Local Stakeholder Interview Guide

Appendix C. Local Stakeholder Interview Guide

Appendix C. Local Stakeholder Interview Guide

We have revised the interview guides to tailor them to each respondent type, to eliminate questions deemed unnecessary for the evaluation based on earlier data collection, and to add questions as a result of what we learned about the Project LAUNCH program in the earlier data collection and address emerging issues such as health reform and new federal programs and initiatives.  All new questions fall within the domains covered in previous interview guides.  Overall, the revisions made to the interview guides reduce the burden on respondents, because both the number of questions in each interview guide is reduced and questions are more specific.

All questions in the Local Stakeholder Interview Guide are new except questions 6 and 7.

Project Launch

Local Stakeholder Interview Guide

Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) is a Federal grant program administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The program’s goal is to promote the social, emotional, behavioral, and physical health and cognitive development of young children from birth to 8 years of age. We are conducting a national evaluation of Project LAUNCH on behalf of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and SAMHSA, which are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal of the evaluation is to collect information related to state, tribal, and community systems development; implementation of evidence-based services in local communities; and service and system outcomes for children, families, and providers. Findings from the national evaluation will be used by ACF and SAMHSA to guide future program directions and to report on program implementation and outcomes.

Participation in this interview is voluntary and any information you provide will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. The interview will require approximately 45 minutes of your time. Any questions you may have about this burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing this burden should be directed to Laura Hoard (202-401-4561) at ACF.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and it expires XX/XX/XXXX.

Site:

Respondent(s) (Name, Organization, role):

Abt Interviewer(s):

Date:

1. On a scale of 1 to 4, how familiar do you think that you are with LAUNCH and its goals? (1=not familiar LAUNCH goals; 4=very familiar with LAUNCH goals)

☐ 1 - Unfamiliar with LAUNCH

☐ 2 - Think I know about a few LAUNCH goals and activities

☐ 3 - Think I know about a moderate number of LAUNCH goals and activities

☐ 4 - Think I am very familiar with LAUNCH goals and activities

2. Please describe your relationship with Project LAUNCH? [Check all that apply]

☐ My agency receives LAUNCH funding [ask Qs 5-7]

☐ My agency receives services provided by consultants and others that are supported by LAUNCH funds (ask Qs 8-10)

☐ My agency is represented on LAUNCH’s Child Wellness Council

☐ I represent my agency on LAUNCH’s Child Wellness Council

☐ My agency is involved in LAUNCH in additional or other ways

3. Were you involved in the planning stages of LAUNCH? What was your role in planning?

4. What were the reasons that motivated you to be involved in the LAUNCH project? [Probes: saw LAUNCH as an opportunity to improve the quality of services for young children/families; to improve target families’ access to needed services; someone asked me to participate in LAUNCH]

[Ask questions 5-7 only if respondent’s agency receives LAUNCH funding]

5. What, specifically, are your activities that are funded by LAUNCH?

6. What have been your successes in terms of implementation of these services? Why do you think you were successful?

7. What have been the challenges in terms of implementation of these services? How have you worked to overcome these challenges?

[Ask questions 8-10 only if respondent’s agency receives services from others supported by LAUNCH]

8. Were there any ways that you had to adapt/change your services in order to receive the additional enhancements offered by LAUNCH? [ask questions 9 and 10 if yes]

9. In what ways did you have to change the way your services were implemented? [Probe for changes in coordination, monitoring/oversight]

10. Have any adaptations you made in order to receive the enhancements offered by LAUNCH affected your cost/level of effort to provide the services you program offered before LAUNCH? (If yes, probe for more details.)

[Ask for all respondents, including those who said that they collaborate in LAUNCH in other ways beyond receiving LAUNCH funding or LAUNCH-supported services]

11. (a) In terms of systems change, what have been your major areas of focus in the last year? (check all that apply) [Site visitors should know a lot of this already but confirm that the site isn’t doing each of the things where you don’t think there is any activity Note: if they say something about changing policies or regulation, drill down to what the policy or regulation is designed to do.]

• Improving the quality of direct service programs (e.g., ensuring that programs are evidence-based, are implemented with fidelity)

• System-wide implementation of LAUNCH-supported program enhancements (e.g., cultural enhancements such as addition of staff who speak the language of targeted families, materials in other languages, conducting screening/assessment in Spanish; family partners/case management)

• Expanded implementation of developmental screening/assessments

• Across programs within a single setting (e.g., home visiting, family strengthening, etc.)

• Across settings and programs

• Creating data systems to support care coordination, referral systems, evaluation

• Implementing standardized training/accreditation for providers community-wide (beyond what LAUNCH is doing related to training/supporting providers for specific direct services)

• Enhancing 211 and other information and referral systems

• Increasing collaboration/linkages among systems/service providers/stakeholders

• Other [specify] [Ask whether the activities you’ve asked about capture all of the systems change activities that LAUNCH is involved in within the community, or if there are other activities. If you are in doubt if it’s really a systems change, document it anyway.]

12. [For each response category indicated above,] please describe your role.

13. For each response category indicated above,] please describe LAUNCH’s successes and your contribution to the successes.

14. [For each response category,] please describe LAUNCH’s challenges, the strategies to overcoming these challenges and your contribution to overcoming them.

From your perspective, we would like to know the role LAUNCH has played in the community and how collaborative relationships have changed since LAUNCH. [Note: Ask Qs 20, 23, and 24 only to respondents on the Child Wellness Council; for all others, check NA.]

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral, No Opinion	Agree	Strongly Agree	NA	DK
Prior to LAUNCH, agencies in our community had a history of working together.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
Leaders in the community who are not part of the LAUNCH group seem hopeful about what we can accomplish.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
When we received LAUNCH funding, the political and social climate seemed to be right for something like LAUNCH	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
Today, the political and social climate seems to be right for LAUNCH	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
People involved in LAUNCH always trust one another.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
All of the organizations that we need to be members of the LAUNCH collaboration are included. [Wellness Council members only]	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
My organization will benefit from being involved in LAUNCH.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
The level of commitment among LAUNCH partners is high.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
Each of the people who participate in decisions about LAUNCH can speak for the entire organization they represent, not just a part. [Wellness Council members only]	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
There is a clear process for making decisions among the partners in LAUNCH. [Wellness Council members only]	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
People involved in LAUNCH communicate openly with one another.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK
The people in LAUNCH leadership positions have good skills for working with other people and organizations.	1	2	3	4	5	NA	DK

27. What do you think are the two or three biggest accomplishments of LAUNCH to date?

28. From your perspective, what has been the most surprising or unexpected aspect of being involved in LAUNCH?

29. Is there anything that I did not ask you about but think I should know to understand how LAUNCH is being implemented in your community? (If yes probe for what it is and why.)

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