Interview Protocol – Social Development Director

Form Approved

OMB Control No. 1290-XXXX

Expiration Date X/XX/2020

CJC Implementation Research Protocol: Social Development Director

Abt Associates IRB Approval No. XXXX

Public Burden Statement. Persons are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time for reading instructions, and completing and reviewing the requested information. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the [Contact Name; Contact Address] (Paperwork Reduction Project Control No. 1290-xxxx).

Introduction of and Informed Consent for the Study (read to all respondents)

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview today.

My name is (insert name here), and I’m a researcher from MDRC, located in (Oakland CA or New York, NY). I’m here because Abt Associates and MDRC, on behalf of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), are conducting a five-year study of the Cascades Program.

We are visiting to conduct in-person interviews with center staff and partners (such as referral partners and employers) to learn what is happening on the ground and what are the challenges of implementing this new program. Interviews will cover the organizational characteristics of the center, as well as its mission and vision, and how it fits within the Job Corps network.

These interviews will provide important qualitative information on the implementation at Cascades. We will use what we learn from these interviews to contribute to a report about the impacts and implementation of the Cascades program. This report will be submitted to DOL to inform the federal government about this new model.

Privacy Statement [Interviewer must read this to all respondents]

Before beginning the interview, I (we) want to thank you for agreeing to participate in this study and remind you that your participation is voluntary. I (we) know that you are busy and will try to be as brief as possible. We have many questions and are going to talk to many different people, so please do not feel as though we expect you to be able to answer every question. You may also refuse to answer any question. The interview today should last about one hour. This interview is not part of a Job Corps audit or a compliance review. We are interested in learning about your ideas, experiences, and opinions about Cascades’ implementation. There are no right or wrong answers. We want to know what you think.

You can send comments regarding the time estimate or any other aspect of this interview, including suggestions for reducing the duration, to (insert contact name and provide address if necessary).

In addition, before we start, I want to let you know that although we will take notes during these interviews, information is never repeated with the name of the respondent in any reports or in any discussions with supervisors, colleagues, or any one from DOL. When we write our reports and discuss our findings, information from all the people we speak with is compiled and presented so that no one person can be identified. There is a small risk of loss of privacy, but we have many procedures in place to ensure your information does not get lost.

To help me accurately report on the information you share, it would help if I could tape record this call; of course, I could turn off the recorder at any point if you so desire. I do not have a recorder on now; is it okay with you for me to turn it on?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Do I have your permission to begin the interview?

• This interview protocol is intended for the person responsible for the Social Development Department at each center.

• Text in italics is background information for the interviewer.

• Please allow 90 minutes for the interview.

Staff Title: Title
Staff Role: Social Development Director

Staff Initials: Initials
Interviewer: Interviewer last name
Write-up: Last name of person doing write-up

INTERVIEW DATE/TIME: Date/Time

Staff Background

You may use this section to verify information you already know about the interviewee or as a means of rapport building with the interviewee.

1. Please describe the major responsibilities of your position. Describe

2. How long have you been at Cascades? 0.00 years

3. How long have you been in your current role at Cascades? 0.00 years

4. How long have you worked at other Job Corps Centers? 0.00 years

5. What made you interested in working at Cascades? Describe

Cascades’ Values and Center Environment

The next questions are designed to learn more about how the values and culture of Cascades are put into action in the day-to-day activities of staff. We also ask a question about the center’s approach to using the policy manual to understand fidelity.

6. How would you describe Cascades’ values and philosophy? Describe

7. How would you describe the environment that Cascades intends to create for students? [Probes: How do you want students to feel when they are at Cascades? What strategies do you use create this environment?] Describe

Structure of Social Development Services

Here we want to understand the structure of the Social Development Department and its relationship to the other departments supervised by the Social Development Director. Some of the other departments (such as Dorm Life) deliver services that other Job Corps programs also deliver. Focus should be on what makes Cascades’ delivery of these services different.

8. Please describe the roles of the social development staff at your center now [staff in the Social Development, Dorm Life, Recreation, and Safety and Security departments].

   Staff title	Roles/Responsibilities
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe
   Title	Describe

9. How do you supervise your social development staff? [Probes: How often do you meet with them, do you meet as a group or one-on-one, what is discussed in these meetings? What is your management approach?] Describe

10. When hiring new staff members, what qualities do you look for? Describe

11. What professional development opportunities are available for your staff now? Describe

12. What additional opportunities do you think your staff would benefit from? Describe

Center Environment & Discipline

We’d like to understand a bit about the policies and structures in place that affect the Cascades environment and the behavior of students, such as safety-related policies and rewards for positive behavior, such as the points and level system. We also ask about discipline, the level system and attendance policies.

Relationships

13. What do you want staff relationships with the students to look like? [Probe: What strategies/approaches to you use to build these relationships?] Describe

14. How do you want the relationships between the students themselves to look like? [Probe: What strategies/approaches to you use to build these relationships?] Describe

15. What, if anything, is new or different about Cascades’ current approach to relationships in the program, compared to other Job Corps or youth-oriented training programs? Describe

Discipline

16. Please describe the center’s disciplinary policy now. Was this policy developed using the student-centered design process suggested by the National Office? Describe

17. Under what circumstances do suspensions and expulsions from the center occur (Probe: Describe the last suspension)? Describe

18. How many suspensions and expulsions have there been (For next round: …since our last visit in month/year)?

0 # of suspensions

0 # of expulsions

19. Do any of the policies implemented, mirror behaviors, attitudes or expectations that students would encounter in the workplace? [Probe: Dress code, attendance, punctuality, productivity] Describe

Level System

20. Please describe your center’s level/points/rewards system. Describe

21. To what extent do your students participate in the level system? Describe

22. What types of awards do you see as most motivating to students? Describe

Skill Building

23. How do you see the goals of your departments linked with the goals of the Cascades program overall? Describe

24. What programming/activities are available to students at Cascades?

    Name of program/activity	Description of program/activity	Goal of program/activity
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe
    Name of activity 	Describe	Describe

25. How much do you collaborate with the academic and career training staff? Describe

26. To what extent do the activities and programs provided by the Social Development department resemble activities a traditional high school or career readiness training program might provide? To what extent to they differ? [Probe: What does student government look like, for example? How about other activities? What—if anything-- makes this programming unique?] Describe

Partnerships

Centers may partner with community organizations to provide certain services, such as therapy. This section seeks to understand who the main partners are, what services are provided, and what’s missing.

27. Who are the primary partners in your community involved in delivering supportive services to Cascades students? [Probes: Employment related activities, extracurricular activities, workshops, recreational activities, etc. What services do these partners provide and how are the relationships formalized?]

    Name of partner	Description of services or resources provided	How is partnership formalized (contract, informal)
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe
    Name of partner	Describe	Describe

28. Are there other supportive services that you wish were available in your community? Describe

Random assignment

29. Describe any challenges you have encountered in implementing the random assignment study (e.g. relationships with partners, time spent on research activities). Describe

Abt Associates  ▌pg. 5