DCI-1: Topic Guide on Program Design

MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH

O MB Control No.:xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

HEALTHY MARRIAGE/

RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD PROGRAM

INSTRUMENT DCI-1

GRANTEE STAFF TOPIC GUIDE ON PROGRAM DESIGN

FaMLE Cross-Site Project research staff will use this instrument to guide semi-structured discussions with a subset of HMRF lead program staff at grantees via telephone. The information gathered will provide information for ACF and other programs to use when designing future programs.

THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. 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 information requested in this survey will be used to document how programs receiving HMRF grant funding operate and describe participant outcomes. The data gathered will allow ACF to better monitor grantee progress and performance.

Famle cross-site study

telephone Interview Guide

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Mathematica Policy Research is conducting a study for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called the Fatherhood and Marriage Local Evaluation and Cross-Site Services Components Project, or the FaMLE Cross-Site Project. As part of this effort, we are gathering information for an in-depth understanding of how [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] designed, implemented, and operates [RF/HM PROGRAM]. Mathematica is interviewing project directors or program managers and organizational leaders at approximately half of the RFHM grantee organizations. Later, we will conduct site visits to a subset of these grantee organizations to gather even more in-depth information on their program activities.

We expect the current interview to take one hour and your participation is voluntary. Any information you share will be kept private. 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 # for this collection is 0970-XXXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.

During this interview, we would like to hear about your experiences with [RF/HM PROGRAM], your opinions about program successes, and things other organizations should know if they want to develop a similar program. Our discussion will focus on your role as the [INSERT NAME OF ROLE]. We have a large number of topics to cover and, at times, we may need to move our conversation along to ensure we get to all of them. We will use the information you share with us to write a summary of what we have learned about your program, which we will publish in a future report about your program and others, but we will not attribute any of your comments to you in our reports. We would like to record our discussion today, however, only members of our team will have access to this recording and we will destroy it after we complete our analysis. Do we have permission to record this conversation? [OBTAIN PERMISSION AND START RECORDING IF PERMISSION GRANTED.]

A. Respondent Background and Responsibilities

Let’s start by discussing your background and responsibilities.

1. What is your official job title?

2. Briefly describe your primary responsibilities for the [RF/HM PROGRAM].

B. Organizational mission, characteristics, resources and supports

3. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on organizational mission, characteristics, resources, and supports.] Do you believe the goals of the [RF/HM PROGRAM] align with or reinforce the larger goals and mission of [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION]?

   1. [IF YES] Could you please describe how so? [IF NO] Could you please describe how it does not?

   2. How would you characterize the role that [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] fulfills in this community?

   3. Does your organization offer other programs besides the [RF/HM PROGRAM]? If so, how does the [RF/HM PROGRAM] fit within the broader organizational context?

4. Did [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] provide similar services prior to offering the [RF/HM PROGRAM]? If so, what were these services, and what populations were targeted?

   1. Has [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] ever had another federal grant to provide RF/HM services? When was this grant awarded, and what was it to provide?

   2. Has [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] ever received any other type of funding to provide RF/HM services? If so, what organizations granted this funding, and what was it used to provide?

C. Leadership/management structure

5. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on leadership/management structure.] What qualifications and other characteristics are sought in leadership and management personnel?

   1. Education: high school/GED, AA, BA or BSW, MA or MSW, or LCSW

   2. Experience: social work, low-income families, sales, recruitment, former participant in [RF/HM PROGRAM]

6. How long have the key leadership and management personnel been in their positions? With this organization?

D. Staffing/supervisory structure

7. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on staffing/supervisory structure.] Let’s discuss each staff position in your organization chart [IF AVAILABLE, REFER TO CHART]. Do you have any information to add about the experience, background, or training of each position described in the summary chart?

   1. What other skills and qualities have you found to be useful for staff serving as [LIST EACH POSITION]?

E. Grant application process

8. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on grant application process.] Why did [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] apply for the current OFA grant?

