Instrument 9 - Interview Guide for Continuum of Care Lead Organization Administrator and FUP Liaisons

^{Instrument 9}: Interview Guide for Continuum of Care Lead Organization Administrator and FUP Liaisons

Before we begin, I want to tell you a few things about this study and your participation in it. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have. We will also email you a copy of this information.

A team of researchers from the Urban Institute and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to learn about how communities are using the Family Unification Program (FUP) to serve youth. We are not evaluating your agency or its programs. The information we gather will be used to inform efforts by ACF and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to improve the administration of the program.

As part of this process, we are talking with representatives from public housing authorities that received FUP vouchers in 2018, their child welfare agency and Continuum of Care partners, and other partner agencies including those that make referrals or provide services. You or another staff member from your agency completed a survey earlier this year about how FUP is being used by your agency to serve youth. Based on the results of that survey, we identified the program in your community as a promising one for further study.

A pair of researchers will ask you some questions about the [PHA name] FUP program, including questions about your collaboration with community partners, ways in which serving youth may differ from serving families, and successes or challenges you may have encountered serving youth, along with lessons learned. The discussion should take about 60 minutes. We may contact you after the interview to ask for clarification. Your participation in this discussion is voluntary.

We will share what we learn about your Family Unification Program with ACF as part of our evaluation activities. All the information you provide will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. With your permission, we will audio record the discussion so that we have an accurate record of what is said. However, we will not audio record if you do not want it to be recorded. One of the researchers will be taking detailed notes, but the notes will not include your name.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY OR TODAY’S DISCUSSION?

MAY WE PROCEED WITH THE DISCUSSION OF YOUR FUP PROGRAM?

If you have questions or concerns about the study, please contact:

Michael Pergamit Mark Courtney

Urban Institute Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

202-261-5276 773.702.1219

mpergamit@urban.org markc@uchicago.edu

If you feel that your rights have been violated or that you have not been treated fairly, contact:

Everett Madden, Institutional Review Board Coordinator

Urban Institute

2100 M Street NW

Washington DC 20037

Phone: 202-261-5632

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Unification Program. 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 OMB number and expiration date for this collection are OMB #: 0970-XXXX, Exp: 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 Michael Pergamit at mpergamit@urban.org.

The Institutional Review Board Coordinator

Everett Madden

Urban Institute

2100 M Street NW

Washington DC 20037

Phone:

202

-

261

-

5632

2100 M Street NW

Washington DC 20037

Washington DC 20037

Phone:

202

-

261

-

5632

Discussion Guide for Continuum of Care Lead Organization Administrators and FUP Liaisons

On-Site Conversation

Introduction

We are interested in how [CoC lead organization name] collaborates with [PHA name] and [PCWA name] to serve FUP-eligible youth. We know that you may work with other housing authorities and other child welfare agencies, but we would like to just focus on these for our conversation today.

Do you have questions before we continue?

Do you consent to be recorded?

[If consented to recording] I am going to turn on the tape recorder now, and we can get started.

(Ask all respondents, unless otherwise indicated)

Please tell me about yourself and [CoC lead organization name].

• What is your position at [CoC lead organization name]?

  • What are your primary responsibilities?

  • How much time do you spend on youth homelessness?

  • How much time do you spend on FUP?

• (Ask FUP Liaison) Are you the primary staff person responsible for FUP within [CoC lead organization name]?

  • If not, who else is responsible?

• What is/are their role(s)?

• What type of entity is [CoC lead organization name]? (E.g., local government, non-profit service provider, entity created solely to distribute CoC funds)

• (Ask CoC lead organization administrator) What are the main activities [CoC lead organization name] engages in?

• Does [CoC lead organization name] do outreach to homeless youth in the community?

  • If so, how do you do this?

• How does [CoC lead organization name]’s coordinated entry system work?

  • How do you coordinate participant intake and assessment among service providers?

    • How, if at all, does intake and assessment differ for youth and adults?

  • How does [CoC lead organization name] ensure efficient and fair allocation of housing resources?

    • How, if at all, does the process of allocating resources to youth differ from the process of allocating to adults?

Involvement in FUP

(Ask all respondents)

Now, I have some questions about [CoC lead organization name]’s involvement with FUP.

• How is [CoC lead organization name] involved with FUP?

  • When did your agency first become involved with FUP?

