The central objective for the Community Wellness and Outcomes Project is to identify data sources and data elements that will allow the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MSHOAC) to develop a statewide dashboard to track state and county-level estimates on the seven negative outcomes outlined in the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA): suicide, unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, prolonged suffering, school failure/drop out, and removal of children from their homes. This dashboard is envisioned as an early step in building capacity to improve the measurement and reporting of mental health care needs, the services delivered to meet those needs, and the outcomes of those services.
To identify metrics that are best suited to assess the seven negative outcomes, the UCLA Center for Health Services and Society (CHSS) will collect data from a statewide survey of county administrators, focus groups of stakeholders, observations of public county events, literature reviews of each outcome, and environmental scan of existing data sources. The project staff has formed a Community Partnered Advisory Group to provide advice and feedback on the content, design, and implementation of the research.
Products of the project will include:
- The Outcomes Report, which is designed to be the technical reference of the dashboard
- The data library, data management plan, and data visualizations of the recommended data sources and data elements to assist MHSOAC with creating, maintaining, and updating the dashboard
- Data fact sheets and briefs for the general public to explain why the recommended data elements are critical to addressing the seven negative outcomes