ACF County Human Services Commissioner Survey
2020
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).We promote the economic and social well-being of children, families, individuals and communities with leadership and resources for compassionate, effective delivery of human services. ACF administers more than 60 programs with a budget of more than $53 billion, making it the second-largest agency in HHS. ACF is comprised of 19 offices including the Office of Regional Operations, which represents 10 regional offices around the country. ACF is very interested in using feedback from local human services agency leadership to help inform and improve the provision of services for children and families served by our programs.
This survey is intended for county human services commissioners (a.k.a. Secretary, Chief Executive Officer, or Director). Although the majority of ACF funding is provided to a designated state agency, we recognize that the implementation and innovative practices are also generated at the local level. ACF federal funding provides support for TANF, child welfare/foster care, child care, Head Start, child support, and other human services programs. We know that counties operating in state-administered versus state-supervised, county-administered states may have different challenges and opportunities with implementing federally-funded programs. We are very interested in receiving feedback from local jurisdictions to inform our work with the states.
Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary and all answers will be used for internal planning purposes and to further the proper performance of the functions of the agency. Your responses will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Please take a few moments to answer a few questions about your priorities and challenges, experiences working with ACF and share your suggestions for improvement. This survey should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.
Your data are automatically saved each time you press the blue "next" arrow at the bottom of a page.
You can return to the survey at any time using your unique emailed link. Access to the survey will expire on
Date XX/XX/XXXX.
Note: An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.
County Priorities and Challenges
County Priorities
(1) For each of the following items, move the slider to indicate the strength of your agency’s
priorities in the next 12 months.
When assessing whether an item is a priority, please focus on where you intend to devote notable organizational and/or financial resources.
Organizational Efforts
Not a Priority |
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Highest Priority |
0 |
10 |
20 |
30 |
40 |
50 |
60 |
70 |
80 |
90 |
100 |
Engaging
families/consumers
in redesign of services
Improving family economic and social
well-being
Focusing organizational culture on
outcomes and
results
Advancing intergenerational/whole family
approaches to human services
Improving agency performance management
systems
Redesigning service delivery systems to
integrate programs
Improving data systems’
interoperability
Improving well-being by shifting from
crisis response to prevention
Fostering inter- or intra- agency collaborations
with other public
agencies
Programmatic Topics
Not a Priority |
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Highest Priority |
0 |
10 |
20 |
30 |
40 |
50 |
60 |
70 |
80 |
90 |
100 |
Welfare/TANF cash
assistance/self-
sufficiency
Child support
Homelessness and
housing
Child care/early care and
education
Child welfare/foster care systems/ preventing child
abuse and neglect
Substance abuse prevention and treatment, including
opioids
Workforce development/education and training/
employing hard-to-employ populations
(2) Spotlight: Overall Priority
Aside from more funding, we are interested in better understanding your highest overall priority for the coming year, regardless
of whether it is covered by the list above. Please use this space to share further details.
County Challenges
(3) Based on your experience administering ACF programs, and recognizing that no new
resources may be available, please share information about the challenges you face in
effectively serving children and families.
Not a challenge Minor challenge Major challenge
Insufficient collaboration across federal agencies
serving similar populations
Variation in federal eligibility requirements across programs
Guidance on privacy/confidentiality requirements for sharing
administrative data
Limits on existing program waiver authority Federal regulations
and policy guidance
Sufficient technical resources to use data to meet program objectives
Meeting federal, state, or local match and Maintenance of Effort
requirements for federal funding
Federal reporting, auditing, or monitoring requirements
State regulations and policy guidance
Other (Specify)
This question will collect more information about the items you identified as "major challenges."
(4) Please click and drag to arrange the items you selected as a "major challenge" in the order
of their importance.
Federal regulations and policy guidance
State regulations and policy guidance
Variation in federal eligibility requirements across programs
Limits on existing program waiver authority
Meeting state match and Maintenance of Effort requirements for federal funding
Federal reporting, auditing, or monitoring requirements
Insufficient collaboration across federal agencies serving similar populations
Sufficient technical resources to use data to meet program objectives
Guidance on privacy/confidentiality requirements for sharing administrative data
Now we will collect more information about the items you identified as the top 3 "major challenges."
(5) Toughest Challenges
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding federal regulations and policy guidance.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding state regulations and policy guidance.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding variation in federal eligibility requirements across
programs.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding existing program waiver authority.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding state match and Maintenance of Effort
requirements for federal funding.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding federal reporting, auditing, or monitoring
requirements.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding collaboration across federal agencies serving
similar populations.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding technical resources to use data to meet program
objectives.
Please provide more detail about the challenges you face regarding privacy and confidentiality requirements for
sharing administrative data.
Working Across Programs
From your experience implementing ACF programs at the local level, are you able to braid or align existing funding streams and resources to support innovation and effectiveness?
Not at all
With some difficulty To some extent
A great deal
We have not undertaken this effort
From your experience implementing ACF programs at the local level, are you able to align data and/or data
systems to support innovation and effectiveness?
Not at all
With some difficulty To some extent
A great deal
We have not undertaken this effort
(8) Please rate the overall strength of your state agency's interagency collaborations for each of the following
health and human services program areas:
Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
Food Assistance
Housing/Homelessness
Early Childhood
Health/Maternal and Child Health Workforce/Employment/Labor Child Welfare
Other (Specify)
(9) We know that it can be challenging to interact with multiple federal agencies at the state or local level. Which
agencies should ACF prioritize for interagency partnerships in the next twelve months?
Please drag items to rank the partnerships that would best address the challenges you face and support your priorities.
