meetings with the project contractor and First 5 LA, identify anomalies and problems in performance, and recommend ameliorative action. California ADP NOMS and Community Indicators Projects Currently EMT is involved with the development of National Outcome Measures (NOMS) for California’s Department of Alcohol and Drug Program (ADP). EMT has collaborated over several years with the California Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Programs to design and maintain a statewide data management, analysis, and reporting system for monitoring alcohol and other drug risk and outcome indicator data. The Community Indicators of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Risk compiles county-level information on more than 26 indicators of alcohol and other drug abuse and related consequences using data from eight major state agencies. The 58 county reports provide six-year data trends with standardized rate calculations, state and county comparisons, county rankings, trend line analysis, and graphic representations for indicators across four domains (community, family, school and individual/peer).