G-1608-001 NEW_Implementation Evaluation 2_Grant Recipient Staff Virtual Interviews 30 Day 07052024

Implementation Evaluation: Virtual Interviews with Grant Recipient Staff

Introduction

The purpose of this interview is to learn more about the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Citizenship and Integration Grant Program (CIGP): [Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services (CINAS), the Refugee and Asylee Assimilation Program (RAAP), and the Refugee and Asylee Immigration Services (RAIS)]. Our records indicate that your organization received a [CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS] grant. Your site is included in this program evaluation. We will ask you questions about your experiences for grants awarded in fiscal years (FY) 2018 to 2021. For consistency of data collection, please focus on the experiences during those grant periods only, even if you participated before or are currently a CIGP grant recipient. Your participation is voluntary, and your responses will have no impact on any pending immigration requests you or your family may have submitted. We would appreciate your thoughtful and candid responses. USCIS and Optimal Solutions Group, LLC, will maintain the confidentiality of your responses, as applicable by law. No individual or organization responses will be identified in the final report.

The Office of Management and Budget Control authorized this survey under OMB Survey control number 1615-NEW, which expires [MM-DD-YYYY]. For more details on OMB authorization, please visit the following website.

DHS Privacy Notice

AUTHORITIES: USCIS is collecting the information requested on this survey, and the associated evidence, under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sections 8 U.S.C. § 1443(h) (section 332(h)), Section 538 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016 (Pub. L. No. 114-113), Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (‘Evidence Act’), (Pub. L. No. 115-435, 132 Stat.5529), Program Management Improvement Accountability Act of 2016 (PMIAA), (Pub. L. No. 114-264, 130 Stat. 1371), Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), (Pub. L. No. 103-62, 107 Stat. 285), and Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), (Pub. L. No. 111-352, 124 Stat. 3866).

PURPOSE: The primary purpose for providing the requested information on this survey is to assess the degree to which USCIS programs are meeting their overall goal of integrating immigrants and refugees into American society. The study encompasses data collection of program participants (refugees and lawful permanent residents who enrolled in a program offered by one of the grantees between FY 2018 and FY 2021).

ROUTINE USES: DHS may, where allowable under relevant confidentiality provisions, share the information you provide on this survey and any additional requested evidence with other Federal, state, local, and foreign government agencies and authorized organizations. DHS follows approved routine uses described in the associated published system of records notices [DHS/ALL-002 DHS Mailing and Other Lists System and DHS/USCIS/ICE/CBP-001 - Alien File, Index, and National File Tracking System] and the published privacy impact assessments [DHS/USCIS/PIA-056 USCIS Electronic Immigration System, DHS/USCIS/PIA-066 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, DHS/ALL/PIA-069 DHS Surveys, Interviews, and Focus Groups, and DHS/USCIS/PIA-089 USCIS Outreach and Engagement Program ] which you can find at www.dhs.gov/privacy. DHS may also share this information, as appropriate, for law enforcement purposes or in the interest of national security.

DISCLOSURE: The information you provide is voluntary. However, failure to provide the requested information, and any requested evidence, may prevent USCIS from determining whether its programs are effective in integrating immigrants and refugees into American society.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

An agency may not conduct or sponsor an information collection and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, completing, and submitting the form.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Evaluation Branch, 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Mail Stop # 2130, Camp Springs, MD 20588-0009. OMB No. 1615-NEW.  Do not return the completed form to this address.

Interview Questions:

1. How did CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS grant funds increase the overall capacity to serve your organization's participant base? [Probe: What new activities was your organization able to provide as a result of the CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS grant?]

2. As a result of the CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS grant, what changes did your organization experience in:

   1. staffing: _________________________________

   2. budgeting: _______________________________

   3. technology:_____________________________

   4. new or strengthened partnerships:_____________________________

   5. other organizational factors:_______________________

3. How did your organization decide upon your internal goals related to the CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS program?

   1. How successful do you feel that your program was in meeting internal goals?

   2. [How do you know that you are making progress towards these goals?]

4. Thinking about what might be useful for other CINAS, RAAP, or RAIS programs, what were some of the key components of your program that you would consider “best practices” for promoting participant success? [Encourage the respondent to come up with at least three.]

5. Based on your experience, what have been some of the key barriers or difficulties [insert levels] ______________ to program implementation? How did you address these challenges?

Type of Barrier [probe each]	Barrier description	Mitigation strategy
Participant-level
Organization level
Community/societal-level
Policy level
Other barriers, please specify

6. In what ways did the program implementation and practice change over the period of the grant? [Probe: (If respondent described changes to program implementation) What was the effect of these changes?]

7. Did you tailor program activities to make them more appropriate and effective for specific immigrant groups and communities? How?

8. Please tell me about your outreach strategy to reach individuals in need of your services.

9. What types of outreach activities have been effective in recruiting your intended groups? First, let’s consider types of outreach activities.

Outreach Activities	How effective were:
Informational sessions conducted by [THIS ORGANIZATION]
Other in-person events or meetings in the community
Virtual events
Word of mouth (via friends, family, etc.)
Websites (including blogs, forums)
Emails (including e-newsletters)
Print media (including flyers, posters, newspapers, magazines, or newsletters)
Phone (including calls, text messages)
Social media (including apps)
Radio
TV
Multilingual outreach activities
Other activities, please specify _____________

Finally, how effective were outreach activities at these locations?

Locations	How effective were:
Schools (including public/private school, community college, university)
Library
Community-based organizations
Faith-based places of worship
Local businesses
Social service agencies
Health, medical centers, or clinics
Other locations, please specify _____________

10. Thinking about participants who drop out or stop receiving services, what are some of the reasons why?

    1. What are your mitigation strategies or activities to prevent dropout?

11. What support and/or communication did USCIS provide? Are there additional support, assistance, or resources that you would recommend for future grant recipients?

12. What are your plans and strategies for future participation in the CIGP grant program, currently called the Community and Regional Integration Network Grant (CARING) grant program? Do you expect to change the scope or intensity of participation?

13. Lastly, how could this program be improved. What would you change to improve the program?

14. Is there anything else you want to tell me about the program?

Thank you for your time and input.