Form 1 Introductory Script - Program Applicants

OMB No.: xxxx-xxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/20xx

INFORMATION COLLECTION ACTIVITY #6

INSTRUMENT #5

CHILD SUPPORT NONCUSTODIAL PARENT EMPLOYMENT DEMONSTRATION (CSPED)

INTRODUCTORY SCRIPT FOR PROGRAM APPLICANTS

This script will be employed by program staff intake workers during the process of informing parents of their eligibility to participate in the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) study.

CSPED Introductory Script

Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today to discuss your ability to meet your child support obligations.

Because we are participating in a study called the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED) study, we are able to offer you the opportunity to potentially receive extra services that work better together to help you meet your child support obligations. These services include child support services, employment services, and parenting activities. In our state, the program through which we are offering these services is called [INSERT STATE PROGRAM NAME HERE].

While we are providing the extra services through the [INSERT STATE PROGRAM NAME HERE], the study is being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin and Mathematica Policy Research are assisting with it. The purpose of the study is to learn more about which services help noncustodial parents like you meet your child support obligations and build better relationships with your children. Your participation in the study, along with the other parents, will help the researchers determine if these extra services address families’ needs and how they could be improved.

The chance to receive extra services is available only to those who agree to participate in the CSPED study. However, because space is limited and we cannot provide these extra services to all the parents who would like to receive them, the research team created a computer program to randomly select which parents will be able to participate in our program. If you agree to participate in the study, the computer will place you into one of two groups: one group will receive the extra services through the [INSERT STATE PROGRAM NAME HERE] at no cost to them; the other group will receive what we call regular or “usual” services. The computer works like a flip of a coin; you will have a 50 percent chance of being assigned to the group that can receive the extra services and a 50 percent chance of being assigned to the group that can receive regular or “usual” services. The process is random and the chance of being selected to receive extra services is not influenced by what you say to me or any of the researchers conducting the study.

If you agree to be in the study, regardless of whether you are assigned to the group that receives extra services or the group that receives regular or “usual” services, you are agreeing to allow the research team to contact federal and state agencies for information about your employment and earnings, child support orders, experiences with the criminal justice system and child welfare system, and other benefits or services you may receive from public programs. The research team will also obtain a copy of your credit report. In addition, you will be contacted again in about one year to update some of the information you provide today and to ask some new questions. You may also be asked to participate in focus groups as a part of this study. It is important that you understand that even if you are not selected to receive the extra services, you will still be part of the study so that researchers can compare your experiences to those parents who are selected to receive the extra services.

If you agree to participate, we can start the process by calling the interviewers at the University of Wisconsin. They will first request your formal consent to participate in the study and will cover the information included in the handout entitled “Consent Information Sheet” that I will provide to you now.

[Hand the potential participant a copy of the “Consent Information Sheet.”]

If you consent to participate in the study, the interviewer will then ask you some questions that will take approximately 30 minutes to answer. Everything you tell the program staff or the researchers will be kept strictly private and will not be shared with anyone, except as required by law. Nothing will ever be said about you as an individual. Instead, information about you will be combined with information from other parents in the study so the researchers can say things like “30 percent of parents in the program have two children.”

You will receive a $10 gift card in appreciation for your time spent answering the questions. Once you complete the interview, I will let you know if you are assigned to the group that can receive the extra services through [INSERT STATE PROGRAM NAME HERE] or the group that can receive regular or “usual” services.

I will now give you some time to review the information included in the “Consent Information Sheet.” Again, this information will also be covered by the interviewer on the telephone.

[Pause to allow time for review of the “Consent Information Sheet.”]

Do you have any questions about the study that you want to ask me?

[You will find answers to frequently asked questions on the “Frequently Asked Questions” sheet.]

Are you interested in participating in the study?

[If yes, please place the call to the University of Wisconsin Survey Center at 800-XXX-XXXX.]

[If no, please thank him/her for taking the time to come in today and provide him/her with information about any services that are available to them, regardless of the fact that they did not agree to participate in the study].