First 5 LA contracted with Harder+Company Community Research (Harder+Company) in July 2014 to conduct a nine-month formative evaluation of the Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) for Homeless Families Initiative. The evaluation included programmatic efforts that had been implemented through late 2014. The evaluation team’s approach was to work in partnership with First 5 LA to establish a shared understanding of the evaluation’s purpose, design, and methods.
The evaluation team utilized both qualitative and quantitative data and examined secondary data sources as part of this study. This mixed methods approach provides both breadth and depth of data, which supports the identification of preliminary outcomes as well as lessons learned about implementation.