HomeEc Appendices

Appendix A

Health Resources and Services Administration Letter of Support

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

[DATE]

Dear <<PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME>>

We are writing because we want to learn about the practices your early childhood home visiting program uses to support family economic well-being. Economic well-being for families has many components, such as having a stable job, enough income to meet short- and long-term needs, and being able to cope with financial stress. This research is part of the Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study, overseen by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The HomeEc study is being conducted by Mathematica, an independent policy research organization, which has partnered with James Bell Associates, Start Early, and Decision Information Resources. The HomeEc study will help the home visiting field understand: (1) how local home visiting programs define economic well-being; (2) how local programs support family economic well-being, and (3) how local programs measure the economic well-being of the families they serve. HRSA would appreciate your consideration to participate in this study. Your program’s participation is voluntary.

In spring 2023, HomeEc study team staff will be conducting interviews and focus groups with home visiting program staff and with primary caregivers served by home visiting programs. These conversations will help clarify the practices and procedures your program uses to understand, measure, and support families’ economic well-being. Ultimately, this project aims to identify practices that could be replicated by other home visiting programs to improve the economic well-being of families. We would like your help identifying some of your program staff to participate in these interviews and focus groups; we would also like your program’s assistance in recruiting caregivers to participate.

All information collected over the course of the HomeEc study will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. All research staff are carefully trained in privacy procedures and have signed Mathematica’s confidentiality assurance agreement. Staff and caregivers will not be identified by name in any reports of the study’s findings. Participation in the study is completely voluntary for programs, staff, and caregivers.

In the weeks ahead, a member of the HomeEc study team will contact you to explain the study in detail, gather some initial information about your program, and answer any questions you may have. If your program does not wish to participate and would prefer that a HomeEc study team member not contact you, please reply to this outreach at HomeEc@mathematica-mpr.com and we will remove your program from our outreach list.

Thank you in advance for considering this important study. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the study’s project officer, Pooja Curtin (Pooja.Curtin@acf.hhs.gov), in OPRE, ACF, within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sincerely,

Cindy Phillips, Director, Division of Home Visiting and Early Childhood Systems

Health Resources and Services Administration

Appendix B

Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Letter of Support

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

[DATE]

Dear <<PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME>>

I hope you are well! I am writing to ask if you would be willing to participate in a study to learn about the practices your tribal early childhood home visiting program uses to support family economic well-being. This research is part of the Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study, overseen by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) Program. The HomeEc study is being conducted by Mathematica, an independent policy research organization, which has partnered with James Bell Associates, Start Early, and Decision Information Resources.

Economic well-being has many components, which may include having a stable job, enough income to meet short- and long-term needs, and being able to cope with financial stress. The HomeEc study will help the home visiting field understand: (1) how home visiting programs define economic well-being; (2) how programs support family economic well-being, and (3) how programs measure the economic well-being of the families they serve. The Tribal MIECHV Program fully supports this study and would appreciate your participation so that tribal voices and perspectives are included in this study. Your program’s participation is voluntary and the decision to participate or not will not impact your tribal program’s grant in any way.

In spring 2023, HomeEc study team staff will be conducting interviews and focus groups with home visiting program staff and with primary caregivers served by home visiting programs. These conversations will help clarify the practices and procedures your program uses to understand, measure, and support families’ economic well-being. Ultimately, this project aims to identify practices that could be replicated by other home visiting programs to improve the economic well-being of families.

All information collected over the course of the HomeEc study will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. All research staff are carefully trained in privacy procedures and have signed Mathematica’s confidentiality assurance agreement. Staff and caregivers will not be identified by name in any reports of the study’s findings. Participation in the study is completely voluntary for programs, staff, and caregivers.

In the weeks ahead, a member of the HomeEc study team may contact you to see if you would be willing to participate in the study, explain the study in detail, gather some initial information about your program, and answer any questions you may have. If your program does not wish to participate and would prefer that a HomeEc study team member not contact you, please reply to this outreach at HomeEc@mathematica-mpr.com and we will remove your program from our outreach list.

Thank you in advance for considering this important study. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the study’s project officer, Pooja Curtin (Pooja.Curtin@acf.hhs.gov), in OPRE, ACF, within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sincerely,

Moushumi Beltangady, Program Manager

Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program

Appendix C

Program Director Recruitment Email

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Email Draft to Nominated Programs

Dear (Name of Home Visiting Program Director or Manager),

My name is [NAME], and I am writing to you on behalf of the Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting project, also known as the HomeEc project. We’ve learned that [HOME VISITING PROGRAM] is using innovative and promising home visiting practices that support families’ economic well-being. As a result, your program was nominated to participate in a federally funded research project so we can learn from your experience and share that knowledge with the wider home visiting field.

