Supporting Statement B_Tribal TANF CW

Study of Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services

OMB Information Collection Request

New Collection

Supporting Statement

Part B

June 2012

Submitted By:

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

7^th Floor, West Aerospace Building

370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW

Washington, D.C. 20447

Project Officer:

Anne F. Bergan

B1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The total respondent universe for the proposed information collection includes stakeholders representing the 14 ACF-funded projects to coordinate Tribal TANF and child welfare services. Across the grantees, it is estimated that a total of 140 respondents will be involved in the information collection, with approximately 10 respondents per site visit at each of the 14 grantee sites.

Specifically, the intended respondent universe for each proposed interview protocol includes the corresponding groups/individuals involved in each of the 14 funded projects:

• Interview Protocol for Program Staff – the project directors and/or coordinators (1-3 per site);

• Interview Protocol for TANF and Child Welfare Staff – the staff members who are involved with and/or impacted by the TT-CW project (3-5 per site);

• Interview Protocol for Tribal or Community Partners – staff from organizations, agencies, and/or programs that partner with the TT-CW coordination project (1-3 per site); and

• Interview Protocol for Tribal Leaders or Elders – Tribal leaders and/or elders (1-3 per site).

The point-of-contact in each project will be asked to identify the right people (i.e., most directly involved and/or informed) for the interviews. The site visit team can then schedule the interviews after receiving the names and contact information of key staff and stakeholders.

For the Feedback Form for grantee meetigns, the anticipated respondent universe includes those project staff that participate. Across the grantees, approximately 30 grantee staff (1-3 per site) are expected to participate in each of these events and will be invited to complete the feedback from at the end of each event.

The Guide to Introductory Call with the Tribal TANF-CW Grantees, will be utilized by the study team as a topical framework for the introductory call with each grantee’s point of contact. Across the grantees, it is anticipated that 14 staff (one per grantee site) will participate in the calls.

B2. Procedures for Collection of Information

As a descriptive study that relies predominantly on qualitative data, statistical methodologies are not part of this study. The proposed descriptive study will yield information that reflects how the grantees’ projects were implemented; the goals and objectives achieved; and challenges, their resolutions, and lessons learned. The semi-structured interviews will provide for an examination of “implementation drivers”, such as administrative and organizational support for the service coordination efforts; perspectives and practices of staff at various levels of each organization; implementation challenges; and efforts to incorporate data into program planning and implementation. Overall, the study will document program-wide implementation of Tribal TANF and child welfare coordination efforts.

To this end, the four proposed interview protocols were developed as a set of common data collection instruments to use across the 14 grantee sites to explore topics related to intra-tribal collaboration including facilitators and barriers to program implementation. The proposed interview protocols will be utilized during the in-depth site visits (expected to last 2-2½ days as some sites may require more time than others) to each tribal grantee.

The site visits will include semi-structured interviews (a set of core questions but with significant flexibility to probe for facts, opinions, and insights into certain occurrences, which can then be used to launch additional questions) with an array of stakeholders including project staff, tribal leadership, Tribal TANF and child welfare staff and supervisors, and project partners

Upon completion of each round of site visits for interview data collection, a unique ID will be assigned to each set of completed interview protocols. The qualitative data from the interviews will be prepared for qualitative analyses. For content analysis, ATLAS.ti software will be used to aid in eliciting key information as well as themes and patterns in the data. The data will be coded based on the overarching research questions that guide the study; the information and codes will be reviewed, and information will be compiled. In addition, the data will be explored for possible new/emerging patterns and themes by utilizing the grounded method of qualitative inquiry.

B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

It is expected that the grantees will agree to fully participate in the proposed information collection because participation in the ACF-sponsored study is a required condition of the grant funding. In advance of the site visits, the timing for the site visit will be negotiated with each grantee and the grantee’s point of contact will be consulted to identify the relevant individuals (i.e., most directly involved and/or informed with the project) for the site visit team to interview (see Instrument 6). Preparatory steps to grantee engagement include OFA’s introduction of the study and the study team’s role to the grantees’ project directors and tribal leaders and in-person introductions during OFA-sponsored grantee meeting, followed by the study team’s initial grantee engagement activities including calls and/or emails (Attachment D) with each grantee to establish communication, set an ongoing schedule of regular update calls, and to answer any study-related questions the grantees may have.

B4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The protocols contained herein were developed by team members who have used similar modes of data collection with tribal grantees. The proposed instruments were subject to review and detailed feedback from key Federal stakeholders, including OPRE, OFA, and the Children’s Bureau staff. The instruments also underwent a rigorous review by a consultant with extensive background in working with and collecting data in tribal communities.

B5. Contractor and Individuals Involved in Data Collection and Analysis

Contractor:
James Bell Associates 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 650 Arlington, VA 22201 703-247-2632
Subcontractors:
NORC at the University of Chicago 4350 East-West Highway Bethesda MD 20814 301-634-9491	Center for American Indian & Alaska Native Health—University of Colorado at Denver F800 University of Colorado Denver, PO Box 6508 Aurora, CO 80045 303-724-1471
Consultants:
Gary Leonardson MPR William Wolf Red Road Consulting	Dolores Subia BigFoot University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Dept. of Pediatrics - Center on Child Abuse & Neglect

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