Communications for Site Visit Planning

ATTACHMENT 3:

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

March 2014

The e-mail correspondence related to administering the Survey of Organizational Readiness and Partnership (Attachment 2), and for scheduling telephone discussions to plan site visits (Attachment 6) follow this cover page. The Survey of Organizational Readiness and Partnership will be administered to respondents identified by the project director in the Survey Sampling Form (Attachment 1) at two points in time. Site visits utilizing Discussion Guides for Individual Interviews and Focus Groups (Attachments 4 and 5) will take place at one point in time (Winter 2015). Discussion Guides are draft versions. If any updates are made, revised guides will be submitted to the OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs as a non-substantive change, per the terms of this approval.

E-mail Communication with Respondents to the Survey of Organizational Readiness and Partnership from ACF

Subject: Information Regarding Forthcoming Request for Participation in the Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study

Dear [First Name]:

We are writing to ask for your help with an important study being conducted by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Children’s Bureau (CB). Mathematica Policy Research is conducting this research on behalf of OPRE and the CB.

The CB awarded 18 planning grants through the Planning Grants to Develop a Model Intervention for Youth/Young Adults with Child Welfare Involvement At-Risk of Homelessness program (also known as “YARH Planning Grants”). Grantees will use these resources to design model comprehensive interventions that will facilitate better outcomes for youth with child welfare involvement who are at risk of homelessness. In order to understand how organizations design programs for youth at risk of homelessness, the CB is conducting a survey of YARH grantees. As a representative of [the planning team for [FILL GRANTEE NAME]/a partner organization working with [FILL GRANTEE NAME]], you have been selected to participate in this important study.

You will be receiving an e-mail from YARH@mathematica-mpr.com in the next week or two. It will include a hyperlink to the web-based survey. Please complete the survey as soon as you are able. You will receive reminder emails if Mathematica does not receive a survey from you.

Your answers will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and findings will not be reported in any way that identifies you or your organization personally. While taking part is voluntary, your experiences and opinions are vital to helping ACF support the development of strategies that prevent at-risk youth from becoming homeless.

If you have any questions, please contact either of us at the email addresses below.

Thank you very much for your help with this important study,

[Catherine Heath, CB and Maria Woolverton, OPRE]

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

E-mail Communication with Respondents to the Survey of Organizational Readiness and Partnership

Subject: Request for Participation in the Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study

Dear [FIRST NAME]:

I am writing to ask for your help with an important study being conducted by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Mathematica Policy Research is conducting this research on behalf of OPRE.

The Children’s Bureau (CB) awarded 18 planning grants through the Planning Grants to Develop a Model Intervention for Youth/Young Adults with Child Welfare Involvement At-Risk of Homelessness program (also known as “YARH Planning Grants”). Grantees will use these resources to design model comprehensive interventions that will facilitate better outcomes for youth with child welfare involvement who are at risk of homelessness.

As a representative of [the planning team for [FILL GRANTEE NAME]/a partner organization working with [FILL GRANTEE NAME], your experiences are crucial to understanding how organizations design programs to reduce homelessness for at-risk youth.

The web-based survey should take about one hour to complete. To get started, please click on the link below:

[FILL URL WITH EMBEDDED AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS]

Your answers will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and findings will not be reported in any way that identifies you or your organization personally. While taking part is voluntary, your experiences and opinions are vital to helping ACF support the development of strategies that prevent at-risk youth from becoming homeless.

If you have questions about the web survey, or if you prefer to complete the questionnaire by mail or telephone, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or YARH@mathematica-mpr.com.

Thank you very much for your help with this important study.

Sincerely,

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

Subject: Child Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study—First Reminder

Dear [FIRST NAME]:

Two weeks ago, we sent you an email requesting your participation in an important study about the experiences of the planning teams who have received grant funding from the Children’s Bureau (CB) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). If you have submitted your responses already, thank you for your participation. If you have not yet had the chance to complete the web-based survey, please do so by clicking on the link below:

[FILL URL WITH EMBEDDED AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS]

The questionnaire takes about one hour to complete. ACF will use the results to understand [grantee/partner] experiences as they design interventions to prevent former foster youth from becoming homeless. If you have questions about the web survey, or if you prefer to complete the questionnaire on paper or by telephone, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or YARH@mathematica-mpr.com.

Sincerely,

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

Subject: Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study—Second Reminder

Dear [FIRST NAME]:

I am writing to remind you about an important study being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). We are asking representatives from planning team grantees and partners who work with grantee planning teams to share their experiences with the planning process. Unfortunately, we have not yet received your response.

We need to hear from you to make sure that the results of this study truly represent all staff working on the planning process. We hope to develop a national picture of the experiences that planning teams have had as they develop programs designed to prevent youth homelessness. If you have not yet had the chance to complete the web-based survey, please do so by clicking on the link below:

[FILL URL WITH EMBEDDED AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS]

The questionnaire takes about one hour to complete, and your answers will be kept completely private.

If you have questions about the web survey, or if you prefer to complete the questionnaire by mail or telephone, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or YARH@mathematica-mpr.com.

Thank you very much for your help with this important study.

Sincerely,

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

Subject: Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study—Final Reminder

Dear [FIRST NAME]:

I know you face many competing requests for your time, but I am writing to ask for your help. At Mathematica Policy Research we are working on an important study that will help the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) understand the experiences of [GRANTEE NAME/PARTNER NAME] in designing interventions to help youth at risk of homelessness. We need to hear about your experiences to ensure that we have an accurate picture of the program planning process and the perspectives of planning teams.

Although your participation is completely voluntary, this study will only be successful with the assistance of representatives like you. The web-based survey should take about an hour to complete. If you have not yet had the chance to complete the web-based survey, please do so by clicking on the link below:

[FILL URL WITH EMBEDDED AUTHENTICATION CREDENTIALS]

This study will soon be coming to an end, so please complete your survey by [FILL DATE].

If you have questions about the web survey, or if you prefer to complete the questionnaire by mail or telephone, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or YARH@mathematica-mpr.com.

Thank you very much for your help with this important study.

Sincerely,

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

E-mail Communication with Project Directors/Managers for Site Visits from Mathematica Staff

Subject: Information Regarding Forthcoming Request for Participation in Site Visits for the Youth at Risk of Homelessness (YARH) Planning Grant Process Study

Dear [First Name]:

I am ____________ and I work for Mathematica Policy Research, an independent social policy research center.

We are conducting a study for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Children’s Bureau (CB). The CB awarded 18 planning grants through the Planning Grants to Develop a Model Intervention for Youth/Young Adults with Child Welfare Involvement At-Risk of Homelessness program (also known as “YARH Planning Grants”). Grantees will use these resources to design model comprehensive interventions that will facilitate better outcomes for youth with child welfare involvement who are at risk of homelessness. In order to understand how organizations design programs for youth at risk of homelessness, we are conducting site visits to each CB grantee. The purpose of the visit would be to talk with members of the planning team and other key partner organizations. We are interested in learning more about the specifics of how your community has used the planning grant.

I would like to speak with you, or someone else on the planning team, about the timing of our site visit. An initial 30 minute conference call would enable me to describe what we hope to achieve during the site visit in greater detail and address any questions you may have. Your participation in this discussion is voluntary, and if you decide to participate, you can choose not to answer a question if you wish.

Would you please let me know what is the easiest way to schedule a 30 minute conference call with you or your designee?

Please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at [insert email address] or [insert phone number].

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to understand the grantee planning process. 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 number for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX-XX-XXXX. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to [Contact Name]; [Contact Address]; Attn: OMB-PRA (0970-XXXX).

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