What is the HomeEc project, and who is conducting it?

The HomeEc project is a research project managed by the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. This project is working to find successful practices designed to improve the economic well-being of families that could be replicated by other home visiting programs to support the families they serve.

Family economic well-being has many components, including but not limited to family members’ education, how well families can meet their needs and the financial goals they set, and whether family members have stable, satisfying jobs. Mathematica, an independent research organization, has been awarded funding to conduct the HomeEc project, and will work with its partners at James Bell Associates, Start Early, and Decision Information Resources. HRSA and the Tribal MIECHV Program fully support this endeavor and would appreciate your program’s participation. Please see the attached letter of support. Your program’s participation is voluntary and the decision to participate or not will not impact your program’s grant in any way.

What will my program need to do?

If your program is selected and agrees to participate, we will complete the following activities with program staff: (1) an initial call with you to give you more details about the study (30 minutes); (2) an individual interview with you as the program director (60 minutes); (3) individual interviews with supervisor(s) (60 minutes each); (4) small-group interviews with home visitors (90 minutes); (5) individual interviews with a few parents in your program (60 minutes each); (6) and a focus group with a few other parents in your program (60 minutes). All data collection activities will take place virtually. Parents participating in the interviews or focus groups will receive a $35 gift card to thank them for their participation. We may also request additional documentation to help us understand your program’s policies and practices related to promoting family economic well-being.

What are the next steps?

We would like to set up a call to discuss your program’s participation in the HomeEc project. During this call, we will go over the details of the study; ask you some questions to learn more about your home visiting program; understand any local research review requirements, such as approval from an institutional review board; and answer any questions you might have. Please let us know if any of these dates and times work for you: [LIST OUT POSSIBLE DATES/TIMES].

Do I need to do anything before the call?

No. We know you are busy. We appreciate your taking time for this study and will be considerate of your needs and those of your staff and the families you serve. If you have any questions about the study, your involvement as a research volunteer, or if you do not want to participate, please contact the study team at HomeEc@mathematica-mpr.com or myself at [RECRUITER NAME/EMAIL/PHONE].

More on HomeEc: Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov)

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Sincerely,

XXX

Appendix D

Study FAQs for Program Staff

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the HomeEc project?

The project will advance understanding of how early childhood home visiting programs (such as those funded by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) and Tribal MIECHV programs) can and do support family economic well-being. Family economic well-being has many components, such as how well a family can meet its needs and achieve its financial goals. This could include meeting all the family’s current needs, preparing for future expenses, and having a job that is stable and satisfying. We know families participating in home visiting programs often experience financial stress and struggle with their economic well-being. Identifying practices in home visiting that may support family economic well-being, and understanding how these practices could be strengthened, adapted, or replicated, might help them benefit many more home visiting programs and families.

Who is sponsoring and conducting the HomeEc project?

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. The project was awarded to the independent research organization, Mathematica. Mathematica’s partners on this project are James Bell Associates, Start Early, and Decision Information Resources, Inc.

Why do you need my help?

Home visitors, home visiting supervisors, and families participating in home visiting programs have direct experience and perspectives that cannot be found elsewhere. The study selected programs that have a goal of supporting family financial or economic well-being. We want to learn how you think about economic well-being and how the program is supporting families. We will use the information we collect to help the home visiting field learn about what’s working, what can be improved, and how to replicate or modify successful home visiting practices.

What are the HomeEc project activities?

The HomeEc study team will complete the following activities with your program: (1) an initial call with program leadership to provide details about the study (45 minutes); (2) a one-on-one conversation with the home visiting program director (60 minutes); (3) one-on-one conversations with program supervisors (60 minutes); (4) one-on-one and/or group conversations with home visiting staff (90 minutes); (5) a focus group with families involved in your program (60 minutes); and (6) one-on-one interviews with families participating in the home visiting program (60 minutes). All interviews and focus groups will take place virtually. We will also request any available documentation about any practices your program uses to support family economic well-being. There may also be an opportunity to participate in future evaluation activities about your practice(s) to support family economic well-being.

What kinds of topics will you ask home visiting staff about?

