Round 1 Site Visit Guide

This site visit interview guide contains a complete inventory of questions, arranged by topic area that will be explored during site visits to participating Jobs Plus developments. There are seven categories of program partners who will be interviewed during each site visit, and not every question will be posed to every program partner. At the beginning of each topic area, the interview guide notes which program partners will be asked the questions included under that topic area.

Categories of program partners include:

• Program Directors (PD)

• Case Managers (CM)

• Community Coaches (CC)

• Directors at Partnering Agencies (DPA)

• Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

• Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

• Property Management Staff (PMS)

Appendix A: Site Visit Interview Guide Round 1

Questions on Program Support

We’re interested in the ways that HUD and PHAs learn Jobs-Plus and make it their own, as well as the ways that the PHAs and HUD support strong performance and accountability, internally to the program and externally to the Agency. This means that we’d like your perspectives on the different program supports that were provided by HUD, and how you feel about their successes and challenges. Then we’ll turn to the ways that you support accountability to the program, and what’s been successful and challenging in that regard.

HUD supports

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case Managers (CM)

What we mean by HUD support includes a number of interactions between the PHA and the agency. Let me describe a number of them, and you can tell me some of the strengths and challenges of these interactions in helping [you or the PHA] learn Jobs Plus as a model – by that we mean understanding how to use it fully to benefit your population, make a strong program, and how to make it your own – meaning relevant to your housing development.

1. First, let’s talk about the technical assistance offered by Abt through webinars. Could you describe their value to you to learn the Jobs-Plus model? What are some of the benefits? What are some limitations?

   1. Any particular moment that was helpful or “ah-ha” moments?

   2. Any aspect that didn’t seem to help?

   3. Were there any changes or decisions made as a result of assistance offered by Abt?

2. Next, let’s talk about the TA conferences in DC. What are some of their strengths and challenges?

   1. Any particular moment that was helpful or “ah-ha” moments?

   2. Any aspect that didn’t seem to help?

   3. Were any changes or decisions made as a result of the TA conferences?

3. Now, let’s talk about the site visits HUD employs. Could you describe their value to your learning Jobs-Plus?

   1. Any particular moment that was helpful or “ah-ha” moments?

   2. Any aspect of these visits that didn’t seem to help?

   3. Any changes or decisions made as a result of HUD’s visits?

4. Finally, let’s talk about day-to-day interaction with the program office. How frequent is this connection, what happens, and how helpful or unhelpful has it been in building a strong program?

5. How about the financial and compliance side of administering Jobs-Plus? Did HUD provide sufficient guidance about which costs are permissible, how costs associated with Jobs-Plus should be tracked, etc.? Did your program budget(s) adequately capture all of the costs incurred in the delivery of Jobs-Plus?

6. Are there any other supports I haven’t mentioned?

HUD accountability tools

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Now, let’s turn to the ways that HUD supports accountability. We’d like to understand how effective you think these are in helping learn Jobs Plus, in promoting strong performance, and in making Jobs Plus the PHA’s “own.”

7. Could you talk about day-to-day interaction with the program office? How has that acted as an accountability vehicle, to correct or shore up performance? How successful has that been?

1. Any particular moment that was helpful?

2. Any particular moment that didn’t seem to help?

8. Next, could you talk about reporting, metric development, and your review of these with HUD?

1. Any particular moment that was helpful?

2. Any particular moment that didn’t seem to help?

Finally, let’s talk about funding and contract requirements itself

9. To what extent are these helpful or effective tools in promoting strong performance?

3. Are funding levels from HUD, in your view, adequate to carry out the Jobs-Plus program with the right level of staff and support for the JPEID? Why or why not?

4. How effective has HUD been in communicating those requirements and how responsive has HUD been in helping to resolve any issues or questions you have encountered?

10. Are there any other HUD accountability tools that I’ve missed?

Balancing accountability and learning (HUD)

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Case Managers (CM)

Finally, let me ask a few questions about the balance and/or trade-offs between learning and accountability.

11. Are there any moments when you’ve felt tensions between HUD giving the site a chance to learn the model, and the need for strong start-up?

1. Around what types of issues, performance challenges, administrative issues?

12. On the whole, what do you think HUD’s emphasis has been? On giving time to learn Jobs Plus, or in ensuring rapid and effective start up?

