Our research and evaluation work spans several areas of public health, with a focus on child and adolescent health and mental health and school health services.
School-Based Behavioral Health (SBBH)
Our work focuses on documenting the reach and impacts of local and statewide SBBH initiatives. Select projects include:
- Project Cal-Well Evaluation: The California Department of Education (CDE), with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has implemented Project Cal-Well in partnership with a cohort of three Southern California Local Education Agencies (2014-19), three Northern California County Offices of Education (2019-24), and two Northern California County Offices of Education (2023-28). Project Cal-Well comprises a comprehensive three-component model of developmentally appropriate and culturally competent interventions to expand school and community-based mental health services. The CDE contracted with our team to comprehensively evaluate all three cohorts of Project Cal-Well.
- BlueSky Initiative Evaluation: The BlueSky Initiative is a social justice and youth mental health initiative led by Blue Shield of California with the goal of providing resources and supports for youth, families, educators, and caregivers to promote emotional well-being for youth. Our evaluation aims to document the reach and impact of the initiative and to build the evaluation capacity of community-based organizations funded through the initiative.
- Alameda County Behavioral Health Student Services (BHSSA) Act Program Evaluation: In 2022, Alameda County received a four-year grant to implement the BHSSA Partnership Program, administered by Alameda County Health’s Healthy Schools and Communities Division, in close partnership with Alameda County Health’s Behavioral Health Division and Alameda County Office of Education. A priority for ACHSC continues to be to spread and sustain support for districts and community-based organization partners to build successful school health infrastructure and partnerships. Our evaluation documents the reach of each district's programming as well as the initiative's impacts on the county level.
- San Diego County Creating Opportunities for Preventing and Eliminating Suicide (COPES) Evaluation: With funding from the Behavioral Health Student Services Act, San Diego County Office of Education and County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services are leading the COPES initiative to build the capacity of schools and districts to support their school communities to prevent and eliminate youth suicide. Our evaluation tracks initiative progress, including tracking suicide screening and follow-up efforts and changes in youth mental health indicators over time.
- Northern Humboldt Union High School District (NHUHSD) School-Based Mental Health Program Evaluations: With funding from School-Based Mental Health Services and Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grants from the U.S. Department of Education, NHUHSD is working to uplift innovative partnerships between the district and California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt to train mental health service providers and improve the overall delivery of school-based mental health services for students. Our team is partnering with NHUHSD to evaluate the progress and impact of these grants.
School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs)
Our work focuses on documenting the reach and impacts of SBHCs locally, statewide and nationally. Select projects include:
- National Study of SBHCs: Rigorous research is needed to inform the selection and implementation of school-based health center (SBHC) models and practices, given the expansion and rapidly changing landscape of SBHCs nationally and heightened recognition of barriers to health care access. This four-year mixed methods study, funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, aims to: 1) describe current trends in SBHC staffing models and practices nationally and create a classification system to strengthen future research, design, and implementation; 2) determine the care delivery, coordination, and school health system integration practices associated with more equitably serving youth who disproportionately experience disparities; and 3) examine the association between SBHC models and academic outcomes by race/ethnicity nationally.
- Alameda County School Health Centers: With funding from the Alameda County Center for Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC), 28 School Health Centers provide a range of integrated medical, behavioral health, health education, oral health, and youth development services in a safe, youth-friendly environment at or near schools throughout Alameda County. CHSC has contracted with our team for over twenty years to conduct a multi-method evaluation to strengthen health center operations further and provide valuable data for program improvement and advocacy for continued expansion. Our evaluation documents the demographic profile of school health center clients, the services they receive, and whether these services lead to improved health access and client and population-level outcomes. Many of the SHCs are located in Oakland Unified School District.
Homeless Education Services
Our work focuses on documenting the reach and impacts of homeless education services locally and statewide. Select projects include:
California's Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center (HETAC) Evaluation: The California HETAC network is funded by the California Department of Education to provide support and technical assistance to county offices of education (COEs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested education partners to ensure educational access and success for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The HETAC network is operated by the Contra Costa COE, Los Angeles COE, and San Diego COE. Our evaluation documents the reach of HETACs work across the state.
Prior Projects
Select prior research and evaluation projects include:
- California American Rescue Plan - Homeless Children and Youth Evaluation
- California Department of Education Project Cal-STOP Evaluation
- California School-Based Health Alliance Survey of SBHCs
- Los Angeles County Office of Education Homeless Education Program Evaluation
- San Diego County Office of Education Homeless Education Services Evaluation