During our conversations, we will discuss the following topics:

• Your professional experience as a home visitor

• Your program and the communities it serves

• The characteristics of the families served by your home visiting program, including common strengths and challenges for the families

• How your home visiting program defines family economic well-being

• What kinds of activities you undertake with families to support their goals and needs related to economic well-being

• How you decide which strategies to use with families, and what role culture plays in how you approach supporting family economic well-being

• The types of training you receive about supporting family economic well-being

• How comfortable you are with supporting family economic well-being

What kinds of topics will you ask participating families about?

We will discuss with families:

• Their backgrounds, their communities, their strengths and challenges

• Their participation in home visiting

• What types of supports they need or want to promote their economic well-being

• Any changes in their own sense of their family’s economic well-being while participating in the home visiting program

• Which aspects of the program have been helpful, and anything more the program could do to continue supporting families

When will these conversations with staff and families take place?

Spring 2023, by videoconferencing.

We will work with your program, and with families individually, to determine the best dates and times for the conversations.

Do I have to participate?

No. Choosing not to participate will not affect your job in any way. But your participation will help us learn about supporting family economic well-being in home visiting. What we learn from this study can help other families and home visiting programs.

What about privacy?

We will obtain informed consent from parents or caregivers and from staff ahead of their participation. We will keep all information shared during focus groups and interviews private, except in cases where there is potential harm to parents, staff, or others. We will work with programs to meet any additional program-level research needs. We will ask permission to audio-record focus groups and interviews to make sure we have an accurate record of what was said. We will store the recordings in a secure location, and our study team will destroy the recordings at the end of the project. No one will hear the recordings except for researchers and the person who transcribes them. We will also store any notes from our conversations in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project. We will report all information in summary form, and will not name any individual or connect information to any individual.

Appendix E

Consent Form for Parent Participant Interview

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Voluntary Consent to Participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting Study: Parent Participant Interview

Study description and purpose

We invite you to participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study. In this study, we want to learn how early childhood home visiting programs like [PROGRAM NAME] help families improve their economic well-being. By well-being, we mean how families are doing financially and how well they can support themselves. We are inviting you because you participated in [PROGRAM NAME]. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the HomeEc study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. Mathematica, James Bell Associates, and Start Early, all research organizations, are conducting the study.

What’s involved in participating

As a participant, you will be asked to talk about your experiences with a researcher from the HomeEc study. The researcher will ask about your experience with [PROGRAM NAME], the kinds of support services it provides, suggestions for improvement, and decisions about your current financial or economic well-being. The interview will be no longer than one hour.

We will talk about the way [PROGRAM NAME] has influenced your family’s financial or economic well-being. When you hear this term, please think about things like how your family is doing financially now and where you expect to be financially in the future. Also think about how your family supports itself and how well you think you can meet the financial needs of your family.

You do not have to participate in the interview. If you choose to participate, you can skip any questions you do not want to answer, and you can leave the interview at any time. There are no consequences if you do not want to participate or if you leave the interview early.

Risks and benefits

There are no risks associated with participating. As a participant, you will help [PROGRAM NAME] and other programs like it understand how to best support families and their financial or economic well-being. If you agree to participate, you will receive a $35 gift card after the interview to thank you for your participation.

Privacy

Whatever you say in the interview will be kept private, except if you say something 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. We will use the information you share to write a summary of what we learned, but your name will not be connected to your answers. We have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. The certificate helps us protect your privacy, except in cases required by Federal, State or local laws, such as for reporting of child or elder abuse.

We would like to audio-record the interview to make sure we have an accurate record of what you say. If you have anything you would like to say off the record, just let us know, and we can pause the recorder. We will not share the recording with [PROGRAM NAME] or anyone outside our study team. We will store the recording in a secure location, and our study team will destroy the recording at the end of the project. No one will hear the recording except for researchers and the person who transcribes it. We will also store any notes from our conversation in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project.

How the information will be used

The Mathematica project team will share information with ACF staff to help them understand how early childhood home visiting programs could improve their support of families’ financial or economic well-being. We will use information from the interview to write a summary of what we learn.

Contact Information

HomeEc has been given institutional review board approval by Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Katie Eddins, the deputy project director, at keddins@mathematica-mpr.com or (202) 838-3614.