13. How, if at all, was this emphasis an effective one, given the site and its needs?

Learning supports by PHAs

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Now, we’d like to talk about the way that [you/the PHA] worked to scale up Jobs Plus and make it your own. By this, we mean the ways that you made decisions about how to create the program for strong performance.

14. Could you describe what makes Jobs-Plus model similar or different to other programs the PHA has operated?

1. Work requirements, self-sufficiency programs?

2. Is staff from other similar programs shared?

15. What changes, if any, did you feel you needed to make to your previous set of self-sufficiency programs in order to realize fully the goals of Jobs-Plus?

3. How each of the model components requires something similar or different from [PROGRAM MENTIONED]?

4. What are the strengths and challenges of “building” from/on past program(s)?

Let’s talk about how your team made decisions about how to run and develop the program during start-up. First, we’d like to get a sense of the overall location of Jobs Plus within PHA management structure.

16. What motivated the housing authority to apply for Jobs Plus, and which aspects of the agency were involved in applying for the program?

17. Who was involved in program design? How did this group of people make decisions about service flow, services offered on-site and through referrals, and the implementation of the model’s three components?

18. Were external agencies involved in making decisions about service flow, services provided, CSW strategies, or JPEID implementation? If so, could you talk about their involvement and how it played out? Include DPA

19. When disagreement came up internally or externally, what happened? How did you resolve it, and did you feel that the resolution was a good one? Include DPA

1. Probe for examples.

20. What was the hardest or most challenging set of decisions you had to make when designing the program?

1. Probe on issues with staff buy-in into the program model, morale or performance.

21. Was there a moment where you felt like you reached a new level of understanding among staff about the model? Please describe. Why do you think that happened?

Accountability efforts by PHAs

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Now, let’s talk about accountability within the PHA itself. This means efforts on the part of senior management or external agencies to ensure strong performance.

22. Could you describe who within PHA leadership oversees Jobs Plus? What expectations are set out in terms of performance, and how are they monitored?

1. Metrics, regular meetings, public events...

23. We recognize that starting up a new program within a PHA can take some time and effort. In your view, how successful has senior PHA leadership been in providing the basic supports required to start up and operate the program?

1. Hiring, procurement, JPEID (will probe deeper in other sections).

24. Were the full range of the PHA’s resources made available to you in the start-up and early implementation of Jobs-Plus?

1. Were there any points at which you requested/identified additional support that you would have liked to have received but had it denied by the PHA?

   1. If so, please describe the circumstances. What did you do if the resources provided by the PHA resources for Jobs Plus were insufficient?

25. External to the PHA, are there other local agencies who are interested in strong performance of Jobs Plus? How, if at all, are they involved? Include DPA

1. Mayors’ offices, external workforce, community colleges state agencies

2. In absence of formal governance role, how do they express their interests in the program?

26. If any of these actors raised concerns, how were they articulated, and how were they addressed? Include DPA

6. Numbers served, relating to HUD’s expectations, etc.

Balancing accountability and learning (PHAs)

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Finally, let me ask a question about the balance and or trade-offs between learning and accountability.

27. Are there any moments when you’ve felt tensions between the PHA giving the site a chance to learn the model, and the need for strong start-up?

1. Around what types of issues, performance challenges, administrative issues.

28. On the whole, what do you think the PHA’s emphasis has been? On giving time to learn Jobs Plus, or in ensuring rapid and effective start up?

29. How, if at all, was this emphasis an effective one, given the site and its needs?

Questions on Scale up

Part of program development involves working within the broader PHA to get things started, making decisions about staffing and management, and lining up external partners for the work. We want to understand both the progress you’ve made to date, and what obstacles may have come up, so future implementers can have a sense of what it takes to launch Jobs Plus.

Program Staffing

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Let’s now talk about staffing.

30. Could you tell me how the program is staffed here?

1. How many staff members are there, and what are their roles?

2. How did you decide that this was the staffing configuration you needed?

31. Could you describe the hiring process briefly?

1. How long did it take to hire these individuals?

2. If there were some delays, what barriers did you encounter, and how did you attempt to resolve them?

32. Can you talk about the structure that’s currently in place for staff supervision, within the program? What’s worked well in terms of performance support?

