Appendix #3 – TIES Welcome Letter

OMB Control No: xxx

Expiration Date: xxx

«firstname» «lastname»

«street1»

«apt»

«city», «state» «zip»

[Date]

Dear «firstname» «lastname»,

Thank you for participating in the Fatherhood TIES Study!

About <four weeks> ago you applied to participate in a program called [INTERVENTION NAME] offered at [SITE PROGRAM NAME]. At that time, you also agreed to participate in Fatherhood TIES, an important project that aims to find out which parts of fatherhood programs are most effective at improving the lives of participating fathers and their children and co-parents. MDRC, a nonprofit organization, leads the project with MEF Associates, and Abt Associates, a research organization, to survey the study participants.

When you enrolled in the study on «RA date», program staff explained that the research team would be following up with you. In about eight months, we will ask you to participate in a survey about your experiences since applying to the program. As a thank you for your participation, you will receive a $30 gift card upon completion of the survey.

Please verify your contact information to help make sure we can reach you to do the survey. In addition, we ask that you also provide contact information for others who could help us reach you should your contact information unexpectedly change. If you verify and update your contact information, we will send you a $5 gift card as a thank you!

It takes about 3 minutes to verify and update your information. You can do it right now in one of three ways:

QR Code

1. Make any changes online by visiting TIESstudy.com or scanning this QR code.

   1. Enter your unique PIN: <TIESID>.

   2. Confirm the information that is accurate, and update the information that is outdated.

2. Fill out the enclosed form and mail it back in the enclosed prepaid envelope.

   1. Confirm the information that is accurate, and update the information that is outdated.

   2. Send the updated form to us in the prepaid envelope provided.

3. Call the study toll-free line 1-855-XXX-XXXX.

   1. Have your unique PIN, <TIESID>, ready when you call.

   2. We will review and update your contact information with you!

We will send you a $5 gift card for completing one of these three activities.

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Participation in Fatherhood TIES research activities, such as this update, is voluntary. However, the Fatherhood TIES research team greatly appreciates your continued support of our study. Please know that any information you provide will be kept private.

Thank you for your willingness to be a part of this important study. Please contact us (1-855-XXX-XXXX) if you have any questions.

Thank you again!

Sincerely yours,

Mathew Stange, Ph.D.

Senior Project Director

Abt Associates

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Fatherhood TIES?

Fatherhood TIES is an important project to learn about the most successful elements of fatherhood programs. The study team is trying to find out which parts of fatherhood programs are most effective at improving the lives of participating fathers and their children. The study includes surveys because it is important for us to know about the experiences of parents and their families.

2. What does it mean to be part of this study?

When you agreed to be in Fatherhood TIES, you agreed to the following:  

 

• Receive text messages from us. 

• We will send you text messages. In these text messages, we will ask how it’s going for you in the program and check-in about upcoming workshops and other parts of your fatherhood program.  

• The message frequency will depend on your activity. You may text “STOP” at any point to opt-out of text messaging. Message and data rates may apply. 

 

• Take a survey in the future, about eight months from today. 

• We will ask about your experience in the program, your relationship with your children and co-parent(s), and other topics.

• You may skip any of the questions you do not wish to answer. 

 

• Allow us to obtain information about you and your participation in fatherhood services. 

• This will include information related to how often you attend your fatherhood program and which services you participate in. We will also access background demographic information about you, provided at the time of your program enrollment. 

 

• Allow us to obtain information from state and federal agencies about the services you receive.   

• This may include information about topics like your earnings, child support that you owe and pay, education, or use of other government services.  

• To get this information, we will use your Social Security number. Your Social Security number also helps us to locate you when we want to talk to you in the future.  

 

• Allow us to contact you at some time in the future with opportunities to share your story.  

• We may reach out to ask you to share your thoughts about your fatherhood program through journaling, photography, focus groups, or interviews.

• These activities are voluntary. If we do talk to you, you may refuse to answer any questions we ask. 

• . 

3. How will my information be kept private?

The study has a Certificate of Confidentiality from the U.S. government. This certificate says that we do not have to identify you, even under a court order or subpoena. The government may see your information if it audits the study, but it would keep your information private. Please keep in mind: if keeping your answers private would put you or someone else in serious danger, we will have to tell the appropriate agencies to protect you or that other person.  

The study team will follow strict rules to keep your information private. The study team is trained to protect privacy. The team signs a confidentiality pledge. Right now, we plan to collect information about you for up to one year. The study might be extended, however. If that happens, we might continue to collect your information or we might share your information with other researchers. They might continue to collect information about you and your family. They would also keep your information private. 

The information about you will be stored with a special code number, not your name. No reports will describe you in a way that would allow you to be identified. We need to deliver the study data to the federal government at the end of the study, but the data file will not contain information that could be used to identify you.

4. Will my information be used in the future for other studies? 

Yes. The study team will securely maintain the data from this study. At the conclusion of the study, our study team will archive the data as a restricted use file with a trusted data repository. A restricted use file means that only qualified researchers will be able to access the data for use in future research projects, without collecting additional consent. The data we share will not include your name or other information that could directly identify you. This will not include audio files, photography, or notes from focus groups or interviews. If you join this study, you are agreeing now to share the information that you provide for other research purposes in the future.   

5. What are the benefits and risks of participating in the study? 

Taking part in the study may help improve services for fathers.  

There are some risks to participating in the study. Any data storage has a small risk of your information being seen outside of the study team in the unlikely event of a data breach, such as a breach in computer security. However, we follow strict rules to protect your data privacy. No reports will include your name or identifying information.  

 

We will keep your information private unless there is concern that you or someone else may be harmed. For example, we would tell someone if we see evidence of child abuse or neglect. 

 

6. Who can I call with questions? 

MDRC has overall responsibility for the Fatherhood TIES research study. MDRC can be contacted at FatherhoodTIES@mdrc.org or (855) 917-6696. 

Abt Associates is working with MDRC to collect survey information from study participants. Abt Associates can be contacted at 1-855-XXX-XXXX