In-Depth Interviews

Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study

Focus Group Appendices

Appendix 1. Focus Group Moderator’s Guide

Appendix 2. Informed Consent and Agreement to Participate

Appendix 3. Participant Information Form

Green Jobs and

Health Care Implementation Study

Appendix 1. Focus Group Moderator’s Guide

Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study

Focus Group Moderator’s Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

1. Overview of the Focus Group Session 1

2. Focus Group Protocol 3

1. Overview of the Focus Group Session

1. Purpose of the Focus Group Session

To capture, in their own words, and evaluate the grantee program activities from the participants’ perspective by learning more about participants’ initial training and service needs, experiences, perceptions, challenges, source of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the program, support during and after the program, post-training outcomes, and overall assessment of the program’s effectiveness.

2. Participants

The full spectrum of program participants (graduates, dropouts, and current enrollees) from the various grantee target populations served, industries or sectors targeted, and types of training offered.

3. Moderator and Note Taker Roles and Responsibilities

3.1 Role of the Moderator

• Ensure room arrangements are made and that participants are invited with sufficient notice

• Arrive 15-30 minutes prior to focus group to ensure room is arranged appropriately

• Greet participants

• Explain study and purpose of the focus group to participants

• Moderate pacing of focus group to cover all topics as thoroughly as possible

• Facilitate to ensure group stays on topic and all participants have a chance to give their input

• Thank participants at the end of the focus group

3.2 Role of the Note Taker

• Arrive 15 minutes prior to focus group to set-up room

• Help to greet participants

• Distribute and collect Participant Information Sheets (PIS) and Informed Consent and Agreement to Participate forms

• Take notes and operate recorder during the focus group

• Ensure comments are captured accurately

• Collect all flip chart sheets and document the statements in the notes as appropriate

4. Day of the Focus Group

4.1 Room Arrangements

• Focus group sessions should be held in conference / training rooms provided by the host

• The room should be large enough to accommodate 7-12 individuals comfortably

• To facilitate conversation, participants should be seated around a conference table, in a U-shape, or chairs in a circle

• Each room should have at least one flip chart and markers

4.2 Greeting Participants

Greet participants as they arrive. Ask them to take a seat and make themselves comfortable. (If there are refreshments, encourage them to help themselves). Distribute the Participant Information Sheet (PIS) and Informed Consent and Agreement to Participate form and ask participants to complete them while they wait for the focus group to begin.

Explain that the PIS will provide us information about their background; and that this information will be used for descriptive purposes only. In other words, their names should not be on the PIS and we will not use any identifying information such as their name in any report that comes from this focus group session.

2. Focus Group Protocol

1. Introduction of Moderator, Note Taker, and Others:

When all of the participants have arrived and completed their forms, the moderator shall introduce the session:

“Welcome and thank you for coming today. We’re from IMPAQ International/AED and are part of an independent research team that is helping the United States Department of Labor evaluate the effectiveness of the [NAME OF TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM] you have been attending or recently attended.

My name is ( ) and this is ( ), etc… I will be leading today’s discussion. My role, for the most part, is to make sure that we get through our agenda, keep to the time frame and make sure that you all have a chance to share your experiences about the program. ( ) will help me do these things, and will also be taking notes. In addition, we will be audio-taping the session, which will ensure that we record the discussion accurately. We would like to read to you the public burden statement required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Our OMB control number for this information collection is _______ and permission to collect this data expires on ________. We could not legally conduct this discussion without the OMB Control Number. Responding to this questionnaire is voluntary. This interview will take about 90 minutes. As we’ve told you before, all individual responses will be kept private to the maximum extent allowed by the law.”

The moderator will now begin the focus group session.

2. Participant Introduction:

“Now, let's start by going around the room and have each of you introduce yourself by first name.”

3. Purpose of the Focus Group Session:

“To help us better understand how the training grants are working, we would like to ask you some questions about your experiences moving through the program. Our goal for this session is to capture, in your own words, your overall assessment of the program’s effectiveness.”

4. Privacy and Anonymity:

“Privacy and anonymity means that we will not share or use your name, address, or any other identifying information in reports or other materials related to this study. We will not identify any of the participants by name. All of the information we collect here today is private. All data will be pooled with data from similar sessions with participants in other programs throughout the United States and published in aggregate form only.”

5. Participant Consent and Agreement:

“The informed consent and agreement to participate form will be our record that you have agreed to participate in the focus group and that you agreed to be tape-recorded. Do you have any additional questions about the focus group or about the consent and participation form? If you do have any further questions and have not signed and dated the consent form, please do so now.

We would like to collect the form and the questionnaire we asked you to complete when you arrived. Please pass the signed consent form and completed questionnaire forward.”