1. How are meetings structured, whether this structure worked out

33. Is case conferencing a part of the program? If so, how are these meetings structured and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

34. Is there currently a system for staff to review quantitative performance as reflected in the MIS system? If so, could you describe how these review sessions work?

1. Strengths and challenges, moments where course correction took place.

35. How would you assess the level of resources you have for staffing? Would you say you have enough to support the staffing you require to meet the goals of the program? Why or why not?

36. Do staff members dedicate their time exclusively to Jobs-Plus or do some individuals also work on other projects?

1. If some staff dedicate time to other projects: who divides their time and how is it allocated? How is their time reflected in the budget of Jobs-Plus?

MIS systems

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Let’s talk about the systems that you use to track program participation and outcomes.

37. What data system do you use to track participation in the program?

1. Is this a new system or have you used it for other programs?

2. If not new: Were there any adaptations you needed to make to the system to fit Jobs Plus?

3. If new: Did the adoption of the system require changes in the ways things are usually done at the PHA?

38. How long did it take to put that system in place (if new) or adapt it (if not new)?

39. How would you assess the utility of that system for …

1. Tracking participation

2. As a tool for supporting/informing interactions with program participants

3. Producing reports for the funder

4. Other

40. Have you faced any challenges using this system?

Partnerships in general

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HA)

Property Management Staff (PM)

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Let’s talk about some of the partnerships, internal and external, that have developed to support Jobs Plus work at the site.

First, let’s talk about forming internal partnerships.

41. Could you talk about the Jobs Plus program’s relationship to property management staff?

1. How did property management first learn about and become engaged with Jobs Plus? Include CC

   1. Within the development

   2. Within PHA management

42. Could you talk about how resident or tenant associations may have been involved with Jobs Plus in its early stages? Include CC

2. Outreach, talking about program goals, workshopping messages, community buy-in, etc.

Now, let’s talk about external partnerships.

43. What organizations/institutions have you partnered with to support Jobs Plus efforts?

1. What is the nature of these partnerships? Are they primarily referral partners? Do they provide direct services for Jobs Plus participants on site? (i.e., financial counseling)?

2. Why did you choose to partner with them?

44. Have you worked with these organizations/institutions before?

1. If so, could you briefly talk about your prior work with them and why you originally chose to work with them?

45. What added value do these organizations/institutions bring to the work (i.e., expertise, services to residents, resources like space)? How would you describe the outcomes of these partnerships for the residents?

46. What other resources (i.e., in kind, space, volunteers) have been leveraged for the Jobs Plus Pilot Program?

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Directors of Partner Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

While we’ve conducted several interviews at the PHA, we are very interested in your perspective on the partnership.

47. Could you talk about how your relationship with the Jobs Plus site formed?

1. If new: how were you contacted?

2. If existing: What was the nature of work to date?

3. What value did you see in connecting with the PHA around Jobs Plus?

48. Could you describe the process of how you work with PHA staff?

1. Referral process, data sharing, nature of ongoing work/client sharing, etc.

49. How would you describe the volume of participants you see, and the outcomes you achieve with them? (See also employment services)

Questions on Employment Services

The provision of employment related services is one of the core components of the Jobs Plus model. These services can encompass a wide variety of services, and sites may approach their delivery in unique ways. Something we want to learn about is the range of services that sites provide, as well as the way sites approach their delivery. We are also interested in learning how the program messages and targets these services to residents in the development and any insights about how these services may contribute to achieve program goals. We would also like to hear about any partnerships the program may have developed to facilitate delivery of employment services.

Views of employment services

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community coaches (CC)

First, let me start with a few questions about your views and understanding of employment services as a component of the Jobs Plus model.

50. What do you see as the main goal of employment-related services? That is, what do you think this component of the Jobs Plus model intends accomplish?

51. For whom do you think employment services are primarily intended?

1. What segments of the population in [SITE] do you think are more likely to benefit from employment services? Why?

52. How do you see this component of the program fitting with the overall theory of change of the program?

Now, I’d like to get a sense of the range of employment related services that the program offers to [SITE] residents.

