Interview Guide for Families

Instrument 4 -- Interview Guide for Families

Family Interviews

Introduction for:

• Project Connect families Interview

• Services as Usual (SAU) families Interview

Thank you for joining us today. We would like to invite you to participate in an interview that will last about 60 minutes.

[For PC interviews] We are conducting an evaluation of Project Connect, and today we’d like to learn more about your experiences with the program. Specifically, we’d like to learn more about how you became involved with Project Connect and hear about the services you’ve received in the past and/or are currently receiving, among other topics. We will use this information to better understand what it means to be involved with Project Connect.

[For SAU interviews] We are conducting a study of services for families affected by substance use in Rhode Island, and today we’d like to learn more about your experiences with DCYF and relevant services. Specifically, we’d like to learn more about how you became involved with DCYF and hear about the services you’ve received in the past and/or are currently receiving, among other topics. We will use this information to better understand what it means to be involved with services through DCYF.

Before we begin, let’s review the informed consent document (review informed consent). As noted in the consent form, your participation in this interview is voluntary. You can choose not to answer any question or not participate in the interview at all. There will be no consequences to you if you choose not to participate. We will keep the information you provide private and will not share it with anyone except for research staff working on the study. Additionally, federal law states that 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 data collection is 0970-0XXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX.

Background

Introduction

1. Can you tell me about your family and who currently lives with you?

Project Connect ONLY

2. How long have you participated in Project Connect?

Experience with DCYF and DCYF Staff

3. We know families get involved or come into contact with DCYF for a lot of different reasons. Can you briefly tell me how you first came into contact with DCYF?

4. Overall, how would you describe your interactions with DCYF staff?

5. How often do you meet with your FSU caseworker? [virtual vs. face to face]

6. What happens in a typical meeting? What do you do? What does the worker do? What do you talk about? Can you describe what these meetings are like?

Services Currently Enrolled in

Project Connect ONLY

Project Connect Staff and Experiences

7. How did you first learn about Project Connect?

8. Overall, what’s it like working with Project Connect staff? What is your relationship with them like?

9. Who have you worked with from the Project Connect team?

   1. PROBE: on any work with the nurse/parent educator/home visitation worker- If yes, ask about when, for how long, and how it went

10. How do you typically communicate with Project Connect staff?

    1. PROBE: In person, phone, video, email, text?

11. Have you noticed any changes in your relationship with your child/children since working with Project Connect?

    1. PROBE: If so, what has changed? What do you attribute that change to – what do you think caused the change?

12. What additional help could staff or the program provide?

    1. PROBE: What might staff or the program do differently?

13. What does success in Project Connect look like? What would make you feel successful?

14. Do you think Project Connect offers services and supports that are sensitive to you as a person and respect/acknowledge your culture? Your racial or ethnic identity? Gender, etc.?

15. If you had to explain Project Connect and what to expect to a family in a similar situation as yours, what would you say?

SAU ONLY

SAU Staff and Experiences

Next I’d like you to think about the program you’re currently enrolled in ,[Services as Usual program name], specifically. We’ve learned about several programs and services in Rhode Island and we’re interested in what you may know about them, and any you’ve participated in or considered participating in. Let’s start with the program you’re currently in, [name of program].

[Focus on the program the parent participated in most recently or for the longest period of time. If at the end of this line of questioning there’s another program the parent participated in recently, repeat this line of question about that program].

16. How did you first learn about [SAU]?

17. If you had to explain [SAU] and what to expect to a family in a similar situation as yours, what would you say?

18. Overall, what’s it like working with [SAU] staff? What is your relationship with them like?

19. How do you typically communicate with [SAU] staff?

    1. PROBE: In person, phone, video, email, text?

20. Have you noticed any changes in your relationship with your child/children since working with [SAU]?

    1. PROBE: If so, what has changed? What do you attribute that change to – what do you think caused the change?

21. What additional help could staff or the program provide?

    1. PROBE: What might staff or the program do differently?

22. What does success in [SAU] look like? What would make you feel successful?

Service History

Next, we want to understand the types of services and supports available to families involved with DCYF. We’re especially interested in any you have had experience with.

I’m going to go through a list of possible types of help some people receive. You may not have needed some of these types of help, but I need to ask about each type. For each type of help you received, please tell me who provided it and whether you found it helpful.

[Interviewer: if yes to any of the below services ask the following follow up questions]:

• Who provided this or referred you?

• Did you accept the help?

• Did you find it helpful?

23. Did anyone provide or were you referred to someone to help you:

    1. Further your education or get a job? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    2. With a domestic violence or intimate partner violence situation? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    3. Find housing? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

       1. Find a residential drug or alcohol use treatment facility? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    4. Access health care, medication, counseling, recovery services or harm reduction services for drug or alcohol use? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    5. Counseling or other mental health services for yourself, your family, (IF CHILDREN IN THE HOME, or your child) to help deal with mental health, behavioral, or emotional problems? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    6. Classes to help you learn new parenting skills? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    7. Someone, perhaps a nurse, who came to your home regularly to provide you information about children’s health and development and help you learn new parenting skills? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    8. Help getting public benefits such as SNAP, welfare, SSI, WIC, or Medicaid [If yes, ask follow up questions]

       1. Which benefits are you receiving?

    9. Help getting child care? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    10. Help with legal issues around your children such as custody or visitation? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

        1. Were you offered legal representation in your involvement with DCYF? [probe for if they have an attorney who represents them in their dealings with DCYF and the family/dependency court, and if so, was that attorney provided to them or did they hire the attorney?]

    11. Help with other legal issues such as a recent arrest or clearing up your record from past arrests for the sake of getting a job or for another reason? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    12. Help with past credit problems such as overdue credit card bills or other debts you owe? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    13. Classes or counseling about budgeting or money management? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    14. Help with finding a job or job training? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

    15. Is there any other type of help you’ve gotten that I haven’t asked you about? [If yes, ask follow up questions]

Motivation and Engagement Overall

Project Connect ONLY

24. Thinking about the challenges you’ve faced and are currently facing, is there anything that Project Connect can do to make it easier for you to participate?

25. What do you want programs and services that work with families like yours to know?