Form 4 DD Council: Group Interview with Recipients of Self-Advo

RECIPIENTS OF SELF-ADVOCACY AND LEADERSHIP EDUCATION AND TRAINING

[Interviewer]: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. My name is [interviewer’s name] , and I work for _______________, a private research company in ___________________.

The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) is conducting an independent evaluation of Developmental Disabilities Network programs and collaboration among them. The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the impact of the Developmental Disabilities (DD) Network programs on the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families. The DD Council that contacted you to participate in this evaluation is one of ____ DD Councils in ____ states that have been randomly selected to participate in the evaluation. As someone who is a recipient of DD Council-supported self-advocacy and leadership education or training, you are an important source of information.

We have some questions we would like to ask you about your experiences with DD Council self-advocacy and leadership activities and the ways in which you used or hope to use the information you obtained. The interview should last approximately ½ hour – 45 minutes.

Before we begin, I would like to ask your permission to record this interview so that we do not miss any of your responses to our questions. This recording is for ___________ use only. It will not be made available to anyone else. Do we have your permission to record?

Do you have any questions before we start?

Let’s start with some information about you.

Self-advocacy and leadership training

Let’s begin by you telling us about the self-advocacy and leadership training activities you took part in.

1. Which program was it (e.g., name)?

2. When was it held?

3. How did you find out about the program?

4. What did the program teach? Please describe.

Probe:

Rights and responsibilities of people with developmental disabilities under the law

Available supports and services in the community

How to obtain supports and services in the community

Gaps in and barriers to supports and services

Impact of public policies on the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families

How public policy is developed

Skills to advocate

Other (please specify) __________________________

5. How easy was it for you to get in and out of the building in which the training program was held? Please explain.

Very easy Somewhat easy Not very easy

6. What did the program do to make it easier for you to attend and take part? What type of support or accommodation was provided? Please give examples.

Probe:

• Arranged for transportation

• Arranged for accommodation (e.g., personal assistance)

• Provided materials in an appropriate format

• Other __________________________________________________________

Results of Council-Supported Training Program

Now let’s talk about what you learned and how you used what you learned.

7. What particular skills did you learn from the training program? Please describe.

Probe:

• Effective letter-writing

• Providing legislative testimony

• Presenting opinions to decision makers

• Other

8. Did you have opportunities to use what you learned? If yes, please describe your experiences. If no, why not?

Probe:

• Obtained supports and services for yourself

• Obtained supports and services for others

• Participated in self-advocacy activities (give examples)

• Took on a leadership position (e.g., Council Chair, Chair of another disability-related organization or committee)

• Became a member of a community organization

• Was nominated to become a member of the DD Council

• Became the Chair of the DD council or of a DD Council sub-committee

• Became a leader or sub-committee member of the DD council

• Became a member or leader in other organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities

• Became a member or leader in other community organizations

• Participated in DD Council or other advocacy efforts on behalf of people with developmental disabilities

• Helped a peer or mentored another person with a disability

• Became an employee or volunteer of a disability advocacy organization

• Used the knowledge or skills you obtained to enhance your life and become self-sufficient

• Other (please specify) _____________________

9. How satisfied were you with …? Please explain.

	Very satisfied	Somewhat satisfied	Not satisfied at all
Location of program
Materials provided
Support and accommodation provided by the DD Council
d. Usefulness of information you obtained from the training program

10. Overall, how satisfied were you with the [NAME OF PROGRAM]? Please explain.

Very useful Somewhat useful Not very useful

Those are all the questions we have for you. Do you have any questions you would like to ask us? We’d like to thank you again for taking the time to answer our questions.