Appendix F

Consent Form for Parent Participant Focus Group

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Voluntary Consent to Participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting Study: Parent Participant Focus Group

Study description and purpose

We invite you to participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study. In this study, we want to learn how early childhood home visiting programs like [PROGRAM NAME] help families improve their economic well-being. By economic well-being, we mean how families are doing financially and how well they can support themselves. We are inviting you because you participated in [PROGRAM NAME]. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the HomeEc study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. Mathematica, James Bell Associates, and Start Early, all research organizations, are conducting the study.

What’s involved in participating

As a participant, you will be asked to join a discussion group called a focus group. The group will be led by a researcher from the HomeEc study. During the focus group, the researcher will ask you and the others in the group about your experiences and involvement with [PROGRAM NAME], the kind of support services it provides, and suggestions for improvement. This discussion will last no longer than one hour.

Throughout the discussion, we will ask about the way [PROGRAM NAME] has influenced your family’s financial or economic well-being. When you hear that term, please think about things like how your family is doing financially now and where you expect to be financially in the future. Also think about how your family supports itself and how well you think you can meet the financial needs of your family.

You do not have to participate in the focus group. If you choose to participate, you can skip any questions you do not want to answer, and you can leave the focus group at any time. There are no consequences if you do not want to participate or if you leave the focus group early.

Risks and benefits

There are no risks associated with participating. As a participant, you will help [PROGRAM NAME] and other programs like it understand the best way to support families and their financial or economic well-being. If you agree to participate, you will receive a $35 gift card after the focus group to thank you for your participation.

Privacy

Whatever you talk about in the focus group will be kept private, except if you say something 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. We will use the information shared in this discussion to write a summary of what we learned, but your name will not be connected to your answers. If you agree to participate, information that other people share in the discussion must also be kept private. The researchers cannot fully guarantee the privacy of the participants in a focus group setting and we are therefore relying on you and the other participants to not share anything discussed outside the group. We have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. The certificate helps us protect your privacy, except in cases required by Federal, State or local laws, such as for reporting of child or elder abuse.

We would like to audio-record the focus group to make sure we have an accurate record of what you say. If you have anything you would like to say off the record, just let us know, and we can pause the recorder. We will not share the recording with [PROGRAM NAME] or anyone outside our study team. We will store the recording in a secure location, and our study team will destroy it at the end of the project. No one will hear the recording except for researchers and the person who transcribes it. We will also store any notes from our conversation in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project.

How the information will be used

The Mathematica project team will share information with ACF staff to help them understand how early childhood home visiting programs could improve their support of families’ financial or economic well-being. We will use information from the focus group to write a summary of what we learn.

Contact information

HomeEc has been given institutional review board approval by Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Katie Eddins, the deputy project director, at keddins@mathematica-mpr.com or (202) 838-3614.

Appendix G

Consent Form for Home Visitor Interview

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Voluntary Consent to Participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting Study: Home Visitor Interview

Study description and purpose

We invite you to participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study. In this study, we want to learn how early childhood home visiting programs like [PROGRAM NAME] help families improve their economic well-being. We are inviting you because you are a home visitor or frontline staff at [PROGRAM NAME], a program that is participating in the study. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the HomeEc study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. Mathematica, James Bell Associates, and Start Early, all research organizations, are conducting the study.

What’s involved in participating

You will be asked to participate in a one-on-one conversation with a researcher from the HomeEc study team. The interview will last no longer than one hour. During the interview, we will ask about practices and strategies [PROGRAM NAME] uses to support family economic well-being; the economic goals, strengths, and challenges of the families you serve; how your program measures family economic well-being; and the impact of family economic well-being on caregivers’ and children’s health, relationships, how involved families are in your program, and how likely they are to stay in the program. We will also discuss professional development resources you need to support economic well-being in the families you serve, as well as successes, opportunities for improvement, and lessons learned.

You do not have to participate in the interview. If you choose to participate, you can skip any questions you do not want to answer, and you can leave the interview at any time. There are no consequences if you do not want to participate or if you leave the interview early

Risks and benefits

There are no risks associated with participating. As a participant, you will help other programs like [PROGRAM NAME] understand how to support families’ financial or economic well-being.

Privacy

Whatever you say in the interview will be kept private, except if you say something 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. We will use the information you share to write a summary of what we learned, but your name will not be connected to your answers. We have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. The certificate helps us protect your privacy, except in cases required by Federal, State or local laws, such as for reporting of child or elder abuse.

