SECTIONS 11827-11829 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 11827-11829

11827. The Legislature recognizes that local program effectiveness
may be evaluated in a variety of ways, but should reflect the needs
and priorities of the local community and attempt to measure the
achievement of objectives determined through the planning process
described in this part. The Legislature further recognizes that the
conducting of these evaluations is essential to holding county
alcohol and other drug programs accountable for their use of state
funds and increasing program effectiveness. The Legislature
recognizes the beneficial results of the local evaluation process to
those participating in this process, as described in the county plan.
The Legislature desires to encourage experimentation and diversity
in the methods utilized by counties to evaluate the county alcohol
and other drug programs' achievement of their objectives, including,
but not limited to, evaluations of individuals' progress, changes in
utilization rates, changes in community attitudes, and measurement of
specific programmatic goals in order to advance our knowledge about
the effectiveness of programs in alleviating alcohol and other drug
problems.

11828. Each county shall assure the evaluation of all state-funded
programs to determine whether they have achieved their objectives as
determined in the planning process. In addition, recognizing the
difficulty and expense of conducting effective county alcohol and
other drug program evaluation, the department may assist counties in
developing evaluation designs for implementation by counties to
measure progress of alcohol or other drug users, changes in community
attitudes toward inappropriate alcohol use and other drug problems,
changes in the incidence and prevalence of alcohol and other drug
problems within the county, or other objectives identified in the
planning process. The department, in cooperation with counties that
choose to participate, may assist and fund counties to implement the
evaluation designs developed. Counties may contract with public or
private agencies and utilize funds allocated under this part for
purposes of conducting the evaluations.

11829. The department may disseminate information about the
evaluation projects to all counties and interested persons throughout
the state in order to advance the knowledge of the field about these
evaluation methodologies.