6. Session Instructions:

“Let me begin our discussion by reviewing a few ground rules about how we will conduct the session.

During this discussion, we would like you to focus on topics that are of particular interest to us. We are interested in what everyone has to say about our discussion topics. If someone throws out an idea that you want to expand on, or if you have a different point of view, please feel free to speak up. Occasionally, I may have to interrupt the discussion in order to bring us back to a particular topic to make sure that we cover everything on our agenda.

There are a couple of common-sense guidelines that we will follow during this session:

1. In this type of group setting, it is important for everyone to get involved and express their opinions openly. We want all of you to express your honest opinions about the discussion topics – we are interested in multiple points of view on the topics. There may be differences of opinion, there are no right or wrong answers, and we are not here to resolve any issues you may bring up.

2. Please do not hold “side conversations” – don’t talk individually to other participants during the session. We want to be able to hear from everyone, and we want you to hear what everyone else has to say. Because we are also recording the session, it would really help us if you could speak up so that everyone can hear you.

If there are no other questions, let’s begin the discussion.”

7. Focus Group Questions

1. Let’s start off by talking about how you initially learned about the program and what got you interested in participating in it.

Probes:

• How did you hear about [Grantee’s Program Name]?

• What training and education services did the training program staff tell you the program would provide?

• Did anyone share any information about careers in the industry you are training for and the hiring needs of employers in your region before you started the program? If so, who and what did they share?

• How helpful was the training program staff in answering the questions you had – prior to your enrollment?

2. What made you decide to participate in this particular training program?

Probes:

• What did you expect to achieve by participation in this program (i.e., new employment vs. career transfer vs. career advancement)?

• What was it about this program that most interested you?

• Did being similar to or different from your previous occupation (job) influence your decision to participate in the program?

3. Tell me about the process for enrollment in the program.

Probes:

• What type of assessment (if any) was performed to determine if you were eligible for the program?

• Did you have to wait for your training or services to start? If so, how long?

• Were choices of different alternative occupational programs or services offered to you?

4. Describe the types of support services, if any, were offered to you (e.g., transportation, child care, career counseling) as part of your participation in the training program?

Probes:

• Have you used any of these support services? If not, were they made available to you?

  • How important were these support services in enabling you to participate in and complete the training program?

  • What support services were most important or useful to you?

5. For those of you who were not employed prior to or during the training, how are you supporting yourself and/or your family during the training?

6. Let’s talk now about your experience in the training program.

Probes:

• Did you find that the training program was offered in a way that met your needs (i.e., location of the training convenient, times the training was offered were convenient)?

• Were the instructors knowledgeable and experienced in the areas of instruction they were delivering?

• Were the training materials easy to understand? Was the training equipment up-to-date – i.e., utilized current technology (if applicable)?

• Did you receive any hands-on training or work experience? Did this help you to be successful or do you think it will help you be successful in the future?

7. How well did the training program prepare you for your intended job/career?

Probes:

• Were you able to find employment in the field for which you received training?

• How long did it take you to find employment?

• To what extent did earning/obtaining credentials help you to obtain employment (e.g., certificate of training completion, industry credential)?

• Did employers ask you about these credentials during the hiring process?

• What type(s) of job placement assistance or other services did you receive following completion of the program?

• How helpful were these services?

• Did the training program staff follow up with you after the training? If yes, how frequently did they do so?

• How do you apply what you learned in the program to your current job?

8. Did any of you leave the training program before you completed it or had thoughts about leaving the training program?

Probes:

• For those who left the training program before completion, why did you leave?

• What would have enabled you to complete the training?

9. Describe your overall satisfaction with the training program?

Probes:

• How well organized was the program from enrollment to placement?

• What do you think was the biggest personal success or benefit you experienced because you took part in the training program?

• What suggestions do you have as to how we could improve the program?

10. If you had to make one recommendation to improve the training program, what would it be?

11. Would you recommend this program to a friend? Why or why not?

12. Do you have any final comments or things you would like to say about the program before we end the session?

8. Ending the Focus Group Session

“Thank you very much for your willingness to share your thoughts and experiences and for participating in this focus group. The information you have provided has been very helpful. This information will be used to help us gain a better understanding and effectiveness of the Green Jobs & Healthcare training grant programs.

If you should have any future questions, please contact me, ( ), at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or [email protected]

Again, thank you very much for your time today.”

Green Jobs and

Health Care Implementation Study

Appendix 2. Informed Consent and Agreement to Participate

Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study

Informed Consent and Agreement to Participate

You are being asked to participate in this focus group to assist with evaluating the effectiveness of the Green Jobs and Healthcare training grants program because of your experience as a participant in one of the training programs. Please read this informed consent and agreement to participate form carefully and ask as many questions, as you like before you decide whether you want to participate in this focus group session. You are free to ask questions at any time before, during, or after your participation in this session.

