Number of Clinicians: 80
Number of Clients: 1,098
Population Served: Children, Youth, Families, Adults
Program Type: SUD, Residential, Outpatient
Org Type: Non-profit
Greenspace Platform: Measurement-Based Care (MBC)
Key Assessment(s): ORS-SRS, CORS-CSRS, GAD-7, PHQ-9, WSAS
Background
Encompass Community Services is the largest community-based provider of health and human services in Santa Cruz County, serving 6,000 individuals annually across 25+ programs. Among the individuals they serve, 95% are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, 57% are BIPOC, and the vast majority present with complex needs, including co-occurring conditions, substance use disorders, medical challenges, or criminal justice involvement.
To meet the diverse needs of their community, Encompass is deeply committed to delivering care that is high-quality, client-centered, evidence-based, and equitable across every program. Their approach ensures that all clients—regardless of background, identity, or complexity of need—receive consistent, measurable support and have the opportunity to achieve improved outcomes.
“Prior to Greenspace, we had very fragmented, different approaches to recording data and client outcomes that could not be seen from one catch-all perspective. So it was very difficult to evaluate performance measures and goals within programs from an executive or leadership standpoint, until we started using Greenspace and we could determine where improvement could lie.”
– Nick Christensen, Operations Project Manager, Encompass Community Services
The Results
Before
Leveraging client outcome data has always been a core tenet of Encompass’s approach to care, supporting both clinical decision-making and the pursuit of meaningful client progress. However, prior to implementing Greenspace, they lacked a unified method for tracking outcomes across programs, with each service leveraging different systems and measures. This inconsistency created a number of challenges for both Encompass staff and the individuals they serve:
Inconsistent client experiences: Without a standardized approach to outcome measurement, it was difficult to ensure consistent care quality across programs to support a uniform client experience and inform meaningful quality improvement
Low engagement with assessments: Many clinicians had reservations about incorporating measurement into their workflows. Limited clinical engagement with ongoing measurement led to missed opportunities to gather valuable data to support care planning and improved outcomes.
Limited leadership value: The lack of consistent data collection made it challenging for leadership to assess service effectiveness, monitor progress toward clinical goals, and identify areas for improvement.
Challenges with supervision and support: Without an integrated system and approach, managers and supervisors faced barriers in guiding clinical staff on how to effectively leverage client outcome data to enhance care quality and decision-making.
Gaps in clinical application: Clinicians lacked clear alignment on how to interpret and apply insights from client outcomes, making it difficult to proactively tailor treatment, support collaborative client discussions, and deepen their engagement.
After
With Greenspace, Encompass launched a unified, organization-wide implementation of Measurement-Based Care (MBC) across all clinical programs—including youth therapy, SUD outpatient, residential services, and the Return Project. This comprehensive rollout ensured that clients, clinicians, and leadership each gained meaningful value from MBC. Key steps in their implementation included:
Clients
- Clients completed brief assessments at each session, with results reviewed and discussed with their clinician to help tailor care to their evolving needs and goals.
- The client voice was prioritized through consistent, structured feedback, reinforcing a collaborative and client-centered approach to care.
Clinicians
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Training emphasized gathering client feedback and using tools like the ORS/SRS to track progress and adapt treatment plans based on their evolving needs and symptoms.
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A cultural shift was fostered among clinicians by empowering and encouraging peer learning, experimentation with new care approaches, and deeper alignment with client needs.
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Managers reinforced the value of MBC by having staff complete the ORS/SRS themselves, modelling the impact of consistent reflection and engagement.
Leadership
- Leadership leveraged Greenspace to monitor program effectiveness, surface care quality gaps, and drive data-informed decision-making.
- A dedicated implementation group composed of leaders and managers facilitated knowledge-sharing, problem-solving, and helped enhance MBC utilization across the organization.
- Greenspace provided a centralized measurement platform for tracking and analyzing data across programs, enabling leadership to assess both high-level trends and detailed, program-specific outcomes.
“Within the ‘Families Together’ program, a clinician new to couples therapy discovered a significant insight through the Session Rating Scale (SRS). After a session with a new couple, the clinician initially believed both partners were satisfied. However, the SRS revealed a discrepancy: one partner rated the session highly, while the other gave a much lower score. This prompted an open discussion, where the lower-rated partner expressed feeling that the clinician was more aligned with their partner. Addressing this concern led to improved SRS scores for both individuals, strengthening the therapeutic alliance and increasing the likelihood of positive outcomes in their care.”
– Desirae A., Program Manager, Encompass Community Services
The Impact
Since implementing Greenspace, Encompass has seen transformative improvements across its programs and organization:
Increased Engagement and Client Progress
Assessment completion rates have risen across all programs, with especially strong gains in SUD outpatient services. Clinicians embraced MBC after seeing its positive impact on client outcomes and team collaboration, reflected in stronger therapeutic alliance and measurable symptom improvement.
A Culture of Learning
Implementing Greenspace has helped foster a culture of learning and reflection, alongside a data-informed mindset to drive continuous quality improvement. Teams now regularly review program outcomes to identify successful strategies that can be scaled across the organization.
Advanced Clinical Practices
Encompass clinicians are using MBC to strengthen their treatment approach, build clinical skills, and improve outcomes. New staff benefit from structured, data-informed sessions that support clear goal-setting and progress tracking, helping clients stay engaged in a more personalized, and effective care experience.
Data-Driven Supervision
Leadership reviews Greenspace data regularly to identify best practices that can strengthen clinical practice and drive effective MBC use. The organization is also encouraging ongoing engagement with data in weekly supervision meetings, in order to support clinicians with adoption and practice.
Strengthened Funder Confidence and Value-Based Care Opportunities
Greenspace provides Encompass with a standardized and reliable way to collect and report on funder-required data across all programs. This data-informed approach allows Encompass to confidently demonstrate meaningful and measurable client improvements and reliable change, which has helped to instill confidence with funders and lay the foundation for value-based contracting.
“As we work hard every day to achieve health equity throughout our services, it is vital to have the client voice at the center of their care process. By partnering with Greenspace, we are able to get data in real-time for both our providers and their clients, which allows us to improve client-provider communication and inform treatment decisions, which is a real game-changer to help us improve overall outcomes and equity in care.”
– Lisa Russell, Chief Program Officer, Encompass Community Services
If you’re interested in learning more about MBC and how to effectively implement it across your organization, schedule a call with an implementation expert or reach out anytime at info@greenspacehealth.com.