  • Why did your agency become involved with FUP?

Community Context

(Ask all respondents)

Now we'd like to hear your insight on the community context in which you are serving FUP youth.

• How would you describe the homeless youth population in [PHA jurisdiction]?

  • What are common demographic or other traits?

  • What are the most common causes of homelessness for this population?

• Approximately how many homeless youth ages 18 to 24 come through coordinated entry each year in [PHA jurisdiction]?

• What are youth who come through coordinated entry generally looking for?

• How would you describe the availability of services for homeless youth in [PHA’s jurisdiction]?

• What housing resources other than FUP are available for homeless youth through the CoC?

• Are there any housing service providers for youth that are not funded by the CoC?

  • If yes: What are those providers?

  • If yes: Why are they not funded by the CoC?

    • What, if any, regulatory or statutory barriers are there to serving youth in [PHA jurisdiction]?

Identifying FUP-Eligible Youth

(Ask FUP Liaison)

Now, I have some questions about how CoC-funded agencies identify FUP-eligible youth.

• What role, if any, does [CoC lead organization name] have in this process?

• Which CoC-funded agencies are involved in identifying FUP-eligible youth?

• How do CoC-funded agencies identify FUP-eligible youth?

  • Do these agencies use a common assessment tool?

    • If so, what assessment tool do they use?

    • In not, which assessment tools do they use?

  • How does that assessment tool help these agencies identify FUP-eligible youth?

• Does either [CoC lead organization name] or these agencies match HMIS data to child welfare data to identify youth who had been in foster care?

  • If so, how often are participants matched?

Referring FUP-Eligible Youth

(Ask FUP Liaison, unless otherwise indicated)

Now, I have some questions about how CoC-funded agencies refer FUP-eligible youth to [PCWA name].

• (Ask all respondents) Did [CoC lead organization name] work with [PCWA name] to establish a process for identifying and referring FUP-eligible youth to [PCWA name]?

  • If yes: Please describe how this came about.

• What role does [CoC lead organization name] have in this referral process?

• Do CoC-funded agencies refer both families and youth to [PCWA name]?

• If yes: How does the referral process for youth compare to the referral process for families?

• How is the FUP referral process integrated into your coordinated entry system?

• How long have CoC-funded agencies been referring youth who may be FUP-eligible to [PCWA name]?

• Approximately how many FUP-eligible youth have CoC-funded agencies referred to [PCWA name] since [most recent voucher award date]?

• Do CoC-funded agencies ever not refer a FUP-eligible youth to the [PCWA name}?

  • If so, under what circumstances would these agencies not refer a FUP-eligible youth to the [PCWA name]?

• Do CoC-funded agencies ever refer a FUP-eligible youth to another housing program instead of FUP?

  • If yes: What other program(s) do they refer FUP-eligible youth to?

  • Why do CoC-funded agencies refer FUP eligible youth to those programs instead of FUP?

• How, if at all, do CoC-funded agencies prioritize youth who are currently child welfare-engaged versus highest-need homeless youth for referrals?

Service Provision

(Ask FUP Liaison)

Now, I have some questions about services provided to youth with FUP vouchers by CoC-funded programs.

• Do CoC-funded programs provide any services to FUP-eligible youth?

  • If yes: What kinds of services are provided to youth by CoC funded programs?

    • Voucher application assistance?

    • Housing search assistance?

    • Cash assistance? (E.g., help paying security deposit and application fees.)

    • Landlord assurances?

    • Move-in services?

    • On-going case management?

• What are your funding sources for these services?

• How long after lease-up are you and other agencies providing supportive services to youth? To what extent does this vary?

• What proportion of youth who lease up with FUP are eligible for services from CoC-funded programs? What makes them eligible?

  • Which, if any, of these services are required to be provided to youth?

Partnership with PHA, PCWA and Other Collaborating Agencies

(Ask FUP Liaison, unless otherwise indicated)

Please tell us about how [CoC lead organization name] collaborates with [PHA name] and [PCWA name] as FUP partners.

• (Ask CoC lead organization administrator) How did [CoC lead organization name]’s collaboration with [PHA name] and [PCWA name] come about?

  • Did someone at [PHA name] or [PCWA name] reach out to [CoC lead organization name] or did [CoC lead organization name] initiate the relationship?

