Discussion Guide for program leaders

Instrument 1: Discussion Guide for Administrator and Staff Discussions

Before we begin, I want to tell you a few things about this study and your participation in it. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have. We will also email you a copy of this information.

A team of researchers from the Urban Institute and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to identify programs for transition age foster youth that could potentially be included in a federally funded evaluation. ACF is particularly interested in programs that aim to help current and former foster youth succeed in [college/the labor market].

As part of this process, we are talking with representatives from a number of [college success/ETV/employment/housing] programs to learn more about their operation. We will ask you some questions about the [INSERT NAME OF PROGRAM] including questions about the students/youth it serves, the supports it provides, the way it is funded, and any data that your program might collect about its operation. However, this is not an evaluation of your program.

The interview will be conducted by a pair of researchers and will last no more than an hour. We may contact you following the interview to request clarification. Your participation in the study is completely voluntary. You can choose not to participate, skip any questions you would prefer not to answer or end the interview at any time without penalty.

We will share what we learn about different [college success/ETV/employment/housing] programs with ACF and use this information to decide if any of these programs might be good candidates for a rigorous evaluation based on ACF priorities.

The risks associated with participating in this study are minimal. Some of the information we gather may be included in a report to ACF, an issue brief, or other publication. These publications will not identify you by name but may include the name of your program, and it is possible that your identity could be inferred given your position. We do not intend to quote any of the representatives we talk with, but if for any reason we wanted to quote you in a publication, we would ask for your permission first.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STUDY?

DO YOU AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY?

If you have questions or concerns about the study, please contact:

Mike Pergamit Mark Courtney

Urban Institute Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

202-261-5276 773.702.1219

[email protected] [email protected]

If you agree to participate in this study and feel that your rights have been violated or that you have

not been treated fairly, contact:

SSA-Chapin Hall IRB Coordinator

University of Chicago School of Social Services Administration

969 E. 60^th Street

Chicago, IL 60637 / (773-834-0402)

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 0970-0489 and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.

Guide for Program Leaders

1. History of program

   1. In what year did [INSERT NAME OF PROGRAM] begin operating?

2. Program components/logic model

   1. How would you describe your program?

   2. Does your program have a logic model?

   3. What are the main program components?

      1. Do participants in your program receive year round housing?

      2. Does your program include a mentoring component? What can you tell me about the mentoring?

      3. Does you program provide opportunities for leadership development? What can you tell about those opportunities?

      4. Are there services or supports other than the ones I have already mentioned that your program provides? What are those services or supports?

      5. Are participants required to meet with program staff? If so, how frequently?

      6. What opportunities, if any, does your program provide for participants to interact with one another?

   4. How many young people are currently participating in your program?

   5. How does your program define participation?

   6. Are young people counted as participants if they are involved in at least one program components or is there a minimum number of program components in which they need to be involved to be counted?

   7. How many participants does your program currently have the capacity to serve?

   8. What can you tell me about the characteristics of the participants in your program?

3. Program goals

   1. What are the overall goals of your program?

4. Program staffing – roles and responsibilities as well as recruitment and training

   1. How many staff does your program employ and what are their respective roles?

5. Eligibility criteria (e.g., age, child welfare system involvement, education)

   1. Do you have specific criteria for eligibility? If so, could you describe those criteria?

   2. What are the eligibility requirements with respect to youth in foster care? Do youth need to currently be in foster care to be eligible? Do you serve youth who have aged out of foster care?

   3. Do all youth in your program need to have had some involvement in the foster care system?

6. Youth recruiting and application processes

   1. How does your program identify eligible students?

   2. Do you have an application process for your program? What are the application components?

   3. How do youth learn about your program? Do you do any recruiting or marketing to particular groups? Do you have any feeder programs or schools?

   4. Who can make referrals to your program and how do they identify eligible youth? (Probe: How does the referral process work – from identifying to referring youth etc.)

7. Program oversight processes

8. Partnership development (e.g., employers, schools, community colleges, Workforce Investment Board, child welfare agency)

   1. What are your primary sources of funding? (e.g., college/university, private foundations or other philanthropic organizations, individual donors, state or local child welfare system)

   2. What, if any, relationship does your program have with the state or local child welfare agency?

9. Data collection (e.g., intake assessments, outcome measures)

   1. What do you see as your key program outcomes? What program outcomes are you currently measuring?

   2. Are there any outcomes you’re interested in that aren’t currently being measured? If so, which ones?

   3. What is the process for measuring and tracking key outcomes?

   4. Are there key outcomes that you wish you were able to measure and track but are limited in capacity to do so?

   5. Are there other outcomes you wish your program was able to track but are limited in capacity to do so? What outcomes?

   6. Does your program track the services or supports participants receive?

10. Biggest challenges and successes