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Project Access: Improving Access to Care for Children and Youth with Epilepsy

Addressing the needs of children and youth with epilepsy is the primary goal of Project Access. This initiative, sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, focuses on developing coordinated, comprehensive service systems for such youth, particularly in medically underserved areas.

Project Access has two interrelated components:

• Implementation of nine state demonstration projects to improve the accessibility and coordination of health services for children and youth with epilepsy
• Implementation of the National Center for Project Access (NCPA), which provides technical assistance to state demonstration projects and serves as a national resource on social marketing and public outreach

Four grantees oversee the state demonstration projects. Their goals include developing partnerships between families, providers, and professional organizations; improving family involvement in services; and helping communities, and the medical homes within them, provide children with epilepsy coordinated, comprehensive care that is culturally and linguistically appropriate.

Mathematica’s evaluation is determining the extent to which grantees and NCPA are achieving these goals. We are assessing whether project activities are being implemented as proposed, the successes and challenges that grantees encounter, and the strategies developed to overcome challenges. We are also examining whether grantees and NCPA are meeting the needs of stakeholders and developing useful products. Data are drawn from grantee documents as well as interviews with state demonstration project directors, NCPA staff, and other community stakeholders.