This is an important step for the evaluation of the access to counsel pilot passed by the California Legislature, and for which the first round of underlying program awards have already been made.  The RFP is here, and proposals are due February 24.

Here is some of the key language:

The Contractor will design and conduct both descriptive data collection and analysis, and experimental design evaluation. For the descriptive data collection and analysis, the evaluator will work from the descriptions of pilot outcomes that have been developed by the programs and make such data operational for quantitative data collection. The evaluator will work with the legal services pilots and the associated local courts to integrate the necessary data elements into existing data collection systems assist in collecting the data and provide statistical reports on pilot services and outcomes to the JBE/AOC.  For the experimental design evaluation, the evaluator is expected to design one evaluation plan for housing projects and one plan for child custody projects, and implement them in 2 housing pilots and 2 child custody pilots.