The California Department of Mental Health (DMH) hired BPA to evaluate its Traumatic Brain Injury(TBI) Project, a system of seven programs that each provide a continuum of post-acute services for adults 18 years of age or older with TBI. Each grantee uses a unique design to provide a set of core services to adults with TBI and their families, including intake and assessment, service planning, service coordination, supported living, community reintegration, and vocational services. The programs also use community resources to create opportunities for adults with TBI to live in the community and achieve their maximum potential.

DMH supports the TBI Project in providing vocational services through an interagency agreement with the California Department of Rehabilitation. This agreement allows DMH to use grant funds and in-kind services as a match for federal Vocational Rehabilitation funds. Grantees that choose to participate in this agreement thus receive additional funding to cover vocational assessment and personal, vocational and social adjustment services for grant participants.

The objectives of BPA’s evaluation are to: 1) assist the programs in establishing a uniform participant data collection system that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the individual sites and the program as a whole; 2) describe each program’s service model, context, and implementation; 3) identify factors associated with program and participant success; and 4) prepare a report to the Legislature that summarizes study findings and provides recommendations for program improvement and future evaluation efforts. Study methods include collection and analysis of both qualitative site visit data and quantitative data on participant characteristics and outcomes.