CHAFEE STRENGTHENING OUTCOMES FOR
TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD (CHAFEE SOTA)
Sample Program and Partner Staff Interview Protocol
Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview today. We really appreciate your help.
We are researchers from [Westat, an independent research firm located in Rockville, MD / the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine University of Colorado]. We have been contracted by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to conduct an evaluation of John H. Chafee programs serving youth in or transitioning out of foster care (called the Chafee Strengthening Outcomes for Transition to Adulthood [Chafee SOTA] Evaluation).
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and no individual or entity is required to respond to, nor shall an individual or entity be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB number for this collection is 0970-0XXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.
[Program sites] As you know, [PROGRAM] is one of the programs being evaluated through the Chafee SOTA evaluation. We are interviewing members of [PROGRAM]’s staff to understand how it serves youth transitioning out of foster care.
[Partner sites] As you know, [PROGRAM] is one of the programs being evaluated through the Chafee SOTA evaluation. We are interviewing staff from [PROGRAM]’s partner organizations to understand how you work with [PROGRAM] to serve youth transitioning out of foster care.
Your participation in this interview is voluntary. It should take about an hour to complete. We will keep your responses private. In addition, please feel free to let me know if you would like to skip any question I ask by saying, “I’d prefer to skip this question.”
Before I get into more of the specifics of the interview, do you have any questions for me?
[See if there are any questions, comments, concerns.]
We’d like to record the session to make sure we document your answers accurately. Following our visit, the recording will be transcribed and used for analysis. The recording will be stored in a secure location and destroyed after the recording has been transcribed. You can ask us to turn off the recording at any time if you would prefer to talk about something and not have it recorded. Do I have your permission to record the interview?
[If permission is granted, turn on recorder.]
Background
I would like to begin with a few questions about your organization and your role in the organization.
What is the mission or focus of this organization?
What is your position in the organization? How long have you been in this position?
What is the nature of the population served through your organization, and how are they identified for service? [Probe for identity characteristics like age, sex, gender identity, and household status; eligibility criteria like referrals and system involvement; and service needs like education, employment, and housing services]
What has been the history of the organization’s role in serving youth transitioning out of foster care?
Services
I would like to ask you questions about the services you and your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care.
Outreach
Can you describe the nature of existing outreach services that you or your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
[Probe on:]
What are the short and long-term goals of these services?
Where does the outreach occur? [Probe for on the street; in schools; in drop-in centers.] Are there certain times of day that outreach is conducted?
Who conducts the outreach? What is the nature and number of staff involved?
What happens to youth once they are identified? Can you describe the process of how they might get connected to services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to outreach activities?
What are these changes?
Why are they being made?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had conducting outreach.
Case management
Can you describe the nature of existing outreach services that you or your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
[Probe on:]
What are the short and long-term goals of these services?
Where does case management occur? Are there certain times of day that case management is conducted?
Who provides case management? What is the nature and number of staff involved?
What resources or assistance do case managers provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
How long do you work with youth identified for case management?
What happens to youth once they are identified? Can you describe the process of how they might get connected to services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to case management activities?
What are these changes?
Why are they being made?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had providing case management.
What strategies did you use to try to overcome challenges?
Were they effective?
Why or why not?
[ASK FOLLOWING DOMAINS IF APPROPRIATE TO THE PROGRAM]
Education Services
Can you describe the nature of existing education services that you or your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
[Probe on:]
What are the short and long-term goals of these services?
What types of services or resources are provided? [Probe for GED, remedial education, community college.]
What is the nature and number of staff involved in the services?
Are specific subpopulations targeted for the services? Which ones? Can you describe how they are identified? [Probe for when they are identified; how they are referred.]
Are there specific eligibility criteria for the services? How are they screened for eligibility?
How long do you typically work with youth identified for education services?
What happens to youth once they are offered these services? Are they linked with any other services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to education services?
What are these changes?
Who is making them and why?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had providing education services.
What strategies did you use to try to overcome challenges?
Were they effective?
Why or why not?
Employment Services
Could you describe the nature of existing employment services that you or your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
[Probe on:]
What are the short and long-term goals of these services?
What types of services or resources are provided? [Probe for job search, job training, internships, on the job coaching.]
What is the nature and number of staff involved in these services?
Are specific subpopulations targeted for the services? Which ones? Can you describe how they are identified? [Probe for when they are identified; how they are referred.]
Are there specific eligibility criteria for the services? How are youth screened for eligibility?
How long do you typically work with a youth identified for employment services?
What happens to youth once they are offered these services? Are they linked with any other services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to employment services?
What are these changes?
Who is making them and why?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had providing employment services.
What strategies did you use to try to overcome challenges?
Were they effective?
Why or why not?
Housing for Youth
Could you describe the nature of existing housing services that you or your organization provide to youth transitioning out of foster care?
[Probe on]:
What are the short and long-term goals of these services?
Could you describe the types of housing commonly pursued on behalf of youth (e.g., transitional housing, FYI vouchers, , etc.)?
Are specific subpopulations targeted for housing? Which ones? Can you describe how they are identified? [Probe for when they are identified; how they are referred.]
Are services available to help connect youth to the housing (e.g., Housing Navigation)?
Are there specific eligibility criteria for the housing? How are youth screened for eligibility?
Is there a time limit on how long a youth can stay in the housing to which you connect them?
Are any services provided with the housing to which you attempt to connect them? [Describe type, who provides the services, whether the services are mandatory.]
What happens to youth once they leave the housing? Are they linked with any other services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to housing services?
What are these changes.
Who is making them and why?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had providing housing services.
What strategies did you use to try to overcome challenges?
Were they effective?
Why or why not?
Other Services
Do you or your organization provide any other services to youth transitioning out of foster care? [Probe for mental health, substance abuse, parenting.]
Can you describe these other services you offer a bit more?
[For each service:]
What are the short and long-term goals of this service?
What is the nature and number of staff involved in the service?
Are resources or assistance provided to youth transitioning out of foster care through this service? What type?
Are specific subpopulations targeted for the service? Which ones? Can you describe how they are identified? [Probe for when they are identified; how they are referred.]
Are there specific eligibility criteria for the service? How are youth screened for eligibility?
How long do you typically work with a youth receiving this service?
What happens to youth once they are offered this service? Are they linked with any other services?
Are there any recent or upcoming changes to this service?
What are these changes?
Who is making them and why?
Describe any challenges you or your organization have had providing this service.
What strategies did you use to try to overcome challenges?
Were they effective?
Why or why not?
Data
How does your organization use data for program monitoring/evaluation? What metrics are monitored and are they used to set and measure progress toward goals??
For which of the services we have discussed? [For each service:]
What data elements are collected?
Who enters data?
Who manages data?
Are data easily accessible? In what format?
How often?
How are sensitive data secured
Are there data that the program needs but that are not currently being collected? Why are they not being collected?
Are you part of any other studies right now besides the Chafee SOTA evaluation? With whom? In what population/topics?
What challenges have you faced in using data?
What strategies did you use to try to overcome these challenges? What has resulted?
Coordination with Other Organizations
Other than what we already have discussed, do you currently coordinate in other ways with:
child welfare system?
juvenile justice system?
education system?
other mainstream service systems (such as health, behavioral health, employment)?
G. Context
Is there any other way that your organization is involved with serving youth transitioning out of foster care?
Are there any other factors that are important for us to understand in characterizing the context of the program? Economic factors? State or local political factors? Anything else (such as geography, transportation, culture, growth of the population)?
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Washington Families Fund Systems Initiative |
| Author | Heather Barton |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2023-07-31 |