Cover memo

DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE

FOR THE COLLECTION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH & ASSESSMENT

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: The Relationship Between Substance Use and Foster Care: A Mixed Methods Study

[X] INTERVIEWS

[X] SMALL DISCUSSION GROUPS

[ ] FOCUS GROUPS

[ ] QUESTIONNAIRES

[ ] OTHER (EXPLAIN: )

DESCRIPTION OF THIS SPECIFIC COLLECTION

1. Intended purpose: To collect information from state and local administrators and practitioners about the local context and relationship between substance abuse and its influence on the child welfare system, particularly foster care caseloads.

2. Need for the collection: Data from interviews and small discussion groups are needed to augment the quantitative findings from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) study on the intersections of substance use and misuse and child welfare. The qualitative data will help inform ASPE’s understanding of the factors that contribute to the relationship between foster care caseloads trends in substance misuse and disorders why relationships may differ by geography, and strategies that counties are using to mitigate the impact of parental substance misuse and disorders on the children in the foster care system.

3. Planned use of the data: The qualitative data will be analyzed to identify themes within and across sites on the contributing factors influencing the relationship between substance use and the child welfare system. The results will be summarized in a report for ASPE and will be publically disseminated along with ASPE’s quantitative findings in a format yet to be determined.

4. Date(s) and location(s): Interviews and small discussion groups will be conducted at 10 sites across the country. Sites include individual counties as well as small groups of contiguous counties. ASPE selected the sites with input from other stakeholders at HHS. The sites were selected based on criteria outlined in attachment A, including patterns of foster care caseloads and prescription opioid sales. Please see Attachment B for the list of sites. Data collection will occur between May and July 2017.

5. Collection procedures: Mathematica staff will conduct interviews and small group discussions, which will occur on-site or via telephone or webinar. Of the 10 site visits, five will be conducted in-person and five will occur virtually via telephone and webinar. Discussion guides will be used to conduct the semi-structured interviews and small group discussions. It is estimated that each of the interviews will last between 60 to 120 minutes depending on the category of respondent. Five discussion guides have been developed: one for child welfare program administrators, one for child welfare practitioners, one for substance use program administrators, one for substance use practitioners, and one for all other types of practitioners and program administrators (including law enforcement and court officials). Most data collection will occur through individual interviews; however, dependent on the needs of the site, a total of four small group discussions have been planned and may be used across all sites to solicit input from practitioners.

6. Number of collections (e.g., focus groups, surveys, and sessions): Each study participant will be asked to participate in one interview or small group discussion. We will conduct an average of eight interviews or small group discussions per site for a total of 80 across all 10 sites. We expect between 8 and 19 respondents to participate in interviews and small group discussions per site, depending on the service system’s size and complexity, for a total of up to 190 participants across all sites.

7. Description of respondents/participants: Participants will include state and local child welfare administrators, child welfare practitioners, state and local substance abuse administrators, staff from substance abuse treatment centers, and other professional staff that are involved in working with the identified families. We anticipate that this other group of professionals will vary by county and will dependent on the service array of particular jurisdictions. They may include staff of the dependency and/or drug courts, home visiting programs or other public health providers, and/or related professionals involved in addressing parental substance abuse in the site.

8. Description of how results will be used: Mathematica staff will summarize key themes and findings in a report for ASPE. The results are expected to inform state administrators’ practices and policies, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on their future research and policy proposals in their efforts to reduce the impact of substance use and misuse on families.

9. Description of how results will or will not be disseminated and why or why not: Findings will be summarized in a final report for ASPE. ASPE plans to publically disseminate the overarching findings from this study, but has not yet determined the dissemination format, but anticipates it may include presentations, briefs, or other written products.

AMOUNT OF ANY PROPOSED STIPEND OR INCENTIVE – NONE

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of responses (X) estimated response or participation time in minutes (/60) = annual burden hours):

Type of Respondent	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (in minutes)	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate1	Total Respondent Costs
Child Welfare Administrators Attachment C	30	1	120	60	$33.38	$2,003
Child Welfare Practitioners Attachment D	20	1	120	40	$22.41	$896
Substance Use Treatment Program Practitioners Attachment E	20	1	90	30	$20.64	$619
Substance Use Administrators Attachment F	30	1	90	45	$50.99	$2,295
Administrators in Related Fields Attachment G	30	1	60	30	$50.99	$1,530
Practitioners in Related Fields Attachment G	20	1	60	20	$19.30	$386
Law Enforcement Officials Attachment G	20	1	60	20	$37.96	$759
Judicial or Legal Representatives Attachment G	20	1	60	20	$63.64	$1,273
TOTALS	190			265		$9,761

OTHER SUPPORTING INFORMATION

REQUESTED APPROVAL DATE: May 5, 2017

NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Laura Radel

TELEPHONE NUMBER: (202) 690-5938

DEPARTMENT/OFFICE/BUREAU: Division of Children and Youth Policy

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

1 Estimates for the average hourly wage for respondents are based on the Department of Labor (DOL) 2015 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm).

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