Appendix A. Child Wellness Coordinator 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. Table 1 below outlines the new questions we have added by domain.
Table 1
New Questions by Domain
Domain |
Questions |
Community Context |
1) Read/provide a summary of your understanding of the agencies and major partners and key staff who are part of the LAUNCH effort. 2) Have agencies or major partners changed in the past year? If yes, what changed and why? 3) Have there been changes in LAUNCH leadership and management in the past year. If yes, what changed and why? 4) Did the amount of time spent of key staff supported by LAUNCH change in the past year compared to the previous year? If yes, how and why? |
Services1
|
12/14/18/22/25) Does the mental health consultant ever provide consultation to families? 13) Which types of preschool/child care providers (e.g., prekindergarten, child care centers, family child care homes) have been targeted for mental health consultation and why? 17) In the schools where mental health consultation is being implemented, whom does the clinician work with—classroom teachers, counselors, special education staff, others? 21) Which settings have been targeted? In those settings, which types of staff does the mental health consultant work with? 29) What providers/settings other than the ones where LAUNCH is supporting the program have you trained on the use of standardizing screening and assessment measures? For children, for parents, or both? 30) Since last year, have there been any changes to linkages either being planned or implemented to share results of assessments of children across agencies/settings? |
Child Wellness Council |
38) Has your Local/State Child Wellness Council served as an advisory body for any other local/state initiatives, either now or in the past? 39) Has the Council’s involvement in other initiatives changed since the beginning of LAUNCH? 42) What has been the role of the Community Wellness Council in each of the systems change activities named above? 45) How does the Child Wellness Council ensure that the voices of parents/needs of families are taken into consideration? What have been the successes and challenges related to this? |
Systems Change |
48) What external factors, if any, have affected the direction of LAUNCH within the community? [Probe for: the recession, political factors, state and/or local budget cuts, new federal or state legislation, new funding streams, staff turnover, changing needs of families, etc.] How have these factors affected overall LAUNCH implementation? 49) Have health care reform or major changes in the states’ approach to health care for low-income families with children affected the implementation of LAUNCH? If so how? 50) Has the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) initiative affected the implementation of LAUNCH? If so, how? Are any of the agencies funded by LAUNCH or other major stakeholders also recipients of this funding? If yes, which agencies? 51) Looking across all LAUNCH activities, have there been special efforts to focus on/include parents with children who are 5-8? If yes, please describe. 52) With respect to LAUNCH’s efforts to focus on school-age children (5-8) what, if any efforts have been made to reach out to/include school districts in LAUNCH activities? What are the barriers? How have you addressed these barriers? 53) As you know, we are also interviewing a several people that you have identified as major LAUNCH community partners. On a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being not very involved in LAUNCH and 4 being very involved, how would you characterize [name of partner’s] involvement? |
Sustainability |
62) What aspects of LAUNCH do you think have the highest probability of being sustained? How are they likely to be sustained? |
Final Thoughts |
65) From your perspective, what has been the most surprising or unexpected aspect of being involved in LAUNCH? 66) 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? |
1Similar questions are asked about each type of service provided by grantees. Not all grantees provide all service type. Therefore, respondents are only asked questions about service types they provide.
Project LAUNCH
Child Wellness Coordinator 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 90 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:
LAUNCH Community and Overall Context
[Read/provide a summary of your understanding of which families in the LAUNCH community are targeted to be served, to make sure it is correct. Probe more to be sure you understand. In some LAUNCH projects, everyone with kids of a certain age is eligible, but only some of these are actually targeted. The more nuanced/detailed that you can be here, the better.]
Read/provide a summary of your understanding of the agencies and major partners and key staff who are part of the LAUNCH effort.
Have agencies or major partners changed in the past year?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what changed and why?
Have there been changes in LAUNCH leadership and management in the past year.
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what changed and why?
Did the amount of time spent of key staff supported by LAUNCH change in the past year compared to the previous year? If yes, how and why?
Direct Services: Family Strengthening
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s role in family strengthening programs or in a particular program, especially if you don’t know if LAUNCH has just expanded a program versus also introducing enhancements—training, developmental assessments, mental health consultation, etc.]
Which services have been implemented most successfully? What do you think the keys were to successful implementation?
Which services have not been implemented successfully? What were the issues? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Did LAUNCH end up supporting new or different services than originally planned as a result of the successes and challenges described above?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what were the services and how are they being implemented?
[Ask for any family strengthening program where LAUNCH is adding a mental health consultation component]. Does the mental health consultant provide consultation to families as well as to service providers?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of mental health consultation with the providers and the amount of consultation with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
Direct Services: Home Visiting Programs
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s role in home visiting programs or in a particular program, especially if you don’t know if LAUNCH has just expanded a program versus also introducing enhancements—training, developmental assessments, MHC, etc.]
