Since 1997, the Bixby Center has provided program support and evaluation for the Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care and Treatment) Program, California’s publicly funded family planning program. The overall goal of Family PACT is to promote optimal reproductive health and reduce unintended pregnancy by increasing access to comprehensive family planning services for low-income Californians. Annually, Family PACT serves more than 1.8 million low-income women, men, and adolescents.  The program, which is administered by the California Department of Health Care Services’ Office of Family Planning (DHCS-OFP), was established by the California legislature in 1996, and implemented in 1997. Between December 1999 and July 2010, the State received additional funding for the program from the federal government through a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver.  Evaluation analyses provided by the Bixby Center assisted the State in demonstrating Family PACT’s positive impact on cost-saving and health outcomes over the waiver period.  In March 2011, the federal government approved California’s application for a State Plan Amendment, formally integrating Family PACT into the Medi-Cal State Plan.

The Bixby Center conducts an annual analysis of key program metrics of the Family PACT Program. The data analyzed are derived from enrollment and claims data and describe provider and client populations, the types of services utilized, fiscal issues, and county profiles. Using a multi-method evaluation approach, the Bixby Center conducts evaluation of the program using additional data sources to assess, among other things, the quality of clinical care, adherence to program standards, provider referral practices, the cost-benefit of the services, and the level to which women who need publicly-funded family planning services access the program. Findings from these evaluations are reported in study-specific reports, policy briefs, and research summaries.

A complete list of Family PACT factsheets, briefs, reports and journal articles.   

These findings inform Family PACT’s quality improvement, utilization management, and provider education activities, all of which help to ensure that clients receive high quality clinical services. The Bixby Center evaluation team also partners with the California Department of Public Health’s STD Control Branch to monitor sexually transmitted infection services and to develop clinical practice guidelines and provider education programs.