ATTACHMENT K_Telephone Recruitment for Focus Group Participants

OMB Control No.: 0970-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

ATTACHMENT K: TELEPHONE RECRUITMENT SCRIPT FOR FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS

Hi. My name is [INTERVIEWER NAME]. I am calling from the Urban Institute in Washington, DC regarding the Home Visiting Career Trajectories study. May I speak with [HOME VISITOR’S NAME]?

[WAIT FOR HOME VISITOR TO COME TO PHONE. IF NOT AVAILABLE, ASK FOR WHEN A GOOD TIME WOULD BE TO CALL BACK.]

Hi, [HOME VISITOR’S NAME]. My name is [INTERVIEWER NAME]. I am calling from the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. We’re conducting a federally funded national survey of the home visiting workforce. I’m calling to invite you to participate in a small group discussion about your experiences working as a home visitor.

[AGENCY] provided us with your number because you’re currently working there as a home visitor. However, participation is voluntary and there is no consequence for declining participation.

This group is being organized by the Urban Institute, which was hired by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to do a study on the home visiting workforce.

The group discussion, called a focus group, will be held at [LOCATION] on [DATE] at [TIME]. It will be a small group of home visitors and a discussion leader who will ask questions about your experience as a home visitor – how you got into the field, what your career plans are, what you like about working as a home visitor, and what you dislike. All your information will be kept private and your employer won’t know what you said. We won’t use your name in any reports. If you participate, we’ll also ask that you not share what you hear in the group so that everyone’s privacy is protected.

You won’t benefit directly from participating, but your insights will help inform policymakers and home visiting program managers about how home visitors could be better supported and about the issues they face in their work.

Would you be interested in participating?

[Who is doing this work?]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has contracted the Urban Institute to conduct a study of the home visiting workforce. The survey focuses on MIECHV-funded implementing agencies. The focus group is part of the Home Visiting Career Trajectories study.

[Why is participation important?]

The aim of the focus group is to gather information about the home visiting workforce in MIECHV-funded agencies to inform efforts to support improvements to services and professional experiences. There is a lack of information out there about the home visiting workforce and this survey will help to correct that. We want to make sure that your program is counted in this data collection, since it will be used for future federal planning around home visiting.

[What does participation involve?]

A small group discussion called a focus group that will last up to two hours. It will be a small group of home visitors and a discussion leader who will ask questions about your experience as a home visitor – how you got into the field, what your career plans are, what you like about working as a home visitor, and what you dislike.

[Human subjects protections]

All MIECHV-funded implementing agencies are invited to participate, but participation is completely voluntary. It is your choice to participate or not, and you may elect not to answer any particular question during the focus group. Your employer won’t know if you’ve chosen to participate or what you said.

The information you provide will be kept strictly private. No information will be reported in any way that would permit identifying information of any participant. The findings from the study will be summarized in a final report and briefs, but your name or other identifying information will never be included in any of those documents.

[IF REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE] I’m sorry to hear that. I want to emphasize that it is important to count your program in the findings we report to the federal government for planning around home visiting. And I just want to remind you that responses are private and voluntary. For my records, may I ask why you’re not interested in participating at this time?

[IF STILL REFUSES] Okay, thank you for your time. [END CALL.]

[IF AGREES OR WILL CONSIDER IT] Great! I’ll follow up with you before the focus group to confirm the details. Do you prefer text or a phone call?

Well, thank you so much for talking with me today. Do you have any other questions for me at this time?

[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR Q&A, AS NEEDED]

1. The Urban Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization based in Washington DC.

2. The study is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) in partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

3. The project is looking at:

   1. The state of the home visiting workforce and the characteristics, qualifications, and career trajectories of home visiting staff; and

   2. Strategies to build a pipeline of high-quality home visitors and supervisors across the United States.

4. The findings will be summarized in a final report and research briefs. These products will be published on the Urban Institute website and on OPRE’s website, and will be available to all LIAs. We will not share the reports before they are published, but we’ll hold a webinar with LIAs to share findings before the release.

5. We are not offering any incentives for participation in this data collection.

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Home Visiting Career Trajectories OMB Supporting Documents: Telephone Recruitment Script for Focus Group Participants