…assisting agencies, advancing systems change

	News to Note...
	Dave Pilon, Ph.D., who directs our outcomes and research work, was featured in a Sacramento Bee newspaper column on accountability measures for the new Mental Health Services Act. The column describes how measures will be modeled after the outcomes we collect for AB 2034 programs in California.  These 55  programs serve almost 5,000 people with mental illness who also have a history of homelessness or incarceration.  As Dave says in the column, we “look at not only the individual outcomes, but at whether we are creating healthy communities as well.”

Introduction

Through our outcomes studies, MHA assists mental health programs in evaluating their effectiveness and advances systems change toward recovery-based services that help people with mental illness integrate into the community. In our current projects, we are conducting analyses for the state of California and county of Los Angeles.

MHA specializes in “quality of life” outcomes studies, which measure living, work, education, finance and social goals. These areas are those that often form the core of an individual’s participation in community life. They reflect areas that are important to people with mental illness and their families.

We use the Integrated Services Outcomes System designed by our research director. This computerized system focuses on the collection, analysis and reporting of real-time data. We measure employment, education, financial, legal, conservatorship and payee areas. Annual evaluations are conducted in areas of psychiatric symptom distress, substance abuse, level of functioning and level of social support. We have used this system to measure effectiveness at our own MHA Village since 1996.

Studies

• AB 34 Outcomes Study
  We coordinate evaluation to document the effectiveness of AB 34 projects, which are funded by California legislation to provide comprehensive care to people with mental illness who are homeless, being released from jail or at serious risk of homelessness or jail. At the request of the state’s Department of Mental Health, we work with 55 projects in 34 California counties, which serve almost 5,000 people. We measure reductions in homelessness, psychiatric hospitalization and incarceration and increases in independent living and employment. We produce a “quality of life” outcomes report card for our state’s mental health system leaders and policy makers.

• Integrated Services/ACT Outcomes Study
  The study measures results of 14 programs that use the integrated services – a system of comprehensive service and support – or ACT (assertive community treatment) models in Los Angeles County. Conducted on behalf of the county Mental Health Department, we track quality of life and functioning outcomes for more than 1,600 individuals. Now in its seventh year, it is the county’s only long-term longitudinal study that focuses on quality of life results for people with serious mental illness.

Honors

MHA’s outcomes work has attracted national and state recognition. Our director was named 2004 researcher of the year by the United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. In our state, he was honored by the California Mental Health Directors Association. The Governor’s 2004-2005 Budget Summary noted that the outcomes of the AB 34 programs “have shown that this program leads to significant savings at the local level.”

Contact Us

To learn more about these studies or to talk with us about a new research project, please contact:

Dave Pilon, Ph.D., C.P.R.P.
Director, MHA Outcomes and Research
320 Pine Ave., Suite 601
Long Beach, CA 90802
888-242-2522, ext. 249
dpilon@mhala.org