The Community Circle of Care is participating in a national evaluation of programs funded through the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and their Families grants. This evaluation is the most comprehensive study to date of a mental health service delivery program for children.

The goals of this evaluation is to:

• Describe the children and families who are served by the Community Circle of Care.
• Demonstrate whether there are observable improvements in child and family outcomes following their association with the Community Circle of Care.
• Estimate the cost of serving children through the Community Circle of Care.
• Assess the effectiveness of the Community Circle of Care approach as compared to traditional service delivery approaches.

All families receiving services through the Community Circle of Care are eligible to participate in this evaluation. Enrolled families are interviewed once every 6 months for up to three years. Survey questions ask about family living situations, caregiver strain, school performance, substance use, and other behavioral and emotional issues.

In addition to the National Evaluation, there is also a local evaluation component that will measure both systems and organizational change. Through interviews and secondary data analysis, researcher will study the composition of organizational networks and changes to networks over time to understand the collaborative and institutional changes attributable to the Community Circle of Care initiative.

It is hoped that by showing improved outcomes over time, results from this evaluation will aid in the long-term sustainability of the Community Circle of Care.

Want to learn more?

For more information about this evaluation, contact Jennifer Cook, Evaluation Manager, at jennifer-a-cook@uiowa.edu.