Amador County Mental Health Services Act Planning
RDA is currently conducting a county-wide community planning process in Amador County for
all five components of MHSA planning: Prevention and Early Intervention; Workforce Development and Education;
Capital Facilities and Technology; Housing; and Innovation. Over the course of the coming months, staff will
conduct best practice research, feasibility analysis and budget development. We are already beginning to
convene strategy roundtables, focus groups and community meetings to hear feedback and gather input from
consumers and family members, Behavioral Health Department staff and partners, and other stakeholders across the county.
Butte County First 5 Baby Steps Evaluation
RDA is beginning a 3 year evaluation effort of the First 5 Baby Steps program, which is a special initiative
of the Butte County First Five Commission. The program is designed to provide home visiting, education and family building activities
to mothers under the age of 25. By examining both the program's outcomes on participants and its fidelity to previously defined program
goals, RDA will provide information to stakeholders on process and outcome measures. RDA's experience in combining qualitative analysis
through structured interview, discussion and survey protocol with analysis of quantitative data relating to specific outcome indicators
will provide a rich body of information to the Commission and program staff.
Caņada College Evaluation
RDA is evaluating Caņada College's efforts to increase the number of Hispanic and low income
students attaining science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees. This formative
evaluation involves site visits, interviews, focus groups, and data analysis of student demographics,
enrollment, transfer rate, pre- and post-tests and student satisfaction and perceptions of STEM programs.
RDA will measure the efficacy of the program to achieve its goals, as well as the appropriateness of the
program's design in addressing core challenges.
Kings County Mental Health Services Act Planning
The Behavioral Health Administration in Kings County, working with RDA, is developing comprehensive
Prevention and Early Intervention and Innovation Plans to be submitted to the State Department of
Mental Health. Through community outreach, data collection, needs assessments and other planning activities,
RDA will develop strategies specific to the County's particular behavioral health needs.
Merced County Mental Health Services Act
RDA is happy to be the successful bidder for Merced County's Capital
Facilities and Technology Needs planning effort for the Mental Health Services Act. The Merced
County Board of Supervisors and the State of California approved the plan for Prevention and
Early Intervention services. RDA facilitated this community planning effort and we are looking
forward to continuing to work with the community. Read more in the
May 2009 newsletter from
California Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission.
Oakland Measure Y Evaluation Design
RDA is in its second year of evaluating Oakland's Measure Y Initiative, the Violence Prevention and
Community Policing Act. By analyzing the impact of 26 community based programs through both quantitative
and qualitative measures at three levels including: 1) changes in the community, 2) progress of the programs
toward their specific goals, and 3) changes experienced by program participants RDA will help to inform
stakeholders about how well the Measure Y programs and community policing activities are working.
Building on last year's evaluation findings, RDA will be able to provide a richer, more comprehensive
evaluation for the second year. Reports for the 2008-09 evaluation year can be found on the Measure Y
Oversight Committee website located at: http://measurey.org/index.php?page=oversight-committee-meetings
Oakland Policing Department (OPD) Community Policing Data Reporting System
RDA is in the process of developing a project management system, SARA, for the Oakland Police Department to serve
as a tool for officers and to facilitate greater understanding of policing strategies and impacts in the City of
Oakland. The data system will improve the process of OPD assessment and assignment and enrich the analysis and
research efforts of participants by providing a framework to summarize data and deliver specific reports.
The database will also provide accurate authorization and controlled access to sensitive information. Officers can
access the system with any web browser from on-board laptop computers in patrol cars, and their supervising sergeants can
monitor project status and details in real time.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Conflict Resolution Training
SFMTA employees face increasingly difficult situations in their daily interactions with the public. RDA has
contracted with SFMTA to provide conflict training to MTA staff to empower them to reduce stressful and/or
potentially harmful encounters. RDA will begin our trainings by performing an organizational needs assessment of MTA.
San Joaquin County Mental Health Services Act Planning
On behalf of San Joaquin County's Department of Behavioral Health, RDA served as planning consultant
for two MHSA components: Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) and Workforce Education and Training (WET).
As part of this effort, RDA completed a comprehensive needs assessment with personnel data from over 800 public mental health
employees. The assessment brought together consumer and family members, Department and CBO employees and staff, high school,
community college and university educators, human resources and workforce development experts in over 50 focus groups and key
informant interviews which demonstrated training needs, staffing shortages, underserved populations and other service gaps related
to staff experience, training and education. Read more about San Joaquin County's WET and PEI plans.
Sonoma HEAL Evaluation
The HEAL initiative is a Kaiser-funded effort to improve community
health and disease prevention through environmental and system changes. In collaboration with the
Sonoma County Department of Health Services, RDA is working to develop and implement an
evaluation plan for the HEAL initiative. RDA's role includes facilitating participation in the
process across large multi-disciplinary groups, tool development and data collection and analysis.
State California Mental Health Services Act
RDA is currently providing planning services to the Mental Health Oversight and Accountability Commission
for the initial evaluation of MHSA programs across the State. We will perform an inventory of current MHSA
evaluation efforts and develop a framework of potential evaluation measures. In concurrence with MHSA values,
this process will be informed by stakeholder input and will incorporate community, individual and system level
outcomes. Our final deliverable will be a fully developed scope of work to guide the upcoming evaluation of
all 5 MHSA components throughout California counties.
Yolo County Substance Abuse Evaluation
RDA is currently conducting an evaluation of the ACT on Recovery program,
supported by the SAMHSA TCE Rural Methamphetamine Grant. ACT on Recovery provides an interdisciplinary
approach to treatment of rural methamphetamine abusers most in need and most difficult to serve,
particularly those with co-occurring mental health issues. Through a process and outcome evaluation,
RDA assesses to what degree the ACT program was able to meet the objectives laid out by SAMHSA,
and the program's impact on clients.
Wright Institute
On behalf of the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, RDA facilitated
the formation of a development plan for innovative public school-based clinical training sites.
RDA led a strategic planning process that ultimately resulted in a concrete concept paper,
logic model, budget and a prioritized set of funding opportunities. The proposed school-based
project will result in collaboration between Oakland Unified School District and the Wright
Institute to place between 8 to 10 graduate students in four elementary schools with the goal
of fostering academic achievement through the provision of culturally competent, evidence-based
psychological services to children and their families.