53. What employment related services does [SITE] offer?

54. How did the program decide on this set of services? Exclude CC

1. What was the rationale behind the provision of this set of services?

2. What were some practical considerations taken into account when deciding what services to provide?

3. What other considerations did you take into account?

4. What partnerships did you have to draw on or develop to provide this range of services

55. I would like to learn a bit more about the timing of these services. That is, what kinds of services did you launch or operationalize first ? Which ones did you offer next? Or were services more or less offered all at once? Exclude CC

1. What factors shaped the timing of the various services offered? Probe as needed:

1. Funds?

2. Staffing?

3. Partnership development?

4. Previous experience offering similar services?

2. Were there any challenges related to when different services were offered?

3. Were there any services that you had hoped to offer, but found challenging to set in place? Describe some of these challenges and how you tried to resolve them.

56. How do you think this set of services contributes to achieve the goals of the program?

Messaging and targeting of Employment Services

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community coaches (CC)

I would like to learn about how the program messages employment services and whether these services target particular segments of the population.

57. Tell me, what is the main message that the program wants to get across to residents regarding employment services?

1. Does this message change depending on different segments of the population?

2. Have you had to adjust messaging of employment services over time?

5. How have you adjusted messaging?

6. What drove these adjustments?

Partnerships in relation to employment services

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community coaches (CC)

Directors of Partnering Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SPA)

Now, I would like to talk about partnerships the program may have developed in order to provide employment-related services to residents [interviewer, refer to responses in questions 53-56*]. Exclude CC

58. What partnerships if any has the program developed with organizations and/or institutions to provide employment-related services?

1. Has the program developed partnerships with community colleges, or other institutions that offer training or apprenticeships?

59. Where do the funds needed to cover the cost of providing the services to the Jobs-Plus participants at external partners come from?

60. Had the PHA worked with these organizations/institutions in the past or were these new partnerships? Include HAA

1. If yes: Tell me about the nature of that partnership.

2. If no: what was needed to develop that partnership?

61. Has cost of services been a factor in your decisions to pursue new partnerships? How so?

62. Have the costs of services changed over time? Exclude CC

Jobs Plus within workforce development field

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community coaches (CC)

In the workforce development field, there is an increasing emphasis on occupational education and training, particularly training that can lead to credentials or postsecondary degrees. I would like to hear your thoughts about how the Jobs Plus program may align with or depart from the larger field of workforce development. Exclude CC

63. How do you think Jobs Plus aligns with or departs from this emphasis in the field?

1. What are some reasons why Jobs Plus at [SITE] aligns or departs from this emphasis in the field?

2. Is this emphasis something that is shared by most involved in the implementation of Jobs Plus?

64. How has the particular emphasis on occupational education and training (or lack thereof) that [SITE] has given to the implementation of Jobs Plus shaped:

1. The kinds of employment services that the program offers?

2. The partnerships that the program has developed?

3. The messaging of employment services?

65. In practice, how have the emphasis (or lack thereof) on occupational education and training played out in terms of:

5. Enrollment in the program?

6. Placements?

7. Program retention?

8. Advancement?

Eligibility and Service flow

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community coaches (CC)

Tell me about eligibility to the program

1. Who is deemed eligible to receive employment-related services through Jobs-Plus?

   1. How do you determine eligibility?

   2. What happens when non-eligible individuals approach jobs-plus?

I’d like to learn about the service flow. That is, how residents navigate the program from beginning to end.

2. Could you describe the steps that residents take to receive employment-related services?

1. Do all residents who approach the Jobs Plus office go through the same steps?

1. If NO, ask: How do these steps vary depending on the situation of residents?

2. If YES, ask: What is the rationale behind having everyone follow the same steps?

3. How do you decide what services residents need?

1. How do you assess who is “job ready”?

4. How do you balance placement with longer term career goals?

5. How do you keep track of progress made by residents towards their employment goals?

Questions on JPEID

Conceptualizing JPEID

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Another key component of Jobs-Plus is the Jobs-Plus Earned Income Disregard, or JPEID. In this portion of the interview, we want to understand how each site designed their JPEID program and any other financial incentives, how it implemented the JPEID, and what kinds of early outcomes each site has seen with the JPEID.

Our first several questions are about the way you think about JPEID and decisions related to designing the JPEID and any other financial incentives.

