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CALL Program Evaluation

The Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) program involves a partnership between the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) and the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Community Services (JFCS) to divert non-crime-related calls (e.g., mental health, wellness, homelessness, substance abuse) from law enforcement to the CALL team.

Funded by the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, the CALL program evaluation will focus on equitable access and program implementation, particularly for communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by over-policing. This evaluation is made up of two phases.

The goal of Phase I is to conduct a process evaluation to identify any unfair aspects of the CALL program and protocol that negatively affect the equitable or proportional access of services to certain groups. Dr. Edelyn Verona, CJRP leadership team member Dr. Karen Liller, and clinical psychology doctoral student Alora McCarthy are part of the Phase I Evaluation team. Additionally, CJRP affiliate Ken Copenhaver assisted with GIS mapping for this phase of the evaluation.

Phase II of the evaluation aims to provide a more in-depth analysis into the real-time implementation, acceptability, and fidelity of the CALL program. These goals will be achieved through interviews with stakeholders and observations of processes and field activities of the CALL team, SPPD, and the emergency communications division. Dr. Edelyn Verona, Dr. Karen Liller, coordinators Emily Torres and Morgan Shayler, and undergraduate research assistants Nicholas Stewart and Ana Dalasandro are part of the Phase II evaluation team. In addition, Dr. Abraham Salinas-Miranda has provided guidance to the evaluation team on qualitative analyses using MAXQDA.