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The Comprehensive Program Evaluation Project (CPEP) 

Program Evaluation Preliminary Report

The Comprehensive Program Evaluation Project (CPEP) is a pilot program intended to serve substance abusing women and their young children. This project is a collaborative effort between the Department of Social and Health Services - Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA), Medical Assistance Administration (MAA), Research and Data Analysis (RDA), Children's Administration (CA) - and the Department of Health (DOH).

The comprehensive program seeks to improve the health and welfare of substance abusing mothers and their children by early identification of pregnant substance abusers, improved access to and coordination of health care services and chemical dependency treatment, and family-oriented early intervention services for mothers and their children. The design of program services was based on the 1999 DSHS-DOH Report to the Legislature, A Comprehensive Program for Alcohol and Drug Abusing Mothers and Their Young Children (Response to RCW 13.34.803).

Pregnant and/or parenting women are offered a variety of services including targeted intensive case management (TICM), chemical dependency (CD) treatment, transitional housing, behavioral health services, and parenting education. These services are offered locally in three Washington communities: Benton-Franklin, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. Service providers in each of these counties may include case managers and their supervisors, behavioral health specialists, social workers, chemical dependency treatment counselors, supervisors, administrators, child care service managers, child development specialists, nurse specialists, and a county drug court coordinator.

Since the local pilot programs began enrolling clients in early 2000, 148 women have been served (as of September 30, 2000). TICM providers in Benton-Franklin and Snohomish ounties will serve a minimum of 75-100 or more women per year. Whatcom County (offering TICM only) will serve a minimum of 40 or more women per year. TICM providers report that they are now close to meeting their minimum enrollment expectations. The residential treatment facilities in Benton-Franklin and Snohomish Counties each have 16 beds and report being at full capacity (as of November 15, 2000). They also report a combined total of 13 women on waiting lists.

General characteristics of the clients served are described below.

• The average age of enrolled women was 27 years old, with ages ranging from 17 to 42 years old. Thirty-seven percent were less than 25 years old.
• Most women (71%) identified themselves as White or Caucasian, while 29% identified themselves in other ethnic or racial groups (Hispanic, 11; African American, 6; American Indian, 6; Asian, 1).
• Twelve percent of women enrolled were currently married. Twenty percent were separated or divorced from a spouse. The remainder were single or never married (57 of 84, or 68%).
• More than half (76 of 142, or 53%) of women were receiving Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) at intake. Most women were Medicaid-eligible, and all clients met the project eligibility requirement for income (at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level).
• Forty-one percent of 142 participants were pregnant at intake. Most participants (73%) had at least one other child. Participants had a total of 314 children. Thirty-eight percent of these children lived with their mothers, while the others lived with relatives or in foster care.

The final CPEP process evaluation report will be available by March 31, 2001. An outcome evaluation report describing mother- and child-based outcomes will be available by December 31, 2003. The availability of follow-up data for program clients enrolled in year 1 will be fairly limited at this point in time and quite limited for those enrolled after year 1. A minimum of three years follow-up data on program clients will be available in 2006.

As part of the CPEP process evaluation, community service providers were given an opportunity to evaluate this program by completing a brief questionnaire containing five statements or questions. For the first three statements, respondents were asked to identiFiscal Year their level of agreement with each statement (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree). For the last two questions, respondents were asked to estimate the number of clients having particular experiences as a result of participating in this program (ranging from none to all). Respondents included 22 TICM staff members, 15 chemical dependency treatment providers, and 14 providers representing various community agencies,  for a total of 51 respondents.

Preliminary results from the data collection through November 7, 2000, may be summarized as follows:

• More than 80% of community service providers agree or strongly agree that it takes a lot of work to effectively serve clients as a team.
• Most providers (78%) agree or strongly agree that this program provides many services that are not readily available to clients in the community.
• Most providers (82%) agree or strongly agree that working relationships among community service providers have improved since becoming part of the program.
• The majority of providers (84%) feel that at least some, if not most or all, clients who actively participate in the program get important needs met.
• Nearly 80% of providers feel that most or all clients have already benefited from participation in this program.

Modified: Wednesday November 02 2005

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