Interview Protocol for Tribal and Community Partners

Instrument 3: Interview Protocol for Tribal or Community Partners

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Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the
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Study of Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL for Tribal or Community Partners
The purpose of the interview is to obtain information from Tribal or community partners about the
implementation and progress of the Office of Family Assistance-funded Coordination of Tribal TANF and
Child Welfare Services program at each Tribal community.
INTERVIEW INFORMATION:
TRIBE:
PROGRAM:
AGENCY:
INTERVIEW DATE/TIME:
RESPONDENT:

ADDITIONAL RESPONDENT:

TITLE:

TITLE:

STUDY ID:

STUDY ID:

INTERVIEWER(S):
Directions to interviewer – please inform the interviewee: An important part of this study is to gain a
better understanding of the services that are available to children, youth, and families through [program
name], as well as how TANF and CW coordinate to jointly provide these services. We would like to ask
you some questions about the project’s coordination and service provision for [name of Tribe/Tribal
organization] families. We anticipate that our discussion today will require about 45 minutes.
Your participation is voluntary. All information gathered will be kept private and will not be shared with
other members of the Tribe [or Tribal Organization] or the program. Individual responses will not be
reported and all information will be aggregated for analysis and reporting purposes.
Would you like to proceed with the interview? Do you have any questions before we begin?
First we would like to get an overview of your [department/agency/program].
A. Background
1. How long have you or your department/agency/program been involved with [program name]?
2. Could you describe the services your department/agency/program provides that are part of the
[program name]?
3. In your opinion, what was the reason for implementing [program name] in this community?

B. Planning
1. Were you involved in the planning for the [program name]?
Yes  continue with the set of questions.
No  skip to Section C.
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2. Were any new policies or procedures developed during the [program name] planning phase?
3. Could you describe any challenges encountered during the planning phase? What were the
challenges and what strategies were used to try to resolve the challenges?
4. Were traditional Native values used/ considered in the planning process?

C. Relationships, Roles, and Responsibilities
Now we would like to ask you some questions about your role.
1. What is your position in your department/agency/program? How long have you been in your
position? What are your responsibilities?
Respondent #1:

Respondent #2:

Position title:
______________________________
How long in the position: ___________
Responsibilities are:

Position title:
______________________________
How long in the position: ___________
Responsibilities are:

2. Could you give us a summary description of what you do that is related to the [program name]?
3. About what percent of your time is spent on the [program name]?

D. Framework of Services to Families
Before we talk more about the specific services, we would like to have a better understanding of the
[name of Tribe or Tribal organization] approach to caring for families.
1. Could you talk about how traditional Native values and cultural practices inform the [program name]
and its approach to activities and/or services for families?

E. Relationship to the Tribal TANF and CW program
Since Tribal TANF and Child Welfare coordination is a key objective of this grant, we would like to
know more about how the TANF and CW units work together with you in your capacity as [position
title].
1. How aware are you of the services offered and the role performed by the Tribal TANF program? By
the child welfare?
2. What is your relationship to the TANF and child welfare programs? Please describe.
3. How closely do you work with staff from TANF and child welfare? Please explain the nature of your
coordination with TANF and child welfare.
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4. Could you describe any challenges you have encountered in serving families that are involved with
both TANF and CW?
5. How have you worked with TANF and CW staff to address these challenges? Please describe.
6. What are some examples of successful coordination/cooperation between TANF and CW?

F. Recruitment and Participation in [program name]
Next we would like to learn more about how children, youth, and families’ needs are brought to the
attention of [program name] in your community and how they engage with the program and its services.
1. How are at-risk children, youth, or families identified as needing services? [Probe: Screening?
Assessments? Referrals?]
2. What are the most frequent issues or problems?
3. Could you describe the process of how children, youth, or families come to the program? [Probe:
Referrals? Come on their own?]
4. How consistently do the children/youth/families participate in program services? [Probe: What do
you do to keep them engaged? For those children/youth/families that discontinue services or dropout, what are the reasons for doing so?]
5. When do activities or services end?
6. What happens at the end of the program services? Please describe. [Probe: After-care, mentoring,
referrals]
7. What are the intended outcomes for children/youth/families?
8. Are the intended outcomes measurable? How? By whom? How often?

H. Service Coordination and Decision-Making
Now that we have a better understanding of the needs and services provided, we would like to learn about
how everyone works together to serve children, youth, and families.
1. How does the [program name] coordinate the services or activities (that you described) across the
Tribe’s [or Tribal organization’s] programs and with other providers?
2. Who is involved in decision making as it relates to families who participate in the [program name]?
Please describe. [Probe: Who makes decisions? Shared decision-making? Who participates?]

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J. Facilitators and Challenges to Implementing Services
1. In terms of implementing the activities you have been involved in for the [program name], what has
gone well? [Probe for facilitators]
2. What have been the challenges in implementing the activities of the [program name]? Please
describe.
Probe:
Severity of family needs
Expectations
Service gaps
Historical trauma
Interpersonal relationships
Budget
Confidentiality (rules)
Inter-agency relationships
Quality assurance capacity
Language
Turf
Evaluation capacity
Policies
Coordination
Common intake forms
Professional jargon
Staffing (tenure or turnover)
Data sharing
Other

3. Could you describe any challenges that you may have encountered in collaborating with TANF and
CW staff to implement the [program name]?
a. How did these challenges impact the progress of children, youth, or families that participate
in the [program name]?
b. How did these concerns impact your work?
c. How did you address these challenges?
4. Has the coordination of Tribal TANF and CW services impacted your ability to work effectively with
your clients?
5. What successes have you observed in the implementation of collaborative services between TANF
and CW?

L. Perceived benefits
1. In your opinion, what have been some of the key benefits for children, youth, or families served
through the [program name]?
2. Is there anything else that you would like to add regarding the topics we have talked about?

Thank you!

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