Formative Study of Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity (FARE) Navigators

Appendix A:
Discussion guide for Navigators, administrators, and partners

Topic Guide for Discussions with Grant Administrators, Partners, and Navigators 

In this appendix, we provide a list of topics we will cover during site visit discussions with FARE grant and partner administrators and navigators. We will tailor the discussion topic guide for particular grantees and respondents, and will build on information we obtain from other study data sources. Not all topics are applicable to all respondents. We likely will not cover all topics with each respondent. This topic guide covers all topics to be asked about during the site visits.

Prior to the discussions, Mathematica will present the following language to each respondent: Public reporting burden for this data collection instrument is estimated to average 60 minutes per response. The burden estimate includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and submitting a discussion. This collection of information is voluntary. You are not required to respond to this collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. Please send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to: Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-4307, Washington, DC 20210; reference OMB control number 1290-0043.

1. Respondent background

1. Name, title, and organization/affiliation

2. Role in the grant program and other organization roles

3. Length of involvement with the grant and organization

4. Training/educational background

5. Percentage of time spent on Navigator grant activities per week

2. Background on FARE program development and grantee interest in selected focal areas

1. Reasons for applying for the grant

2. Availability of employment benefits, regulations, or services before the grant

3. Methods and reasons for selecting the populations of interest

4. Process for designing services to be responsive to participant characteristics, including understanding participants’:

1. Identity and background

2. Education and experience

3. Employment conditions

5. Reasons for selecting program components and focal areas

1. Focal areas: How and why chosen

2. Program components: How and why chosen

3. Focal areas and components considered but not adopted

4. Participant job, workplace setting, and sector conditions that shaped program design

3. Partnerships

1. Reasons for selecting partners

2. Potential partners that were considered but not engaged in grant activities

3. Roles for selected partners

4. Identification and establishment of partnerships

5. Challenges in establishing subgrantee partnerships and strategies to overcome them

6. Coordination of activities with partners

7. Sharing of participant information and other data between grantee and partners

4. Grantee organization and culture

1. Size of organization and years in operation

2. Other services offered by the partner, and organizational focus

1. Geographic coverage

2. Connections to community

3. Populations served

3. Main referral partners (such as social services agencies or workforce boards)

4. History of working with the grantees

5. Motivations for offering FARE services

6. Extent of alignment between the partner’s mission and the grant’s goals

5. Community context

1. Labor market conditions for workers earning low wages, local unemployment levels, and most common industries and occupations

2. Demographics of potential participants

6. Administrative structure and staffing

1. Overall structure of oversight and staffing for FARE

2. Primary roles and responsibilities for supervising and overseeing Navigators

3. Staff experience, skills, and abilities

4. Staff characteristics or activities that support collaboration with grantee

5. Staff turnover

7. Staff and Navigator training and supervision

1. Developing staff training materials

2. Format and setting of training

3. Training content and topic areas

4. Assignment of staff roles and responsibilities

5. Ongoing training, professional development, and supervision

6. Monitoring key data and reports, and ensuring Navigators follow up on issues raised during monitoring

7. Other guidance and support provided to Navigators during the course of grant implementation

8. Program implementation

1. Types of Navigator activities and services provided

1. Outreach

   1. Populations of interest

   2. Outreach strategies, including community-based approaches

   3. Design considerations, including language

   4. Partner involvement

   5. Follow-up with interested women

   6. Enrollment in services following outreach events

2. Dissemination of educational materials

1. Rights and benefits-related challenges faced by population of interest in the grant’s service area

2. Information or educational materials developed

1. Translation or interpretation services

2. Description of how the materials address targeted need

3. Dissemination methods, including use of social media, in-person events, virtual events, and written materials

4. Strategies for effective communication

5. Building trust within the community

3. Activities on rights and benefits

1. Goals of activities on rights and benefits

2. Planned activities to help women access their rights and benefits

3. Efforts to train women to serve as benefits Navigators

1. Identifying women to serve in Navigator roles

2. Training provided to women serving as Navigators

3. Strategies for conducting outreach to other women

4. Efforts to refer women to other services

1. Common referral needs

2. Common referral partners

3. Strategies for making and tracking referrals

5. Considerations for population of interest

1. Whether and how activities and services were tailored for different populations

2. Effectiveness in reaching populations identified by grant application or implementation planning

4. Any other activities or services provided

9. Data collection and participant outcomes

1. How the grantee measures grant success in increasing participants’ understanding of and access to their employment rights and benefits

2. How partners measure success

3. What data are collected and how they are used to measure:

1. Demographic characteristics of populations engaged through outreach

2. Number and types of outreach activities

3. How women found out about services

4. Number of women trained as benefits Navigators

5. Changes to benefits take-up and enrollment

6. Number of violations deterred

7. Other participant outcomes (for example, ability to advocate for benefits and rights)

4. Methods grantees use to gather and synthesize data from subgrantees

1. Initial findings on participant outcomes

10. Successes and challenges or barriers

1. Successes and challenges in starting and implementing the FARE program model

1. Identifying populations of interest

2. Identifying partners to serve the focal communities and establishing agreements

3. Hiring and training staff

4. Implementing outreach and engagement activities

5. Challenges affecting whether women achieve positive outcomes

6. Successes or promising strategies for serving women

7. Successes, challenges, and lessons learned related to data collection and measurement

2. Changes made to implementation model

1. Which changes needed to be made and why

2. Solutions applied to overcome or mitigate implementation challenges

3. Program improvements made to better serve populations of interest

3. Perceptions about effectiveness of the grant activities

1. Component(s) of the FARE model with the perceived biggest impact(s)

2. Key program elements for a successful program model

11. Plans for enhancement, expansion, and continuation of Navigator positions and FARE services

1. Feedback from local communities on how to improve access to the FARE program 

2. Interest in expanding, enhancing, or continuing FARE roles and positions 

3. Factors for determining whether and when expansion or enhancement will occur 

4. Facilitators and barriers to expanding, enhancing, or continuing FARE services