61. How do you understand the JPEID? What do you think this component of the program intends to accomplish?

    1. Which sub-populations do you think can benefit most from the JPEID?

       1. How has that influenced how you designed and implemented the JPEID?

62. How do you think the JPEID “fits” into the Jobs-Plus model?

    1. Have you integrated the JPEID into other activities related to the Jobs-Plus model? (concurrent enrollments, other activities?)

63. Have you integrated the JPEID into other self-sufficiency initiatives outside of Jobs-Plus – for example, FSS, ROSS, work requirements?

    1. If so: how (marketing materials, concurrent enrollment)?

    2. If so: How do you feel this integration has shaped resident take-up of the JPEID?

64. What other financial incentives have you introduced along with the JPEID?

JPEID Implementation

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

We’d now like to ask you some questions about how you’ve implemented the JPEID.

61. Prior to implementing the JPEID, what experience did you have with EID or other rent reforms?

62. Who was involved in developing the JPEID component of your Jobs-Plus program? Exclude CC

63. What factors affected the speed with which you were able to develop and implement the JPEID? Exclude CC

64. How helpful was Abt Associates’ technical assistance in developing your approach to implementing the JPEID? How about assistance from HUD program staff? Exclude CC

65. In thinking about the management systems used to track the JPEID … Exclude CC

1. What system or systems are you using?

2. How long did the system take to develop or modify?

3. What have been some challenges of developing the JPEID database tracking? Why?

61. How have you educated housing authority staff and partners about how the JPEID works? PDs ONLY

62. What is the main message you are trying to get across to residents regarding JPEID?

63. Who is involved in marketing the JPEID (e.g., Jobs-Plus staff, PHA, partner organizations?

1. How have you marketed the JPEID?

2. Have you marketed the JPEID to any sub-populations of residents? If so, why did you choose that/those population(s)?

3. Have you marketed it as part of other Jobs-Plus activities (e.g. job training, community meetings)

4. Have you deliberately tied the JPEID marketing to other self-sufficiency strategies like IDA accounts or financial counseling?

5. What marketing do you think has worked particularly well? Why do you think it went well?

6. What marketing activities have proven less effective? Why do you think that is?

61. How are you handling residents enrolled in FSS or other self-sufficiency programs who are living in the Jobs-Plus development? Has this been an issue? How did you address it? Exclude HAA

62. Thinking about implementation of the JPEID so far…

1. What do you think has gone as you thought it would? Why do think it worked out that way? What kinds of surprises – either good or challenging – have you encountered? Why do you think that happened?

2. What do you think have been the most critical elements of the JPEID implementation?

3. What do you wish you had done differently?

JPEID Outcomes

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Now, I would like for you to reflect on some of the early outcomes of the JPEID. Exclude HA

73. How important has the JPEID been in the recruitment of program participants? Has it been a major selling point?

    1. Did the termination of this benefit after the four year demonstration program diminish tenant interest in the program?

74. How many residents have benefited (i.e., paying lower rents) from the JPEID?

    1. How does this number compare to any benchmarks that you set?

75. What are the barriers you’ve faced to enrolling even more people in the JPEID?

76. (For sites that offer other financial incentives) Excluding HAs: How important was the coordination between the JPEID and the other financial services provided to program participants—such as financial counseling, IDA or incentive accounts—in the degree of program success?

    1. Did you run into any problems with these other financial services or how they worked with the JPEID?

77. (For sites that offer other financial incentives) Excluding HAs: How important was the coordination between the JPEID and the other rent reforms — such as other self-sufficiency initiatives and/or work requirements —in the degree of program success?

    1. Did you face any challenges coordinating JPEID with these programs or how they worked with the JPEID?

78. Are there any particular subgroups of residents that have taken advantage of the JPEID?

    1. What do you think explains these higher rates?

    2. What subgroups have not taken advantage of the JPEID? What do you think are some reasons for this?

Questions are for:

Partner agency staff (PA)

73. Who is involved in marketing the JPEID?

1. How have you marketed the JPEID?

2. Have you marketed the JPEID to any sub-populations of residents? If so, why did you choose that/those population(s)?

3. Have you marketed it as part of other Jobs-Plus activities (e.g. job training, community meetings)?

4. Have you deliberately tied the JPEID marketing to other self-sufficiency strategies like IDA accounts or financial counseling?

