Instrument 3: Staff survey

Engaging Fathers and Paternal Relatives in Child Welfare Breakthrough Series Collaborative

Child Welfare and Partner Staff Survey

DRAFT

[Month date, 20XX]

This information collection will help the project team on the fathers and continuous learning in child welfare project understand each site’s organizational culture and individual practices related to engaging fathers and paternal relatives. The survey will be administered to implementing staff at child welfare agencies and partner agencies.

The average estimated public reporting burden for this collection of information is about 20 minutes per response. Providing information is voluntary, and all responses that are collected are kept private to the extent permitted by law.

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 information collection is xxxx-xxxx, and the expiration date is xx/xx/20xx.

Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare (FCL) project

Child welfare and partner staff survey

This survey aims to understand each site’s organizational culture and individual practices related to engaging fathers and paternal relatives. The Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare (FCL) project team will use this information to assess (1) how implementing the Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) may have contributed to the launch and potential sustainment of strategies for engaging fathers and paternal relatives and (2) how participating in the BSC may facilitate organization-level or system-level shifts in the culture of child welfare agencies surrounding the engagement of fathers and paternal relatives. This survey will be administered twice.

The average estimated public reporting burden for this collection of information is about 20 minutes per response. Providing this information is voluntary. You can refuse to answer any questions that you wish to. All responses that are collected are private to the extent permitted by law.

The research is covered by a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. This means no one can force the researchers to share information that could identify you, even if a court orders them to share information, in any federal, state, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings. The only exception is that the Certificate does not prevent the researchers from sharing information that would identify you as a participant in the project if you tell the interviewers anything that suggests you are very likely to harm yourself, that you are planning to hurt another person or child, or that someone is likely to harm you. A Certificate of Confidentiality does not prevent you from voluntarily releasing information about yourself or your involvement in this research. If you want your research information released to any other person not connected with the research, you must give consent to allow the researchers to release it.

The answers of all respondents will be combined to ensure you remain anonymous in any reports. The survey does not ask for your name, and background information is collected for analytic purposes only. Survey responses are encrypted in transit and at rest. The study team will be careful to protect all the information collected from this survey, but there is a small risk that non-researchers could see it.

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 information collection is XXXX-XXXX, and the expiration date is XX/XX/202X.

This project is supported by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under contract number HHSP233201500035I/ HHSP23337025T. If you have any questions about this data collection, you can contact the FCL project director, Matthew Stagner, at (312) 994-1044 or mstagner@mathematica-mpr.com.

PURPOSE

In this survey, you are asked to assess your agency’s organizational culture and how much it values engaging fathers and paternal relatives. Data collected from this survey will increase understanding of how implementing the BSC may have contributed to the (1) launch of strategies to engage fathers and paternal relatives and (2) organizational-level or system-level shifts in the culture surrounding the engagement of fathers and paternal relatives. Thank you for taking the time to candidly and thoughtfully share your experience with us. Please complete this survey by [date].

A. Background information (demographics)

A1. How do you describe yourself?

 Male 1

 Female 2

 Transgender 3

 Gender nonconforming 4

 Do not identify as female, male, or transgender 5

 Prefer not to answer 6

A2. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

 High school or GED 1

 Some college 2

 Associate's degree (A.A.) 3

 Bachelor's degree (B.A. or B.S.) 4

 Some graduate work 5

 Postgraduate degree (such as master’s degree, J.D., Ed.D, or Ph.D.) 6

 Other (please specify): 7

A3. What is your ethnicity?

 Hispanic or Latino 1

 Not Hispanic or Latino 2

A4. What is your race?

Select all that apply

☐ Black or African American 1

☐ White 2

☐ Asian 3

☐ American Indian or Alaska Native 4

☐ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 5

☐ Other (please specify) 6

A5. Select the job title that best describes your current role in your child welfare agency or organization.