We would like to audio-record the interview to make sure we have an accurate record of what you say. If you have anything you would like to say off the record, just let us know, and we can pause the recorder. We will not share the recording with anyone outside our study team. We will store the recording in a secure location, and our study team will destroy the recording at the end of the project. No one will hear the recording except for researchers and the person who transcribes it. We will also store any notes from our conversation in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project.

How the information will be used

The Mathematica project team will share information with ACF staff to help them understand how early childhood home visiting programs could improve their support of families’ financial or economic well-being. We will use information from the interview to write a summary of what we learn.

Contact information

HomeEc has been given institutional review board approval by Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Katie Eddins, the deputy project director, at keddins@mathematica-mpr.com or (202) 838-3614.

Appendix H

Consent Form for Program Director Interview

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Voluntary Consent to Participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting Study: Program Director Interview

Study description and purpose

We invite you to participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study. In this study, we want to learn how early childhood home visiting programs like [PROGRAM NAME] help families improve their economic well-being. We are inviting you because you are part of the program leadership at [PROGRAM NAME], which is participating in the study. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the HomeEc study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. Mathematica, James Bell Associates, and Start Early, all research organizations, are conducting the study.

What is involved in participating

You will be asked to participate in a one-on-one conversation with a researcher from the HomeEc study team. The interview will last no longer than an hour. During the interview, we will ask about practices and strategies [PROGRAM NAME] uses to support families’ economic well-being and their economic goals, the strengths and challenges of the families you serve, and how your program measures family economic well-being. We will also discuss lessons you have learned while helping families with their economic well-being.

You do not have to participate in the interview. If you choose to participate, you can skip any questions you do not want to answer, and you can leave the interview at any time. There are no consequences if you do not want to participate or if you leave the interview early

Risks and benefits

There are no risks associated with participating. As a participant, you will help other programs like [PROGRAM NAME] understand how to best support families and promote their financial or economic well-being.

Privacy

Whatever you say in the interview will be kept private, except if you say something 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. We will use the information you share to write a summary of what we learned, but your name will not be connected to your answers. We have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. The certificate helps us protect your privacy, except in cases required by Federal, State or local laws, such as for reporting of child or elder abuse.

We would like to audio-record the interview to make sure we have an accurate record of what you say. If you have anything you would like to say off the record, just let us know, and we can pause the recorder. We will not share the recording with anyone outside our study team. We will store the recording in a secure location and our study team will destroy the recording at the end of the project. No one will hear the recording except for researchers and the person who transcribes it. We will also store any notes from our conversation in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project.

How the information will be used

The Mathematica project team will share information with ACF staff to help them understand how early childhood home visiting programs could improve their support of families’ financial or economic well-being. We will use information from the interview to write a summary of what we learned.

Contact information

HomeEc has been given institutional review board approval by Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Katie Eddins, the deputy project director, at keddins@mathematica-mpr.com or (202) 838-3614.

Appendix I

Consent Form for Supervisor Interview

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Voluntary Consent to Participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting Study: Supervisor Interview

Study description and purpose

We invite you to participate in the Supporting Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) study. In this study, we would like to learn how early childhood home visiting programs like [PROGRAM NAME] help families improve their economic well-being. We are inviting you because you are a supervisor at [PROGRAM NAME], which is participating in the study. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is overseeing the HomeEc study in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration. Mathematica, James Bell Associates, and Start Early, all research organizations, are conducting the study.

What’s involved in participating

You will be asked to participate in a one-on-one conversation with a researcher from the HomeEc study team. The interview will last no longer than one hour. During the interview, we will ask about practices and strategies [PROGRAM NAME] uses to support families’ economic well-being and their economic goals, the strengths and challenges of the families you serve, how your program measures family economic well-being, and the impact of families’ economic well-being on caregiver and child health, relationships, how involved families are in your program, and how likely they are to stay in the program. We will also discuss lessons you learned while helping families improve their economic well-being.

You do not have to participate in the interview. If you choose to participate, you can skip any questions you do not want to answer, and you can leave the interview at any time. There are no consequences if you do not want to participate or if you leave the interview early

Risks and benefits

There are no risks associated with participating. As a participant, you will help other programs like [PROGRAM NAME] understand how to best support families and their financial or economic well-being.

Privacy

Whatever you say in the interview will be kept private, except if you say something 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. We will use the information you share to write a summary of what we learned, but your name will not be connected to your answers. We have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. The certificate helps us protect your privacy, except in cases required by Federal, State or local laws, such as for reporting of child or elder abuse.