Which services have been implemented most successfully? What do you think were the keys to successful implementation?
Which services have not been implemented successfully? What were the issues? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Did LAUNCH end up supporting new or different services than originally planned as a result of successes and challenges?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what were they and how?
[Ask for any home visiting programs where LAUNCH is adding a mental health consultation component]. Does the mental health consultant work directly with families as well as with service providers?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of mental health consultation with the providers and the amount of consultation with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
Direct Services: Mental Health Consultation in Pre-Kindergarten, Child Care and Other Early Care and Education Settings
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s activities in mental health consultation in early care and education]
Which types of preschool/child care providers (e.g., prekindergarten, child care centers, family
child care homes) have been targeted for mental health consultation and why?
Does the mental health consultant provide consultation directly with families as well as with providers?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of mental health consultation for teachers/providers and the amount of consultation with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
In terms of mental health consultation with early care and education, what have been your successes? What do you think the keys were to these successes?
What have been the challenges? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Mental Health Consultation in School-Based Settings
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s activities in mental health consultation in school-based settings. Skip this section if LAUNCH is not doing this]
In the schools where mental health consultation is being implemented, whom does the clinician work with—classroom teachers, counselors, special education staff, others?
Does the mental health consultant ever provide consultation to families?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of MHC for school staff and the amount of consultation with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
In terms of mental health consultation with schools, what have been your successes? What do you think the keys were to these successes?
What have been the challenges? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Mental Health Consultation in Primary Care
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s activities in mental health consultation in primary care.]
Which settings have been targeted? In those settings, which types of staff does the mental health consultant work with?
Does the mental health consultant provide consultation directly to families?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of mental health consultation with the providers and with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
In terms of mental health consultation with primary care providers, what have been your successes? What do you think the keys were to these successes?
What have been the challenges? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Mental Health Consultation in Other Settings
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Ask about MH in any setting that hasn’t yet come up yet and skip if there are no other settings. Begin by asking any clarifying questions if you are not sure about LAUNCH’s activities in mental health consultation in these settings.]
In these settings, which types of providers have been targeted for mental health consultation?
Does the mental health consultant in this setting do any consultation with families?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, what is the balance between the amount of mental health consultation with the providers and with families? [Probe to make them estimate a specific percentage of time that consultants spend with each. Be sure you are talking about consultation with families (e.g., assessment, referral plans) and NOT direct, short-term treatment.]
In terms of mental health consultation with the providers in this setting, what have been your successes? What do you think the keys were to these successes?
What have been the challenges? How have you adapted your implementation as a result?
Standardized Developmental Screening/Assessment
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
[Focus your discussion here on standardized screening and assessment that are done in addition to standard screenings that are part of LAUNCH-supported EBPs. There was some confusion/redundancy last year.]
Child Screening/Assessment
What providers/settings other than the ones where LAUNCH is supporting the program have you trained on the use of standardizing screening and assessment measures? For children, for parents, or both?
Since last year, have there been any changes to linkages either being planned or implemented to share results of assessments of children across agencies/settings?
Are there particular settings where you have had a lot of success in getting providers to adopt standardized assessments? Why do you think this has been possible?
Are there settings in which screenings and assessments have been more challenging? What have been the challenges? [Probe for fidelity, resource issues, whether all children are getting screened]
J. Screening on Maternal Depression
☐ LAUNCH plans to/is implementing work in this area
☐ LAUNCH is NOT working in this area
How would you characterize your level of success in terms of standardizing screening and assessment?
Are there particular settings where you have had a lot of success? Why do you think this has been possible?
Are there settings in which screenings and assessments have been more challenging? What have been the challenges? (Probe for fidelity, resource issues, whether all children are getting screened)
SYSTEMS-LEVEL QUESTIONS
Systems Change Activities
(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 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.]
For each box checked
Indicate Topic Area________________________
What is the ultimate goal of this systems change? (Probe for: to implement the systems change across programs within a setting, to implement the systems change across programs throughout the entire county, other)
What has been accomplished to date?
Are you on schedule, ahead of schedule or behind schedule?
