California Code, Health and Safety Code - HSC § 11827

The Legislature recognizes that local program effectiveness may be evaluated in a variety of ways, but should reflect the needs and priorities of the local community and attempt to measure the achievement of objectives determined through the planning process described in this part. The Legislature further recognizes that the conducting of these evaluations is essential to holding county alcohol and other drug programs accountable for their use of funds and increasing program effectiveness. The Legislature recognizes the beneficial results of the local evaluation process to those participating in this process.

The Legislature desires to encourage experimentation and diversity in the methods utilized by counties to evaluate the county alcohol and other drug programs' achievement of their objectives, including, but not limited to, evaluations of individuals' progress, changes in utilization rates, changes in community attitudes, and measurement of specific programmatic goals in order to advance our knowledge about the effectiveness of programs in alleviating alcohol and other drug problems.