Although the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been around for many years, it is a technology being used more often to inform prevention activities.  Data mapping has numerous advantages, yet it is not always readily apparent which initiatives will benefit most from its application.  

Over the past several years, the staff at EVALCORP has increasingly applied GIS technology to our work helping clients to inform and measure the impact of environmental prevention initiatives in counties across Southern California.  For instance, we have created maps for clients depicting alcohol-related billboards and documenting oversaturation in predominantly Spanish-speaking communities.  Other maps we created identified 'head shops' (places known to sell drug paraphernalia) including their distances from schools and parks.  Others highlighted where DUI arrests and/or alcohol-involved collisions cluster.  

In 2006, we began developing maps stemming from data collected through Ventura County Behavioral Health Department (VCBH) Alcohol and Drug Programs' Place of Last Drink Survey.  These maps were built to assist the County and their community partners know which retail establishments contributed to the greatest proportion of DUI arrests, as well as the impact impaired driving has on surrounding communities.*  

Simply put, GIS is a tool for analyzing and presenting data visually in the form of maps.  This visual representation of your data makes it quickly digestible for all with whom you need to communicate - your staff, partners, and community alike... more

Pillars of Prevention Award
Our work with Ventura County Behavioral Health (VCBH) Department, Alcohol & Drug Programs - Prevention Services led to some exciting, real-world results.  Helping the community is our best reward, but we have also been honored with the Pillars of Prevention 2009 Award.  We have worked with VCBH since 2006 on numerous applied research/evaluation activities related to alcohol and drug prevention.  Our GIS mapping project (see article above), Place of Last Drink publications, and Social Host Ordinance evaluation efforts assisted VCBH in their prevention planning and measurement activities countywide.  (Pictured: Kristen and Julie with Dan Hicks of VCBH, Alcohol & Drug Programs - Prevention Services.)

Team Member Additions
We are very excited to introduce the latest additions to our team: Shanelle Boyle and Silvia Esqueda!  

Shanelle Boyle, Ph.D., Research Assistant, is an organizational behavior psychologist with seven years of applied research and evaluation experience.  She works with public and private organizations to build their evaluation capacity, and co-wrote the article on which this quarter's 5 Ways to Be More "Evaluation-Friendly" is based.

Silvia Esqueda, M.S., MFT, Project Consultant, is a bilingual/bicultural researcher and licensed therapist, with over 15 years of experience working with families and communities on mental health and substance abuse issues.  She designs and facilitates focus groups, leads community forums on data use, and trains youth and adult community members on data collection.

See bios of Shanelle and Silvia as well as for our whole team.

Office in San Diego County
We expanded our Southern California presence last year, and now have offices in Orange County, San Diego and Ventura County. (San Diego County Office, pictured left.)






Presentations FYI
One of our goals each year is to share information with other professionals about the great work our clients are doing.  Following is a brief description of some of the presentations we did this past Fall as well as links to the conference host organizations.

November 12, 2009: American Evaluation Association - Annual Conference in Orlando, FL
Shanelle co-presented with Dr. Hallie Preskill from FSG Social Impact Advisors, "Exploring Effective Strategies for Facilitating Evaluation Capacity Building"

November 5, 2009: Ventura County Behavioral Health Department - DUI Prevention Summit in Ventura, CA
Kristen presented our work with the department's alcohol and drug programs, "Retail Realities: Bars, Clubs and Restaurants as Place of Last Drink"

September 18, 2009: National Prevention Network - Annual Prevention Research Conference in Anaheim, CA
Lisa co-presented with Kim Herbstritt, Catherine Hockmuth and Alex Jacobo-Mares from the Institute for Public Strategies, "Data & Dialogue: Using Research to Address Community Factors that Contribute to Alcohol and Drug Problems"