Anna Abella, PhD and Monica Landers, MA, MSW will be presenting "Data in the Dark -- The Limitations of Capturing the Full Story in Human Services Evaluation" at the American Evaluation Association Annual Conference - Eval 2020 Reimagined: "How Will You Shine Your Light?" October 27-30, 2020.

This Think Tank session will be used to explore how evaluation methods can more effectively capture the "full" story of human services work. Quantitative methods often do not capture the nuances of how outcomes or patterns manifest, and qualitative methods are often used before it is clear what questions or data will bring an issue to light. Drawing from lessons learned with evaluations designed to "comprehensively" assess system change and wellbeing outcomes, we assert that greater flexibility needs to be built into evaluations in human services that 1) allows evaluators to better incorporate new or revised research questions and/or data sources throughout the course of the evaluation and 2) better engages funders, providers, and practitioners in developing research questions.

In addition, they will be presenting "Preliminary Evaluation Findings from a Police Mental Health Collaborative Model" at the TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) 2020 Conference: "Collaboration and All that Jazz" November 11-13, 2020.

In this session, presenters will share findings from an evaluation of a Police Mental Health Collaborative model intended to divert individuals with untreated or under treated mental illness from jails and crisis stabilization units and improve coordination of behavioral health services. A care coordination team that is comprised of staff from several mental health provider agencies and staff from a Sheriff's Office Mental Health Unit uses collaborative and innovative approaches to identify individuals in need and direct them to appropriate services. Preliminary findings from the evaluation indicate that clients engaged in services through this model show improvements in functioning and self-sufficiency and have fewer days in jail and fewer involuntary mental health examinations compared to individuals who were offered services but did not engage in them.

Dr. Connie Walker was invited to be part of the panel, Developing the Capacity for Collaborative and Authentic Research among College Access and Success Professionals, at the annual conference of the Council of Opportunity in Education (COE). This is a platform for discussions on new trends in college access and retention and connects college leaders to proven best practices. Her presentation was entitled "Capacity Development to Participate in Evaluation and Research."

1. Dillahunt-Aspillaga, C., Bradley, S. E., Ottomanelli, L., Trexler, L., Malec, J. F., Butterfoss, F., . . . Scott, S. (2020). Using Coalition Building as a Tool to Implement Resource Facilitation for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications for Rehabilitation Counselors. The Journal of Rehabilitation, 86(3), 42-49.
2. Maxfield, N. D. (2020). Inhibitory Control of Lexical Selection in Adults who Stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 66, 105780. doi:10.1016/j.jfludis.2020.105780
3. Scrivens, R., Burruss, G. W., Holt, T. J., Chermak, S. M., Freilich, J. D., & Frank, R. (2020). Triggered by Defeat or Victory? Assessing the Impact of Presidential Election Results on Extreme Right-Wing Mobilization Online. Deviant Behavior, 1-16. doi:10.1080/01639625.2020.1807298
4. Weston, A., Jorgensen Smith, T., & Lu, Y. (2020). Perceived Impact of Video Gaming on Employment: Implications for Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling. The Journal of Rehabilitation, 86(3), 33-41.

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