5. What marketing do you think has worked particularly well? Why do you think it went well?

6. What marketing activities have proven less effective? Why do you think that is?

Questions on Community Support for Work

We are now going to invite you to talk about the community support for work component of Jobs-Plus. We have four main topics to explore with you about community support for work: 1) how you understand the ideas behind the strategy, 2) how it has been implemented at your site, 3) what the outcomes have been and 4) what some of the key challenges have been.

Conceptualizing CSW

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Directors of Partnering Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

First, let’s discuss how you and others think about the community support for work component.

92. The employment services and earned income disregard components of Jobs-Plus might be pretty easy to understand, but community support for work is not necessarily self-explanatory. What do you see as the key ideas behind community support for work?

    1. How did you develop your understanding of community support for work?

92. In your view, what is the value of community support for work to the goals of Jobs-Plus?

93. In your view, how much agreement is there among partners working on Jobs-Plus at this site about the value and meaning of community support for work?

94. Probe if not yet mentioned: One part of a community support for work strategy could be a focus on building shared expectations and aspirations about work in the community. Have you considered that as part of the strategy? What do you think of the relevance of this idea?

95. Imagine a hugely successful community support for work effort. What would that look like?

    1. To what extent do you think Jobs-Plus could achieve its goals without a community support for work component? Why or why not?

Implementing CSW

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Directors of Partnering Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

Now, let’s talk about how community support for work is being implemented here.

92. Please describe how community support for work is being put into practice at this site.

    1. How community coaches play a role or roles?

93. How the site is working to promote:

    1. More participation among residents

    2. More leadership among residents

    3. Stronger relationships

       1. Among residents

          1. Peer cohorts, peer-to-peer support

          2. Explicit social networking strategy

       2. Between residents and the broader community

    4. More empowerment among residents and a shift of mindset about work

94. What forms of communication are you using to engage and motivate residents?

    1. Please describe your messaging. What exactly are you communicating or hoping to communicate to residents?

95. What kind of training has been provided by HUD, technical assistance providers, or PHA management around implementing community support for work? Who has undergone this training?

96. Please describe the interactions between program staff and residents.

    1. What is the frequency of these interactions?

    2. What is the tone or quality of these interactions?

    3. How would you describe social relations among residents at this site?

    4. How strong are the social networks here?

97. Please describe the role or roles (if any) that Housing Authority property managers play in implementing the community support for work strategy.

98. As best you can tell, to what extent do residents see the Community Coaches as independent of the Housing Authority?

99. What sorts of expenses have been incurred in connection with community support for work? What funds are used to pay for these expenses?

    1. Have there been any opportunities to split cost with other programs, partner organizations?

CSW Outcomes

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Directors of Partnering Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

92. Please think about the implementation of Jobs-Plus so far. What influence do you think community support for work efforts have had on the engagement of residents in Jobs-Plus so far?

    1. What evidence would you point to that could demonstrate how it’s had that influence?

    2. Probe as necessary for:

       1. Participation in Jobs-Plus

       2. Resident leadership

       3. Relationships

          1. Among residents on site

          2. Between residents and the broader community

       4. Resident empowerment and shift of mindset

          1. Shared expectations and aspirations around work

    3. With which types of residents has community support for work been most successful so far and which ones have been harder to engage?

93. How do you think that residents perceive the value of community support for work activities?

94. What thing or things do you think are most important for getting residents to commit to making changes in their lives? What is most important for them taking action to get engaged in the Jobs-Plus program?

95. Do you think that community support for work has driven those participants engaged in Jobs-Plus to take greater advantage of the other core services that the program offers? If so, why?

CSW Challenges and Implications

Unless otherwise noted, questions are for all participants:

Program Directors (PD)

Case managers (CM)

Community Coaches (CC)

Housing Authority Administrators (HAA)

Property Management Staff (PMS)

Directors of Partnering Agencies (DPA)

Street-level Referral Partners (SRP)

92. What have been the key challenges in implementing community support for work?

93. What are the implications for how community support for work could be implemented (even) more effectively?

94. Are there any final reflections on the community support for work component that you’d like to share?

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