The Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence and Mission Analytics Group completed an independent evaluation of the Service Access and Equity (SAE) grant program. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) contracted with Georgetown for the evaluation. The SAE grant program began in 2016 and has an annual allocation of $11 million. The funding supports projects designed to make access to services fair for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) from the state’s many diverse communities. The evaluation focused on California’s regional centers and community-based organizations funded by the SAE grant program in 2018 through 2020.
The evaluation found that state leads the nation in passing laws and funding to help make sure people with I/DD and their families from diverse backgrounds get the supports and services they need. Evaluators also recommend that the SAE grant program should continue. The evaluation recommends changes to the program to make sure it works better in areas of grant focus, project structure, and grant measures. DDS will use this information and the partnership of stakeholders to identify and address areas of improvement. The department will continue to find ways to reduce disparities, track progress, and promote more equity in our system.
The Georgetown University evaluation team held a briefing to talk about the findings and recommendations. You can watch the briefing and read the clear language summary and full report on the SAE Grant page of the DDS website.
