[BoulderCouncilHotline] Questions re: Community Assistance Response Team pilot

[Speer, Nicole]

Good morning, everyone,

I have some questions for the CART discussion and wanted to send them in advance to give staff some time to think about this issue of how we define and measure success.

My general question/comment is around what "refining" program goals means: How much more specific will our goals get so that we make sure council, staff, and the community are crystal clear on what success looks like before we launch this program?

As some examples of what I mean, here are the types of questions that came to mind for me regarding the proposed pilot program goals and objectives on page 5:

  1.  What percentage of calls diverted from BPD and Fire will we consider a success? (1)
  2.  How much of an improved response times for higher-level or more critical emergencies will we need to see to think the program has successfully achieved this goal? (1a)
  3.  Are we able to partner with the necessary groups that will generate the data we need to determine whether we are improving health outcomes in emergencies (e.g., with BCH)? And, what does "improve health outcomes" mean in terms of a measurable goal? (1b)
  4.  How will we track positive health impacts for individuals and successful diversion from emergency services, especially in a time when community services are already stretched thin? (2)
  5.  Who will realize the cost savings from reduced emergency services, and how much of a cost savings will we consider a success? (3)
  6.  How many unnecessary ambulance rides are we looking to reduce? What counts as unnecessary? (3a)
  7.  Can we track connections to services and referrals and what data will tell us if they are increased? How will we define success (again, especially with community services stretched thin)?

Other general questions:

  *   Are we able to use any metrics that have existing data, so we have a baseline? (e.g., can we look at something like "a 5% decrease in complaints to the Police Oversight Panel")?
  *   How will we define success in cases where we do not have a baseline (e.g., to what will we compare "feeling respected during a call to initiate a CART response," p. 9)?
  *   What recommendations does the evaluator have to improve our ability to attribute changes to the CART program vs. to "other community efforts" (p. 8)?
  *   What types of demographics will we collect beyond housing status?

I know we won't have all these answers until the evaluator is on board, and I don't mean to suggest all these things would be measured. Rather, I am interested in hearing more about how we will ensure our goals are set in such a way that there is minimal room for interpretation on whether or not the pilot program achieved its goals.

Thanks,
Nicole

Nicole Speer, Ph.D.
Boulder City Councilmember
Pronouns: she, her(s), ella

Phone: 303-519-9068

Web: bouldercolorado.gov/person/nicole-speer<https://bouldercolorado.gov/person/nicole-speer>
Twitter: @SpeerBldrCC<https://twitter.com/SpeerBldrCC>

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