MEETING THE CHALLENGE - FIELD EVALUATIONS OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Changing perceptions about the capacities of people with serious menta l illness and the supports they need has led to an alteration in the v alues and goals of community mental health programs, and in the method s and tools used to evaluate them. Intensive programs, with small case loads, low turnover, and hard-to-serve clients pose additional challen ges to evaluators. The authors present and discuss 5 challenges faced when evaluating community support programs. These include selecting an appropriate design, engaging program staff, obtaining an adequate stu dy sample, involving clients and selecting measurement domains and too ls that reflect program values.