How to Build a CCBHC Evaluation Plan

1. Define the evaluation questions

Start with what the organization needs to learn. Questions might address access, reach, service delivery, outcomes, quality, equity, implementation, referral pathways, or sustainability. Required measures matter, but they should not be the only questions in the plan.

2. Inventory required and locally useful measures

Separate federal, state, payer, grant, certification, and organizational measures. Document the authoritative source for each requirement. Then identify a focused set of internal KPIs that helps leaders manage the program.

3. Map each measure to its source

For every measure, identify the source system, fields, population, numerator, denominator, exclusions, timing, owner, and validation process. If another qualified analyst cannot reproduce the result, the specification is not complete.

4. Design the client-level data workflow

Document who is eligible, how sampling works when required, collection points, staff responsibilities, follow-up procedures, completion monitoring, data entry or upload, validation, and correction processes.

5. Define analysis and reporting

Specify what will be analyzed monthly, quarterly, and annually. Include dashboards, leadership reporting, grant reporting, quality-measure reporting, and deeper evaluation analyses.

6. Build in data-quality controls

Define reasonableness checks, missingness review, duplicate detection, reconciliation, source-to-report validation, and escalation procedures. Data quality should be part of the plan, not an emergency response after a discrepancy appears.

7. Connect evaluation to CQI

Describe how findings enter quality review, who decides whether action is needed, how interventions are documented, and how effectiveness is monitored.

8. Treat the plan as a living document

Update the plan when requirements, systems, measures, staffing, sites, workflows, or grant expectations change. Version control matters because evaluation logic changes over time.