Homeless Outreach Network Evaluation

Homeless Outreach Network Evaluation

Client

Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office

Context

In 2015-2016, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative within the Chief Executive Office (CEO) and approved a set of cross-sector strategies to respond to the humanitarian crisis of homelessness. In 2019, the CEO contracted RDA to conduct a mixed-methods evaluation of Strategy E6, the County’s effort to establish integrated networks of multidisciplinary, street-based outreach teams charged with identifying, engaging, and connecting homeless individuals to needed resources and support services as well as interim and/or permanent housing.

Approach

To understand and assess the multi-sector collaboration and systems change efforts for implementing Strategy E6, RDA gathered and analyzed administrative data including more than five million Homeless Management Information System service records and staff survey data. We also collected extensive qualitative data from interviews with agency leadership and focus groups with frontline staff from multiple County departments, and we reviewed programmatic documents, best practices, and research literature. Through analysis of these data, RDA identified strengths, challenges, and gaps related to strategy implementation, system collaboration, data sharing and infrastructure, outreach practices and team culture, and client service delivery.

Results

We presented these findings at a policy summit that included a panel of experts, city representatives, and County leadership, and then developed a final evaluation report that addressed the County’s research questions while also offering actionable recommendations for continuous system improvement, refinement of collaboration pathways, and implementation of evidence-based outreach practices.

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