If ahead or behind, probe for why (e.g., changes in leadership at the state or local level, changes in available funding, new program opportunities)
To what extent has LAUNCH been responsible for the systems change (check one):
☐ LAUNCH initiated and leads the systems change activity
☐ Systems change activity began prior to LAUNCH and LAUNCH is a participant along with other agencies/stakeholders
☐ Systems change activity began after LAUNCH and LAUNCH is a participant along with other agencies/stakeholders
On a scale from 1 to 4, what has been LAUNCH’s role in the systems change activity:
☐ 1 (minor role)
☐ 2 (more than a minor role, but not a significant role)
☐ 3 (significant role, but not the lead)
☐ 4 (lead role)
[Important note: Prior to the interview, format your guide by copying and pasting question 36 (b)-(g) for all of the systems changes you know about, with at least two more blank sets. Label each of the changes according to the bolded words in 36 (a)]
Child Wellness Council
Was the Local Child Wellness Council newly formed for Project LAUNCH?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, What has been the advantage of starting your own council rather than having an existing advisory group [provide name of other advisory group, if known] assume this role for Project LAUNCH?
Has your Local Child Wellness Council served as an advisory body for any other local initiatives, either now or in the past?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, please describe explain
[If answered “yes” to question 38] Has the Council’s involvement in other initiatives changed since the beginning of LAUNCH?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, please describe and explain
In addition to that, are there other initiatives/goals they have pursued?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, please describe and explain
What has been the role of the Community Wellness Council in each of the systems change activities named above?
Have there been major changes to the composition of your Council in the last year?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If yes, please explain
Has the State representative [insert name from last year’s guide] continued to participate in the local council? What role does he/she serve? [Probes: shares information about relevant state-level activities; provides advice and guidance to local LAUNCH activities; brings local LAUNCH issues to attention of state decision makers]
How has the presence (or absence) of a state representative made a difference in services delivery? In systems change accomplishments? (Describe how)
How does the Child Wellness Council ensure that the voices of parents/needs of families are taken into consideration? What have been the successes and challenges related to this?
What have been the major successes of the Child Wellness Council?
What have been its major challenges and how have you worked to overcome them?
General Questions
What external factors, if any, have affected the direction of LAUNCH within the community? [Probe for: the recession, political factors, state and/or local budget cuts, new federal or state legislation, new funding streams, staff turnover, changing needs of families, etc.] How have these factors affected overall LAUNCH implementation?
Have health care reform or major changes in the states’ approach to health care for low-income families with children affected the implementation of LAUNCH? If so how? [Ask this question if not previously covered. If covered, after interview write response in more than one place]
Has the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) initiative affected the implementation of LAUNCH? If so, how? Are any of the agencies funded by LAUNCH or other major stakeholders also recipients of this funding? If yes, which agencies?
Looking across all LAUNCH activities, have there been special efforts to focus on/include parents with children who are 5-8? If yes, please describe.
With respect to LAUNCH’s efforts to focus on school-age children (5-8) what, if any efforts have been made to reach out to/include school districts in LAUNCH activities? What are the barriers? How have you addressed these barriers?
As you know, we are also interviewing a several people that you have identified as major LAUNCH community partners
[Ask for each identified]
Please describe the role or roles of [the partner name] on LAUNCH
On a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being not very involved in LAUNCH and 4 being very involved, how would you characterize [name of partner’s] involvement?
☐ 1- Not very involved
☐ 2- Somewhat involved
☐ 3- More than somewhat involved
☐ 4- Very involved
M. Media Campaigns/Community Outreach
[Provide summary of your understanding of LAUNCH’s community outreach efforts to date]
In the last year, have there been any additional community outreach or media campaigns for LAUNCH?
What is the purpose of each campaign/outreach activity?
Who is the target audience?
What types of media and/or products are parts of the campaign/outreach activity?
Brochures and other paper materials
Radio PSAs
Television PSAs
Social media
Public meetings/forums
Web site (Name:______________________)
Other
N. Sustainability
[Provide/summarize your understanding of how the grantee is approaching sustainability and ask any questions related to sustainability to fill in gaps.]
Do you have a sustainability plan?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Over the last year, what did you focus on for sustainability?
Funding
Workforce development
Infrastructure development
Promotion
Other
Has this focus changed in the last year?
☐ Yes If yes, Explain.
☐ No
What have been your accomplishments to date in terms of meeting your strategies to achieve LAUNCH sustainability?
What aspects of LAUNCH do you think have the highest probability of being sustained? How are they likely to be sustained?
What aspects of LAUNCH do you think run the highest risk of not being sustained? Have you made special plans/taken particular approaches in regard to these?
O. Final Thoughts
[Ask only if SAMHSA has plans to fund a new cohort.] As you may know, SAMHSA is funding an additional cohort of grantees. From your experience, what are the top three lessons that you have learned that you would want to share with them to enhance their prospects for being successful in meeting their goals?
From your perspective, what has been the most surprising or unexpected aspect of being involved in LAUNCH?
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.)
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | DHHS |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-24 |