Our Services

• Contract Management and Financial Services
• Service Quality and System Development - Adult
• Service Quality and System Development - Child/Family
• Evaluation and Services Research
• Cultural and Linguistic Competence
• Program and Project Management

Evaluation and Services Research

Providing Innovative Solutions in Human Services Delivery

To be effective, leaders in the behavioral health and human services fields need ready access to information that enables them to gauge the effectiveness of programs and services and to make informed decisions about where to direct resources.

Program, County, and agency directors are asking the following questions:

• Is my program reaching the people for whom it was intended?
• Have I maintained fidelity to the program model?
• Are the people served realizing the improvements in outcomes we expected?
• Are there opportunities to improve performance, and if so, where can I realize the greatest gains?

CCSI's Evaluation and Services Research team works closely with our customers in local government, at provider agencies, and in other sectors to develop meaningful measures of performance, establish efficient processes to collect essential data, objectively assess program outcomes, and importantly, to use this information proactively to help maximize performance.

Our Staff

Dr. Thomas Jewell oversees quantitative and qualitative outcome evaluations, as well as a range of projects focused on the practical application of continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles to programs and services. Formerly the Director of the University of Rochester Medical Center's Family Institute for Education, Practice & Research, Dr. Jewell has partnered with multiple stakeholders (the NYS Office of Mental Health, the New York State Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors), to develop and coordinate the statewide implementation and evaluation of evidence-based family services throughout New York State. Tom received his Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the psychiatric rehabilitation of schizophrenia at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the Rochester Psychiatric Center. His research focuses on applied program evaluation, staff training in evidence-based practices, family interventions in severe mental illness, and the application of CQI principles in routine mental health treatment settings.

Thomas Jewell, Ph.D. Director

Examples of Our Work

• Evaluating the Impact of the Youth and Family Partnership (YFP) Program

  Evaluating the Impact of the Youth and Family Partnership (YFP) Program

  CCSI works closely with staff from the Monroe County Department of Child and Family Services, the Office of Mental Health, and the Office of Probation - Community Corrections, to evaluate the YFP program. This innovative, cross-system collaboration aims to improve services for youth at risk of residential placement.

  Evaluation of this program is ongoing, and focused on both process and outcome measures, including practice fidelity and consumer perceptions about service quality and effectiveness, as well as clinical and fiscal outcomes. Results from this ongoing evaluation are used routinely to monitor progress and make improvements needed to strengthen performance and meet program goals.

• Working with Community Partners to Evaluate an Innovative Pre-Trial Diversion Program

  Working with Community Partners to Evaluate an Innovative Pre-Trial Diversion Program

  In the fall of 2007, Monroe County received funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to divert women with mental health and substance abuse issues from jail to appropriate, evidence-based, community treatment.

  This project represents a partnership among several key stakeholders, including the Monroe County Office of Mental Health, the Monroe County Jail, Pre-Trial Services, and Catholic Family Center.

  CCSI's Evaluation and Services Research team was selected to conduct the evaluation of this initiative, which aims to reduce incarceration time, re-arrest rates, and improve retention in community services.

Related Reports and Publications

• Partnering with families: A case study using multiple family group psychoeducation for schizophrenia