Understanding RRH Study Ethnography Participant Consent Form

Understanding Rapid Re-housing Study
Ethnography Participant Consent Form

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) wants to learn more from people who participate in rapid re-housing programs. I work for a company called Abt Associates. Abt Associates is conducting this study for HUD. You were invited to participate in an interview about your housing situations since childhood, as well as services offered through [PROGRAM NAME].

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 2528-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is approximately 5 minutes, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

I would now like to invite you to participate in additional research as part of this study. I am interested in learning more about your experiences with rapid re-housing assistance for up to 15 months. For this additional research, I will contact you every 3-4 months for a little more than one year to collect information about your housing experiences.

What do I need to do to participate in this study?
To participate in this study, you will need to review and sign this Participation Agreement. It explains what is involved in this research effort and what is required of participants. Your participation is completely voluntary and you can withdraw from this study at any time.

What happens once I agree to participate?
If you decide to participate, I will ask you to complete several activities for a little more than one year, about the next 15 months. These activities are described below.

• Quarterly family updates. Every three months, I will contact you by phone and ask about any changes in members of your household, your income, and housing situation. These conversations should last between 10-15 minutes.

• Participant observations. I will ask to meet with you in person or visit you where you are staying four times during the 15-month study period. During these visits, I will ask you about your housing situation and any changes in services you have received through the rapid re-housing program.

• Two follow-up interviews. I will ask you to participate in an interview with me once at the end of your time in [RRH PROGRAM NAME] and once after you have exited [RRH PROGRAM NAME], about 15 months from now. These interviews will ask you about your experiences with the rapid re-housing program, the places you’ve lived since exiting [RRH PROGRAM NAME], and the types of case management and services you received during and after the program. You will receive $50 as a token of our appreciation for completing the first interview, and an additional $100 after completing the second interview.

• Housing photo journals. Creating a housing photo journal is a way for you to tell a story through pictures about the places you live and how you feel about them. If you agree to participate in the study you will be asked to share these photos with the study team using Google Drive (and photos on Google Drive will be subject to Google’s user agreement). I will meet with you twice during the study to talk about the photos you’ve taken and what they mean to you. You will receive a $25 gift card and print-outs of a selection of your photos for each of the two times I meet with you to discuss the photos you’ve taken.

It also means that we will get records from the program on the assistance you have received.

Stay in touch. I also will send you an email or call you every few weeks to keep in touch about changes in your housing situation or life more generally.

In order for me to stay in touch with you during this study period, I will provide you with a smartphone to use for two study activities:

• Exchange texts, phone calls, and emails with the study team, and

• Take photos for the housing photo journal.

I will set up the phone with a new email account to use only for the purposes of the study. I will provide minutes and data credit on the phone at regular intervals during the study to make sure you can stay in touch with me about the study; the research team will not pay for any non-study uses of the phone or additional charges. After the study is over, you will be able to keep the smartphone but will not receive any additional credit or financial assistance to operate the phone.

If I sign the participation agreement, what else am I agreeing to?

Participating in this study is voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not want to. If you decide to participate, you will be one of 16 households in two locations that will be helping us understand how rapid re-housing programs work and how households use the programs. You will also help us to understand how this program could be better.

When you agree to participate in the study, you agree to complete study activities to the best of your ability. You also agree to use the study-provided phone to remain in contact with the researchers and to the terms of sharing photos through Google Drive.

Participating in this study will not affect your participation in any housing assistance programs or change any of the services you receive. You can continue to use all services and assistance that you are currently using.

What do I need to do to participate in this study?

To participate in this study, you will need to sign this Participation Agreement. It explains more about the study and what is required of participants.

Who will see the information I provide?
All information you provide is confidential. Your information will be protected to the extent allowed under the law as part of the Privacy Act.¹ This means, for example, that we may need to notify someone if keeping the information confidential could put you or others at risk of harm. Only the study team interviewer and a small number of staff authorized to work on this study will see the information you share as part of this research. Your name will never be used in any report. We may quote some of your responses but will never identify you by name.

Are there any risks if I continue to participate in this study?
The risks to you of continuing to participate in this study are minimal. However, there are some potential risks. Risks could include the possibility that:

• You might be uncomfortable or even upset answering some of the questions on the interviews. If you feel that way, you can choose not to answer any question related to any part of the research. You can also stop any conversation at any time.

• The photographs you take for the housing photo journal may be upsetting or uncomfortable to discuss. You can decide not to share a photo at any time.

• There is some risk that your information could be released to people other than the researchers doing this study. The study has strict procedures in place to protect the information you provide and to prevent this from happening. However, if that were to happen, we would contact you to let you know that this occurred.

Questions about participation
If you have questions regarding this study please contact the Abt Associates Inc. Project Director, Ms. Lauren Dunton at (301) 634-1779. You may also contact Ms. Mindy Ault at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at (202) 402-3116.

If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this study, you can call Ms. Teresa Doksum, the IRB Administrator at Abt Associates toll-free at (877) 520- 6835.

Consent by Participant

By signing this participation agreement, I confirm that I have read and understand the information presented in it. The information in this form has also been explained to me. I have had the opportunity to ask questions. I understand that my participation is voluntary, and I can ask to be withdrawn from the study at any time. I understand that I will be given a copy of this consent form to keep. I voluntarily agree to take part in this study of rapid re-housing programs and their participants.

Participant’s Name – PLEASE PRINT

Participant’s Signature Date

1 Privacy Act Statement: HUD’s authoritative and principle purpose, conditions of uses, and impacts, if any, for not participating in the survey are referenced within the participant agreement.