9. Which staff were involved with designing the [RF/HM PROGRAM]? Which of these staff were scheduled to be involved in delivering program services, and in what capacities?

F. Intervention plan and intended services/curriculum

I’d like to get a sense of the original plans for [RF/HM PROGRAM]. By original plan, I am referring to the plan for your organization to provide RF/HM services under this grant. Please think back to when the current [RF/HM PROGRAM] was first designed. We’ll talk about each program aspect separately starting with the parenting services.

10. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on intervention plan and intended services/curriculum.] [IF APPLICABLE] Please tell me about the original plan for providing parenting services. By original plan, I am referring to the plan before your organization started providing any RF/HM services (under this grant or a prior OFA grant).

    1. Why did you select [NAME OF CURRICULUM]?

       1. How does [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] normally pick curriculum that it uses in its parenting programs?

       2. Did you identify strengths and weaknesses of this curriculum? If so, what were they? Is this a curriculum [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] had used in the past? If yes, what were the pros and cons?

    2. Did you plan to use different curricula with different targeted populations? If so, how would you target the curricula differently?

    3. Let’s move on to individual parenting services. Were these tailored to meet the needs of each father/couple or was there a standard offering for all fathers/couples receiving the service?

    4. Did you plan to offer these individually-provided services to different populations? If so, how did you make these distinctions?

11. [IF APPLICABLE] Next, tell me about the original plan for providing healthy relationship/ marriage services.

    1. Why did you select [NAME OF CURRICULUM]?

       1. How does [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] normally pick curriculum that it uses in its healthy relationship/marriage programs?

       2. Did you identify strengths and weaknesses of this curriculum? If so, what were they? Is this a curriculum [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] had used in the past? If yes, what were the pros and cons?

    2. Did you plan to use different curricula with different targeted populations? If so, how would you target the curricula differently?

    3. Let’s move on to individual or couples services. Were these tailored to meet the needs of each couple or was there a standard offering for all couples receiving the service?

    4. Did you plan to offer these individually-provided services to different populations? If so, how did you make these distinctions?

12. [IF APPLICABLE] Next, tell me about the original plan for providing employment-related services to fathers/couples. This could include services to prepare fathers/couples for employment or to assist them with finding employment.

    1. Why did you select [NAME OF CURRICULUM]?

       1. How does [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] normally pick curriculum that it uses in its employment programs?

       2. Did you identify strengths and weaknesses of this curriculum? If so, what were they? Is this a curriculum [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] had used in the past? If yes, what were the pros and cons?

    2. Did you plan to use different curricula with different targeted populations? If so, how would you target the curricula differently?

    3. Let’s move on to individual services. Were these tailored to meet the needs of each participant or was there a standard offering for all participants receiving the service?

    4. Did you plan to offer these individually-provided services to different populations? If so, how did you make these distinctions?

13. Finally, where there plans to offer any additional services to fathers/couples enrolled in [RF/HM PROGRAM] that we have not discussed? Please describe which service the program was to offer, what it was intended to entail, and whether it was to be provided as part of the standard offering or on an as-needed basis:

• case management

• legal assistance

• intimate partner violence screening and assistance

• financial literacy

• help with child support order

• help with child welfare case

• anger management

• substance abuse

• assistance for foster youth aging out of care

• help with housing

• reentry services for formerly incarcerated fathers

• referrals to other services

G. Target population

14. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on target population.] Please describe the population that you target for your services.

    1. Why did you choose to focus on this population?

    2. How did you expect to incorporate certain special groups, such as youth, re-entering ex-offenders, veterans, or others)?

    3. Is there any information you’d like to add on how you plan to conduct intake to assess the level of need for program services among this population?

    4. Does the community in which you are situated include this target population? How so?

H. Recruitment, engagement and retention plan

15. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on recruitment, engagement, and retention plan.] How did you establish the original program eligibility requirements?

16. What are your planned strategies to identify and recruit fathers/couples, such as advertising, outreach, etc?

17. How do you plan to engage potential participants once they were identified? Did you plan to use incentives or other specific methods for engaging participants?

