To examine the impact of key initiatives and take lessons learned into future grant programs, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is strengthening its evaluation activities. It is critical for the foundation to document its impact as a grantmaker and to utilize strategic learning. Through these efforts, we strive to improve initiatives and ensure that they continue to reflect the overall mission of the foundation – to advance recovery and wellness in Texas.
The evaluation efforts are being spearheaded by Dr. Michele R. Guzmán, the foundation’s assistant director of research and evaluation. Dr. Guzmán is working hard to ensure that evaluation plans developed with external evaluators have clear goals and that evaluation reports are received in a format that is a good fit for conveying useful information to the foundation’s stakeholders.
Evaluations of various initiatives have already begun and are in different stages of progress. For each selected initiative, an external evaluator was either selected by the foundation or identified by the grantee to lead the evaluation process. As information about lessons learned and outcomes are received, the foundation will update its website.
Evaluation details are currently being prepared for the following programs:
-East Texas Coalition for Mental Health Recovery
-Bilingual Scholarships for Mental Health Workforce Diversity
-Integrated Healthcare Collaborative Care Grant
-Children, Youth and Family Services in Houston
-Reducing Seclusion and Restraint