Center for States (CBCS) Evaluation: Longitudinal Ethnographic Substudy Jurisdiction Interview

OMB #: 0970-0XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN:   The purpose of this information collection is to gather feedback on capacity building products and services to better meet the needs of child welfare professionals. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 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 control number for this project is 0970-XXXX. The control number expires on XX/XX/XXXX. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Beth Claxon, ACF, Administration on Children, Youth and Families by e-mail at [email protected].

Longitudinal Ethnographic Sub Study: Jurisdiction Interview

PURPOSE: This interview is part of a longitudinal study of several Center for States intensive projects. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the entire lifecycle of such projects and of how various factors influence project progress.

Instructions for Interviewer

Prior to the Interview

In the days leading up to the interview, the interviewer will review the following:

1. Project work plan and logic model.

2. Project milestones and capacity dimensions identified in the workplan to assist in asking about Center impacts.

3. Project status (i.e., normal close out, ended early, not implemented, the project is continuing), as interview questions and probes will need to be tailored to the project status.

4. Any project evaluation reports.

Introduction to Interview

• Highlights= summarize (not necessary to read word for word)

• Bold= read word for word

Briefly discuss the purpose of the interview:

Say: This interview is part of a longitudinal study of several Center for States intensive projects. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of the entire lifecycle of such projects and of how various factors influence project progress. The purpose of our conversation is to gather feedback about your experiences with the Center for States services for [insert project name]. Your contribution to the evaluation effort is extremely valuable and will be used to improve future services.

Convey to each interview participant our privacy policy:

(1) the interview is voluntary; (2) you can decline to answer any questions, or you can stop participating in the interview at any time; (3) Data from this interview will be held private by the evaluation team. The Information from today’s interview will be reported and may be shared with the Children’s Bureau and the Capacity Building Collaborative’s 3^rd party evaluator. When reported this information will be aggregated across all states and your name will not be associated with it. In some instances, however, the information you provide about the success and outcomes of the project might be tied to the project itself in our reporting.

Ask permission to tape record the interview:

To ensure we capture the discussion accurately and completely, I would like to obtain your permission to audio record the session. This recording will only be accessed by our evaluation team. If you choose not to have the interview recorded, we take notes. Your name will not be included in any reporting.

Say: Will you allow us to record this interview?

The interviewer asks the notetaker to start the recording.

Say: Thank you, the recording has started. Do you have any questions before we begin? Do we have your consent to participate in the interview?

Interview Questions

Interviewer: ____________________

Note taker: ____________________

Interviewee/State: _________________

Date/Time: ____________________

• Bold= read word for word

• Italics= probes

1. Please describe your role at the agency/regional office/Center for States.  

2. In what ways have you been involved with this project?

Possible probes: participation level, role on the project, etc.

3. What are the overarching goals of this project? How would you describe the progress of this project so far?

[PROMPT if respondent is not sure of project goal]:

1. According to the project workplan, the original desired change or primary goal was [insert Jurisdiction's Desired Changes in Child Welfare Practice from workplan]. To what extent did the project make progress towards achieving this goal(s)?

[PROMPT if project goal described by respondent doesn’t match desired change from workplan]

2. According to the project workplan, the original desired change or primary goal was [insert Jurisdiction's Desired Changes in Child Welfare Practice from workplan]. Based on your response, it sounds as though the original project goal may have changed. Can you tell me more about how the overall project goal evolved?

4. What, if any, outcomes has the project contributed to through this project? Did Center support lead to improvements, in:

1. Agency staff knowledge, awareness, or skills? If so, please provide an example. At what point during the project did you observe these?

2. Agency policy? If so, please provide an example. At what point during the project did you observe these?

3. Agency staff practices? If so, please provide an example At what point during the project did you observe these?

4. Organizational infrastructure (e.g., training systems, staffing, CQI systems)? If so, please provide an example. At what point during the project did you observe these?

5. Outcomes for children and families? If so, please provide an example. At what point during the project did you observe these?

6. Other types of improvements, outcomes, or impacts? If so, please provide an example. At what point during the project did you observe these?

5. How, if at all, does the Center for States contribute to this project’s progress?

Possible prompts: What activities does the Center facilitate that you think contribute to success? What services most directly influence the project’s progress toward achieving expected outcomes?

6. What contextual factors are influencing the project’s progress, and how are they influencing it? (By contextual factors, I mean policies, funding, organizational processes, organizational politics, and staffing issues.)

7. What practice issues are influencing the project’s progress, and how are they influencing it? (By practice issues, I mean how members of your team perform key tasks associated with their work.)

8. What else—if anything—is influencing the project’s progress?

9. Let’s discuss the theory of change associated with this project. [Provide or display the logic model.] To what extent does the theory of change till accurately represent how this project is proceeding? How might you change the theory of change, if at all?

Possible probes: Do you think that the hypotheses in this logic model about the relationships among project components remain accurate? If not, how might you edit them?

10. Are there other comments you would like to provide about your experience with this project? 

Say: Thank you for taking the time to share your perspectives with us!

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