    1. How did you select your strategies?

    2. Has [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] used these strategies in the past?

18. How do you plan to retain potential participants once they were engaged in the program? Did you plan to use incentives or other specific methods for retaining participants?

    1. How did you select your strategies?

    2. Has [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] used these strategies in the past?

19. Which strategies were anticipated to be especially important for meeting the established enrollment targets, and why?

20. What are your plans for conducting formal or informal assessment of clients to determine program eligibility?

21. How will you conduct formal or informal assessment of clients to determine which program services they would be offered or directed to?

I. Plan for addressing participation barriers

22. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on plan for addressing participation barriers.] What do you anticipate the biggest barriers to participation will be for your target population?

    1. What was your rationale behind your plan for addressing barriers?

    2. Has your organization addressed similar barriers in the past? What was your strategy in the past?

    3. How successful did you anticipate you will be in overcoming these barriers?

J. Plan for addressing and identifying intimate partner violence and child maltreatment

23. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on plan for addressing and identifying IPV and child maltreatment.] FOR RF and HM PROGRAMS:

    1. What training will staff have in identifying and addressing IPV and child maltreatment among your clients?

    2. How do you plan to screen clients for IPV and child maltreatment?

    3. How do you plan to follow-up if IPV or child maltreatment is detected or disclosed?

K. Plan to maintain or develop organizational partnerships to expand service offerings

24. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on plan to maintain or develop organizational partnerships to expand service offerings.] I’d like to talk about the original plans for engaging partner organizations to help deliver program services.

    1. Why were these particular partner organizations approached?

    2. What were their envisioned roles?

    3. Were there existing relationships with any of these organizations?

<ORGANIZATIONS WITH EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS>

4. How and when did this relationship develop?

5. What other efforts had [GRANTEE ORGANIZATION] collaborated on with this partner organization?

<ORGANIZATIONS WITHOUT EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS>

6. How did you plan to develop and formalize this linkage?

25. During planning or early implementation of [RF/HM PROGRAM], which organizations were expected to be involved in referring prospective fathers/couples?

    1. Why were these particular partner organizations approached?

26. What were the initial expectations for what the referring organization would share with prospective fathers/couples about [RF/HM PROGRAM]? What were the expectations of how the referring organization would provide [RF/HM PROGRAM] information about the father/couple?

PROBE: Pre-screen fathers/couples for program eligibility; provide fathers/couples the RF/HM program’s phone number and suggest they call; staff at the referring organization called the RF/HM program?

L. Intended outcomes and Grantee’s plan for implementation, self-monitoring, and management

27. [Interviewer: Refer to notes on intended outcomes and grantee’s plan for implementation, self-monitoring, and management.] How did you set your output and outcome targets? What was your rationale behind these targets?

    1. How did you set benchmarks for the following:

       1. Outreach and referrals

       2. Enrollments

       3. Participation

28. Please summarize your plan for start-up and implementation, and the original plan for the timing and sequence of program activities.

    1. Were there alternative modifications that you considered, but decided not to pursue? What were these, and why did you decide not to pursue these modifications?

29. What aspects of the program do you plan to monitor for consistent delivery?

    1. How is consistent delivery defined for these aspects of the program?

    2. How do you plan to manage staff, partners, and other resources in reaching your targeted outcomes?

    3. What are key challenges and barriers that you think may impede staff from delivering these aspects of the program in a consistent manner?

    4. What would you do if you find substantial variation in how staff delivery these aspects of the program?

M. Final thoughts

We have covered a lot of information today related to your role as a [INSERT ROLE] for [RF/HM PROGRAM] and I have learned a lot about the way in which your program operates and some of its challenges and successes. We have just a few more questions to wrap-up our discussion.

30. What kinds of additional services do you think would be beneficial to add to the ones your program already offers?

31. Are there lessons you have learned or is there advice you would like to share with other policymakers and practitioners interested in designing and implementing high quality and effective RF/HM programs?

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