HHS- ACL (Area agency on aging)
HHS-SAMHSA (Substance abuse and mental health)
HUD (Housing) USDA-FNS (SNAP)
Department of Labor (WIOA)
HHS-CMS (Medicaid)
HHS-MCHB (Maternal and child health)
Other (Specify)
Recommendations for ACF
(10) What potential role(s) for ACF would most help you achieve your agency priorities in the coming year?
Please use the slider to indicate the importance of each role specified.
Low Priority High Priority
Convener of state and
local key partners and
stakeholders
Relationship broker between state and local agencies
with other federal agencies on cross-system integration
Facilitator of peer-to-peer learning with state/local
counterparts
Messenger/presenter at regional, state, or local
meetings
Disseminator of state and local model approaches
Advisor providing federal
policy guidance, interpretation, and
analysis
Advisor providing individualized technical
assistance and consultation
Informal, executive-level thought partner and problem solver
Developer of public- private partnerships, convening philanthropy
and other funders
(11) We would like information about the topics of interest for technical assistance for local executive leaders (as
opposed to direct service staff, supervisors, or other middle managers).
Please rate your level of interest in receiving technical assistance for each topic.
Not at all important Slightly important Important Very important
Blending/braiding multiple funding streams
Incorporating the latest research into programs
(e.g. child development in child care)
Using data to improve outcomes
Data privacy and confidentiality requirements Data interoperability
Putting hard-to-employ populations to work
Organizational development and structures
Best practices/model approaches for service delivery
Preventing child abuse and neglect
Other (Specify)
(12) What is your preferred form of communication with ACF?
Please drag the three most useful to the box. Click and drag to shuffle the order within the box.
Items Top 3 Most Useful
Regularly scheduled in-person one-on-one meetings
Regional peer-to-peer meetings
Virtual meetings/conference calls
Grantee meetings and/or national conferences
Newsletters and emails Blogs
Short videos
Other (Specify)
(13) What tools or resources would you find most useful from ACF?
Please drag the three most useful to the box. Click and drag to shuffle the order within the box.
Items Top 3 Most Useful
Evidence-based practices reviews
Data and reports to compare your ACF programs to other states
3- to 5-page research, policy,
or issue briefs
Customer satisfaction survey
templates
Resources on federal funding opportunities and navigating federal grants
Best practices/case studies or summaries of other states'
initiatives
(14) We welcome other suggestions for how ACF can foster more efficient and effective services and reduce
barriers for state and local human services agencies. Please use the space below.
Working with ACF and Regional Offices
Now we would like to hear about your experiences seeking assistance with ACF programs.
(15) When an issue regarding ACF-funded programs requires you to seek assistance, where do you turn as your primary source of assistance?
Please drag one answer to the box.
Items Primary Source of Assistance
ACF Regional Office ACF Central Office
ACF-funded technical assistance provider
State- or local-contracted technical assistance provider
Professional association
(APHSA, NGA, etc)
Informal professional contacts
Other (Specify)
(16) Did you seek assistance from the ACF Regional Office in the last year?
Yes
No
Not sure/do not know
(16a) How often did you seek assistance from the ACF Regional Office in the last year?
1-2 times
3-5 times
6-11 times
Monthly or more
Not sure/Don't know
(16b) How satisfied were you with the timeliness of assistance you received from the ACF Regional Office?
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
(16c) Please rate your overall satisfaction with the assistance you received from the ACF Regional Office.
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
(16d) Please provide more information about what was most helpful from the ACF Regional Office.
(16e) Please provide more information about your concerns with the ACF Regional Office and suggestions for
improvement.
(17) Did you seek assistance from the ACF Central Office in the last year?
Yes
No
Not sure/don’t know
(17a) How satisfied were you with the timeliness of assistance you received from the ACF Central Office?
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
(17b) Please rate your overall satisfaction with the assistance you received from the ACF Central Office.
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
(17c) Please provide more information about what was most helpful from the ACF Central Office.
(17d) Please provide more information about your concerns with the ACF Central Office and suggestions for improvement.
18. Did you meet with your region's ACF Regional Administrator or their staff in the past year?
Yes
No
Not sure/don’t know
(18a) Please rate your overall satisfaction with your meeting(s) with the ACF Regional Administrator's Office.
(18b) Please provide more information about your concerns with the ACF Regional Administrator's Office and
suggestions for improvement.
Respondent Background
In order to target our follow-up activities, please share some background about you and your agency.
What is your title?
County CEO (Commissioner, Secretary, Executive Director, Director)
County Deputy Director, Chief of Staff, or direct report to county CEO
County Senior Director or Program Administrator
Other (Specify)
(20) What is your agency's total annual budget?
$500 million or less
More than $500 million to $1 billion
More than $1 billion to $5 billion
More than $5 billion to $10 billion
More than $10 billion
(21) Please estimate how much of your program budget is allocated to contracts with private non-governmental
providers or community agencies:
0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
76% or more
(22) How many FTEs does your agency employ?
1-100
101-500
501-1000
1001-5000
5001 or more
(23) Please select the state you currently work in:
State _____________(drop down box)
(24) Which programs does your agency oversee?
Please select all that apply.
Public assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Workforce development and employment training
Child welfare, foster care, child protective services, child abuse prevention
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Subsidy and child care
Head Start, Early Head Start, or other early childhood programs
Home visiting
Public health, maternal, and child health
Mental health
Substance abuse
Child support
Domestic violence
Refugee assistance
Housing and homelessness
Developmental disabilities
Aging
Adult and juvenile justice
Community Services Block Grant programming
Homeless services
Other (specify)
By clicking "forward" below, your survey will be submitted and final.
Thank you for your time and effort responding to this survey.
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this information collection is to help inform and improve the provision of services for children and families served by ACF programs. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0401 and the expiration date is 05/31/2021. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Lauren Antelo, Office of Regional Operations, [email protected].
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
Author | Antelo, Lauren (ACF) |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-01-14 |