Mover Longitudinal Study

Adult Consumer Survey and the NCI Family Guardian Surveys. The NCI surveys were modified for the purposes of the MLS to ask questions specific to individuals who have moved from a developmental center (DC) to the community since January 2016. This page highlights details on the study design, unique survey features, results, and additional information on the MLS.

Study Design

Before July 2017 Under contract with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the MLS was designed by the University of California, Davis (UCD) to provide needed information to stakeholders and help DDS answer questions about how and why changes in services occur over time for people who move from a DC to the community.

Individuals who move out of a DC beginning on January 1, 2016, are contacted to participate in the MLS until there are 125 volunteer participants. Family members of individuals will also be contacted and asked to participate in the study. Face to face interviews with participants and mail in surveys with families will be conducted by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD).

The MLS will describe changes in safety, health, and well-being after a move to the community at four different points in time (three months, six-months, one-year, and two-years). Additionally, family member perceptions of the quality of services received, system responsiveness, and overall satisfaction will be assessed over the same two-year timeframe. Individual and family results will be linked together for analysis.

After July 2017

The MLS study design was expanded by the Legislature in September of 2016 under Senate Bill (SB) 982 and will begin in July 2017. The survey tool, when it is distributed, and how the individual and family surveys are linked together will remain the same as the initial MLS study design. Under SB 982, the MLS will increase the total number of surveys analyzed from 125 to 250. The analysis will look and differences across the DC closures (Sonoma, Fairview, and the general treatment area of Porterville) and time at which an individual moves relative to the stage of the DC closure process.

Results

Data from the MLS will be used to help the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and the regional centers monitor and improve the services and supports provided, identify and remediate gaps in the community services system.

Reports of findings will be compiled by UCD annually and submitted to the Legislature and posted on this website. Individual participants will not be identified in any reports of findings.


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Last modified: October 10, 2023