 Caseworker/case manager (including those contracted by [AGENCY] and carrying cases) 1

 Case aide 2

 Supervisor 3

 Program director 4

 Agency director 5

 Staff in a special program within the child welfare agency (parent support or reunification services) 6

 Community partner (local agency or organization working in collaboration with [AGENCY]). (Please specify job title): 7

 Other (please specify): 8

A6. How long have you worked in this field?

years months

B. Agency values

B1. Please read the following statements, and choose the answer that shows how much you agree with each statement:

SELECT ONE ONLY

[Items adapted from the Implementation Climate Scale]	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. One of [AGENCY]’s goals is to effectively engage fathers and paternal relatives in case activities.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. Staff in [AGENCY] think that engaging fathers and paternal relatives is important.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. Connecting fathers and paternal relatives to services is important to [AGENCY] leadership.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. Most staff at [AGENCY] are interested in improving their ability to work with fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
e. The ability to effectively engage fathers and paternal relatives is one of the key skills [AGENCY] looks for in new hires.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
f. [Agency] leaders encourage staff to spend time reaching out to and involving fathers and paternal relatives in case activities.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
g. [Agency] leaders encourage staff to connect fathers and paternal relatives to supportive services.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.

C. Agency support

C1. Please read the following statements, and choose the answer that shows how much you agree with each statement:

SELECT ONE ONLY

[Items adapted from the Implementation Climate Scale]	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. [AGENCY] provides professional development opportunities to develop staff skills in engaging fathers and paternal relatives in case activities.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. [AGENCY] provides training materials about engaging fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. My supervisor checks in often about what I am doing to engage fathers and paternal relatives in case activities.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. My supervisor has expectations for how often I contact fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.

D. Perspectives on agency staff

D1. Please read the following statements and indicate how much you agree with each one:

SELECT ONE ONLY

[Items adapted from the Implementation Climate Scale]	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. Staff at [AGENCY] are adaptable.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. Staff at [AGENCY] are flexible.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. Staff at [AGENCY] value fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. Staff at [AGENCY] are open to new engagement strategies and approaches for fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
e. Staff at [AGENCY] want to improve how they work with fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
f. Staff at [AGENCY] believe involving fathers and paternal relatives is just as important as involving mothers and maternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
g. Staff at [AGENCY] believe the agency should treat fathers and paternal relatives the same way mothers and maternal relatives are treated.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.

E. Monitoring

E1. Please read the following statements, and choose the answer that shows how much you agree with each statement:

SELECT ONE ONLY

	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. I am required to document my efforts to engage fathers.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. I am required to document my efforts to engage paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. [AGENCY] uses information I provide about father and paternal relative engagement to inform its decisions.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. I attend meetings where data are used to understand father and paternal relative engagement.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
e. I often attend meetings with my colleagues where I discuss my attempts to involve fathers and parental relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
f. I personally document my efforts to involve fathers and paternal relatives (for example, I record the number of times I contacted a father or paternal relative).	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
g. I use data to improve my engagement of fathers and paternal relatives (for example, I record the different methods of communication I have used to engage fathers and paternal relatives, and which methods they are most responsive to).	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.

F. Experience using new strategies and approaches

F1. Please read the following statements about using new strategies, and choose the answer that best reflects how much you agree with each one:

SELECT ONE ONLY

[Items adapted from the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale]	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. I like to use new strategies and approaches to engage fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. I am willing to try new strategies and approaches to engage fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. When it comes to engaging fathers and paternal relatives, I rely more on my experience than what I have learned from research.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. I would prefer not to use new strategies or approaches to engage fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
e. I would try a new strategy or approach to engage fathers and paternal relatives even if it were very different from what I am used to doing.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.

G. Experience engaging fathers and paternal relatives

G1. Please read the following statements about your experience engaging fathers and paternal relatives, and indicate how strongly you agree with each one:

SELECT ONE ONLY

	Agree to a very great extent	Agree to a great extent	Agree to a moderate extent	Agree to a slight extent	Do not agree at all	n.a.
a. Engaging fathers and paternal relatives makes my job easier.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
b. Engaging fathers and paternal relatives makes my job more complicated.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
c. I enjoy working with my colleagues on engaging fathers and paternal relatives.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
d. Spending time engaging fathers and paternal relatives means I have less time to dedicate to my other cases.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
e. Engaging fathers and paternal relatives is rewarding.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
f. Engaging fathers and paternal relatives has created more work for me.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
g. Engaging fathers improves the lives of the children whose cases I work on.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a.
h. Engaging paternal relatives improves the lives of the children whose cases I work on.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	n.a. 

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File Title	CLIENT WEB TEMPLATE DRAFT
Subject	TEMPLATE
Author	MATHEMATICA
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File Created	2021-12-17