We would like to audio-record the interview to make sure we have an accurate record of what you say. If you have anything you would like to say off the record, just let us know, and we can pause the recorder. We will not share the recording with anyone outside our study team. We will store the recording in a secure location and our study team will destroy the recording at the end of the project. No one will hear the recording except for researchers and the person who transcribes it. We will also store any notes from our conversation in a secure location for use by researchers and will destroy the notes at the end of the project.

How the information will be used

The Mathematica project team will share information with ACF staff to help them understand how early childhood home visiting programs could improve their support of families’ financial or economic well-being. We will use information from the interview to write a summary of what we learned.

Contact Information

HomeEc has been given institutional review board approval by Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Katie Eddins, the deputy project director, at keddins@mathematica-mpr.com or (202) 838-3614.

Appendix J

Study Recruitment Flyer for Parent Participant Interview

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

F
amilies in home visiting: We want to learn from you!

The HomeEc study team wants to hear about your experience in [PROGRAM NAME], how you became involved in the program, and how the program supports you and your family’s financial and economic well-being. Financial and economic well-being means different things to different people, such as having a stable job, being able to pay bills, and feeling like you can handle financial stress.

Sharing your experiences can help home visiting programs and other families because you will help [PROGRAM NAME] and other programs like it understand the best way to support families and their financial and economic well-being.

Whatever you talk about in the interview will be kept private from your home visitor, anyone at [PROGRAM NAME], and anyone outside the research team. We will use information from the interview, combined with information from participants in other home visiting programs, to help us understand the different ways that programs might support a family’s economic well-being. Whether you participate in an interview is up to you, and it will not affect any services you receive from [PROGRAM NAME].

The interview will be held in [MONTH] via [Zoom/WebEx/other platform selected with the program].

If you want to participate, please let [your home visitor/fill in appropriate contact person] know. You may receive a call from the HomeEc study team to schedule an interview.

Appendix K

Study Recruitment Flyer for Parent Participant Focus Group

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Families in home visiting: We want to learn from you!

The HomeEc study team wants to hear about your experiences in [PROGRAM NAME], how you became involved in the program, and how the program supports you and your family’s financial and economic well-being. Financial and economic well-being means different things to different people, such as having a stable job, being able to pay bills, and feeling like you can handle financial stress.

Sharing your experiences can help home visiting programs and other families because you will help [PROGRAM NAME] and other programs like it understand the best way to support families and their financial or economic well-being.

Whatever you talk about in the discussion group will be kept private from your home visitor, anyone at [PROGRAM NAME], and anyone outside the research team. We will use information from the discussion group to write a summary of what we learn about the different ways that programs might support a family’s economic well-being. Everyone participating in the discussion group will be asked to agree to keep the discussion private, although we cannot guarantee other participants will keep it private. Whether you participate in a discussion group is up to you. It will not affect any services you receive from [PROGRAM NAME].

The discussion group will be held in [MONTH] via [Zoom/WebEx/other platform selected with the program].

If you want to participate, please let [your home visitor/fill in appropriate contact person] know. You may receive a call from the HomeEc study team to schedule a discussion group.

Appendix L

Study Recruitment Flyer for Program Staff Interviews

OMB#: 0970-0356

Expiration Date: 02/29/2024

Home Visiting Professionals: We Need Your Wisdom!

How are you and your home visiting program supporting families’ economic well-being?

What are your successes and challenges in providing this support?

We want to learn more about:

What comes to mind when you think about “family economic well-being”?

What does “supporting family economic well-being” look like in your program?

How does your program measure family economic well-being?

What are the challenges and limitations you experience with supporting family economic well-being?

Families in home visiting programs may have financial stress and struggle with their economic well-being. Family economic well-being involves things like how a family is doing financially now and where they expect to be financially in the future, how a family supports itself—whether by having a good job or in other ways—and if a family can meet basic needs like housing and child care. We know some home visiting activities could help families improve their economic well-being.

Mathematica and its partners, JBA, Start Early, and Decision Information Resources, want to learn from the experiences and wisdom of folks on the ground—you!

So what are we asking of you? Mathematica would like to interview you and other home visitors about the ways programs support family economic well-being. These conversations with home visitors and home visiting supervisors will be about 90 minutes long. We will meet virtually using a videoconferencing platform like Zoom.

The conversations will be private. Our goals are to help home visiting staff and families by learning about what’s working for which families, what might work better, and how to improve home visiting practices in programs around the country.