Project Title: Green Jobs and Healthcare Grants Implementation Study

Facilitator: xxxx

Note Taker: xxxx

Purpose of the Focus Group: To capture, in your own words, and evaluate the grantee program activities from the participants’ perspective by learning more about participants’ initial training and service needs, experiences, perceptions, challenges, source of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the program, support during and after the program, post-training outcomes, and overall assessment of the program’s effectiveness.

Procedures: You will be asked to share your experiences and honest opinions about your participation in the training program during a two-hour session. In addition, you may be contacted at a later date to clarify your comments or to share any additional thoughts as a report is being prepared.

Privacy and Anonymity:

Privacy and anonymity means that we will not share or use your name, address, or any other identifying information in reports or other materials related to this study. We will not identify any of the participants by name. All of the information we collect here today is private. All data will be pooled with data from similar sessions with participants in other programs throughout the United States and published in aggregate form only.

Participant Consent and Agreement:

I have read the information presented above about the focus group being facilitated by IMPAQ/AED. I have had the opportunity to ask any questions related to this study, to receive satisfactory answers to my questions and any additional details I wanted.

I am aware that I have the option of allowing my interview to be tape recorded to ensure an accurate recording of my responses.

I am also aware that excerpts from the interview may be included in a report, with the understanding that the quotations will be anonymous.

With full knowledge of all foregoing, I agree, of my own free will, to participate in this focus group session and to keep in confidence information that could identify specific participants and/or the information they provided.

YES NO

I agree to have my interview tape recorded.
YES NO

I agree to the use of anonymous quotations in any reports that comes from this focus group session.
YES NO

Participant Name: ____________________________ (Please print)

Participant Signature: ________________________ Date: ____________

Witness Name: ________________________________ (Please print)

Witness Signature: __________________________ Date: ____________

Green Jobs and

Health Care Implementation Study

Appendix 3. Participant Information Form

Green Jobs and Health Care Implementation Study

Participant Information Form

[Note: All the information collected here will be kept strictly private.]

What is your gender?

Female Male

How old are you?

18 to 22 years 23 to 27 years 28 to 32 years

33 to 37 years 38 to 42 years 43 to 47 years

48 to 52 years 53 to 57 years 58 to 62 years

63 to 67 years 68 to 72 years Over 73 years

What is your race/ethnicity?

American Indian or Alaska Native Asian or Pacific Islander

Black (African American) Hispanic (Latin-American, Mexican)

Non-Hispanic White (Caucasian) Other (Please Specify) ______________________

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Some high school or less High school graduate/GED

Some college College graduate

Some post-graduate work Post-graduate degree

Prior to beginning the training program, what was your employment status?

Employed Full-time Employed Part-time

Unemployed/Looking for work Student

Homemaker Retired

Prior to beginning the training program, in what industry were you employed? What kind of work did you do?

______________________________________________________________

Prior to beginning the training program, how long had you worked in this field?

Less than 1 year 1 to 5 years

6 to 10 years 11 to 15 years

16 to 20 years Over 20 years

Prior to beginning the training program, what was your yearly salary?

Under $25,000 $25,000 - $39,999

$40,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999

$75,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $124,999

$125,000 - $149,999 Over $150,000

Prior to beginning the training program, what was the longest amount of time you’ve worked at any company?

Less than 1 year 1 to 5 years

6 to 10 years 11 to 15 years

16 to 20 years Over 20 years

Prior to beginning the training program, did you have any regrets about your career path?

No

Yes (Please Specify) ______________________________________________________

Prior to beginning the training program, were you an autoworker?

Yes No

During the training program, what were you trained to do?

______________________________________________________________________

Did you complete the training program?

Yes (continue to next question)

No (please specify reason and STOP) ________________________________________

Since completing the training program, did you receive any industry recognized credentials or certifications?

Yes No

Since completing the training program, what is your employment status?

Employed Full-time Employed Part-time Unemployed/Looking for work

If employed, since completing the training program, in what industry are you employed?

Green Jobs (Renewable Electric Power, Building Construction and Retrofitting)

Health Care (Nursing, Allied Health, Health IT)

Other (please specify) _______________________

If employed, since completing the training program, what is your annual salary?

Under $25,000 $25,000 - $39,999

$40,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999

$75,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $124,999

$125,000 - $149,999 Over $150,000

Since completing the training program, do you have any regrets about your career path?

No

Yes (Please Specify) ______________________________________________________