Appendix A: Outreach to State Child Welfare Directors

Appendix A:

Outreach to State Child Welfare Directors

Outreach for Instrument 1

Email from ACF to introduce the study to state child welfare directors and alert them of the coming survey link for them or their designees

From: <<Regional Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Children’s Bureau>>

Subject: State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study

To: <<Child welfare director>>

Cc: <<Mathematica contact>>

Dear <<Child welfare director>>,

I write to ask for your help with a study examining the extent to which child welfare agencies in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, link administrative data on child maltreatment to data in other systems and to learn more about states’ practices related to sharing and linking data. This is an exciting opportunity for the field to have current, systematic information about the work being done with administrative data in child welfare.

The ACF Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), in partnership with the Children’s Bureau, has been working with Mathematica to plan the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study. The study will gather systematic information on the extent to which states connect their child maltreatment data to other data sets; how linked or integrated data sets are created, managed, and used; challenges states face in linking data; and promising practices.

The study will include 3 data collection efforts:

1. A web survey of State Child Welfare Directors (or their designee)

2. A more in-depth web survey of selected state agency staff knowledgeable about linked data, for staff whose contact information you or your designee provided in the high-level web survey; and

3. Semi-structured interviews (virtually or by phone) with additional state agency staff to further learn about efforts to develop linked data, the outcome of those attempts, methodologies used to link data, the policies and resources that support or hinder linked data efforts, and future plans.

Each subsequent data collection will use information collected in earlier data collection efforts to help tailor what is asked and reduce burden. In the next <<week>>, you will receive an email from Mathematica with instructions for completing the first survey and contact information for Mathematica’s project leader should you have any questions.

Thank you in advance for contributing to this study.

I hope that you or your designee will participate. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Mathematica’s project director, Cay Bradley at [email protected] or (202) 250-3585.

Sincerely,

<<Regional Program Manager>>

Email reminder from ACF to participate

From: <<Regional Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ACF, CB>>

Subject: State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study

To: <<Child welfare director>>

Cc: <<Mathematica contact>>

Dear <<Child welfare director>>,

I write to remind you about the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study, and to encourage your state’s participation. The Office of Planning, Research, & Evaluation (OPRE) in partnership with the Children’s Bureau (CB) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, is sponsoring the study. The study will gather systematic information on the extent to which states link their child maltreatment data to other data sets; how linked or integrated data sets are created, managed, and used; challenges states face in linking data; and promising practices. The information collected from you and your colleagues will provide a current picture of the use of administrative data in child welfare agencies to understand child maltreatment to the field, Children’s Bureau, and other federal agencies.

If you have questions about the survey, please contact Mathematica’s project director, Cay Bradley at [email protected] or (202) 250-3585.

Thank you in advance for contributing to this study.

Sincerely,

<<Regional Program Manager>>

Email from Mathematica with web survey for state child welfare directors

From: <<Mathematica email address for the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study>>

Subject: Survey about states’ linked child welfare data

To: <<Child welfare director>>

Dear <<Child welfare director>>,

Last week, you received an email from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) about the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study. The Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) in partnership with the Children’s Bureau (CB) is sponsoring this study to learn more about state-level child maltreatment data, linkages amongst child maltreatment data and other data sources, and associated facilitators and barriers to linking data. Mathematica, an independent research company, is conducting the study on behalf of OPRE and CB.

For the study to represent your state accurately, we would like to request that you or your designee(s) complete a web survey by <<survey closing date>>. This survey is being sent to all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. You may forward this survey to a designee(s) familiar with your state system of record for child maltreatment reporting, such as your SACWIS/CCWIS manager and his/her team. This survey is expected to take 40 minutes to complete. Near the end of the survey, we request contact information for people who are knowledgeable about specific integrated data and linked data sets in your state. Up to four of these people may be contacted for a second 35-minute survey.

To complete the web survey:

• Log on to <<web survey link>> and enter the following case-sensitive login information. The website is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, by computer or mobile device.

• Username: «Username»

• Password: «Password»

Please forward this email to any designees who can provide some or all of the information the survey asks for. You and your designees can all use the same username and password to answer questions in the survey.

If you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss, please call <<800 number>> or reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Best,

State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study Team

Email reminder from Mathematica of web survey for state child welfare directors

From: <<Mathematica email address for the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study>>

Subject: Reminder—Survey about states’ linked child welfare data

To: <<Child welfare director>>

Dear <<Child welfare director>>,

We hope you will consider participating in the State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study. As a reminder, the Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) in partnership with the Children’s Bureau (CB) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, is sponsoring the study to learn more about state-level child maltreatment data, linkages amongst child maltreatment data and other data sources, and associated facilitators and barriers to linking data.

For the study to represent your state accurately, we request you or your designee(s) to complete a web survey by <<survey closing date>>. You may forward this survey to a designee(s) familiar with your state system of record for child maltreatment reporting, such as your SACWIS/CCWIS manager and his/her team. This survey is expected to take 40 minutes to complete.

To complete the web survey:

• Log on to <<web survey link>> and enter the following case-sensitive login information. The website is available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, by computer or mobile device.

• Username: «Username»

• Password: «Password»

Please forward this email to any designees who can provide some or all of the information that the survey asks for. You and your designees can all use the same username and password to answer questions in the survey.

If you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss, please call <<Mathematica 800 phone number>> or reply to this email.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Best,

State Child Welfare Data Linkages Descriptive Study Team