A report issued by the federal Center for Mental Health Services has recognized the KanFocus project in Southeast Kansas as one of the most successful in the country in using data evaluation findings to improve services to children and families. The KanFocus project, which began in 1994, provides mental health services to children with severe emotional disturbance and their families.

Originally funded by the federal government, KanFocus is one of six projects nationwide recognized for "going beyond their funding obligations in the use of data-driven evaluation reports to become true data-driven systems," according to the report. The report is intended to take an in-depth look at how six programs used data to "stimulate change and to manage, improve, and sustain services."

The recognition was especially important because of the historic difficulty of using data and outcome measures to determine best methods for providing service in the field of social service. Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Janet Schalansky said SRS and private, not-for-profit mental health agencies in Kansas have learned a lot about how to use data to improve services for children and families from KanFocus.

"The KanFocus project, with its commitment to gauging the effectiveness of local services through data analysis, has helped us as an agency improve services to children and families," Secretary Schalansky said. "We have been able to show that when children receive community-based services, when there is collaboration at the local level and families are involved, children get better. We were only able to show that by coming up with good data."

In the federal report, called "System of Care, Promising Practices in Children’s Mental Health", the authors pointed to the problem faced by social service systems.

"Providers and evaluators of mental health services to children and their families are often challenged by the task of translating evaluation findings into clear and meaningful reports that can illustrate the resources, gaps, expenditures, and outcomes of their programs."

But they say the six programs identified in the report, including KanFocus, show that data can be used to improve services.

The report says: "The major ‘take-away’ messages of these evaluation reports have been (a) outcome information can be a powerful catalyst for changing and developing programs; (b) data are pivotal to improving individualization and effectiveness of service delivery; and (c) evaluation can provide compelling evidence of accomplishments to support sustainability and to build an evaluation culture."

Laura Howard, assistant secretary of Health Care Policy for SRS, also said the service model used by KanFocus in serving families with children who have serious emotional disturbance should be praised. She said the concept of "wrapping" services around families through interagency coordination -- along with an emphasis on parental involvement -- made it possible for many children to remain in their communities and with their families.

"The KanFocus model, along with the positive outcome data provided, was instrumental in the Kansas Legislature’s decision to allocate $5 million in grants to the community mental health system statewide," Howard said. The statewide grant program is called the Family Centered System of Care.

Headquartered in Parsons, KanFocus serves about 3,000 youths and families in a 13-county rural area of southeast corner of Kansas. Jim Rast is the KanFocus Site Director. There are five mental health centers that cover the region and are involved in the project. These are Four County Mental Health Center, Labette Center for Mental Health Services, Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, Family Life Center, and Community Mental Health Center of Crawford County.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001