The Task Force also recommended that monitoring and evaluation of the I&R service focus on both qualitative and quantitative measures as follows.
Monthly I&R statistics be provided to the board and posted to the agency Web site. An annual report would be published, widely distributed, and posted to the agency Web site.
Yearly evaluations for the first 2 years of operation will focus on structure and process. In years 3-4, evaluation will focus primarily on outcome and impact. Year 5 would focus on outcome, impact, and cost benefit. Evaluation criteria would include:
Number of inappropriate referrals
Cost per referral and cost per information call
Availability of the I&R service
User satisfaction
Response time, etc.
An additional study would be made after the second year to try to answer the question of impact, or whether the information and referral system helps meet the vision, i.e., mentally healthy citizens and a system that promotes mentally healthy people.