• (Ask CoC lead organization administrator) Has [CoC lead organization name] ever collaborated with either the [PHA name] or [PCWA name] before?

  • If yes: What was the nature of that collaboration?

• Is there a single point of contact at these agencies to address issues around serving youth using FUP?

  • If no: Would having a single point of contact be helpful? Why?

• Does [CoC lead organization name] have a single point of contact for partner agencies to reach out to with questions about serving youth?

• (Ask all respondents) What does [CoC lead organization name]’s Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, with [PHA name] and [PCWA name] require of each party?

  • Probe: prioritization of FUP youth, coordination of referrals, integration into coordinated entry system, identification of services funded through CoC, quarterly meetings, common goals and standards of success

  • How, if at all, do you update your MOU to reflect changes in activities?

• How does [CoC lead organization name] coordinate with [PHA name] and [PCWA name] to serve youth using FUP?

  • Do these organizations also work together to serve families using FUP? If so, how, if at all, is the process for coordinating services for families different than for youth?

• How often does [CoC lead organization name] typically communicate with [PHA name] or [PCWA name] about FUP?

  • What are those communications typically about?

  • Do you think there should be more communication, less communication, or is the amount about right?

• How often does [CoC lead organization name] meet with [PHA name] or [PCWA] about FUP?

What are those meetings typically about?

• What training, if any, does [CoC lead organization name] provide to the [PCWA name] or [PHA name]?

  • How often does the CoC provide this training?

• What training, if any, does the PHA provide to [CoC lead organization name] and/or CoC-funded agencies?

  • Which organizations are involved in these trainings?

  • How often does [PHA name] provide this training?

• What training, if any, does [PCWA name] provide to [CoC lead organization name] and/or CoC-funded agencies?

  • Which organizations are involved in these trainings?

  • How often does [PCWA name] provide this training?

• (If the PHA and/or PCWA only trains the CoC lead organization) How, if at all, do you pass along information from these trainings to CoC-funded agencies?

• How would you characterize [CoC lead organization name]’s relationship with [PHA name]?

  • Are respective roles and responsibilities clear?

  • Is there a sense of common mission?

• How would you characterize [CoC lead organization name]’s relationship with [PCWA name]?

  • Are respective roles and responsibilities clear?

  • Is there a sense of common mission?

Data Systems

(Ask all respondents, unless otherwise indicated)

We are interested in learning about your Homeless Management Information System data.

• Is the HMIS open (data are shared across providers) or closed (data are not shared across providers)?

• Does the HMIS include all shelters in [PHAs’ jurisdiction]?

  • Approximately what percentage of shelter beds are included?

• (Ask CoC lead organization administrator) Do you capture any data in the HMIS that is not required by HUD?

• How consistently are required data entered into the HMIS?

• Are youth receiving FUP vouchers identified in the HMIS?

  • If yes: Are data on the services provided to youth with FUP vouchers entered into the HMIS?

• (Ask CoC lead organization administrator) Does your agency share this HMIS data with external researchers?

  • What is the process for obtaining access to these data for research? (e.g. an Institutional Review Board or a Research Review Board, Data Sharing Agreement)

  • What data sharing is covered by the consent form filled out by individuals whose data is in the HMIS?

  • Do most individuals sign the consent form?

Funding FUP Partnership

(Ask CoC lead organization administrator)

Next, we have a few questions about your funding sources.

• What CoC funds are used to cover the cost of supportive services for youth with FUP vouchers?

• Does your budget constrain your ability to provide services to youth with FUP vouchers?

Implementation Challenges

(Ask all respondents)

We’d also like to hear about challenges you may have experienced as a FUP partner.

• What challenges have [CoC lead organization name] and CoC-funded agencies encountered as part of the FUP partnership?

• How did your agency overcome those challenges?

• What factors facilitated the work of the partnership?

Reflections

(Ask all respondents)

As we approach the end of our conversation, we'd like to ask you to reflect on your experience with FUP for youth and provide any recommendations you may have.

• What advice, if any, do you have for other CoCs about using FUP to address the housing needs of youth who had been in foster care?

• Are there any changes that would help CoCs use FUP to serve youth?

Closing

(Ask all respondents)

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

Is there anything that I did not ask about that you think I should know about your role the FUP partnership or your experience with using FUP to serve youth?

Do you have any final questions for me about the study?