Advancing Best Practices and Cultural Relevance of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs for Indigenous Communities (I-HMRF)

I-HMRF: 2. Non-HM&RF service providers interview protocol

Advancing Best Practices and Cultural Relevance of HM&RF Programs for Indigenous Communities (I-HMRF)

Instrument 2. Non-HM&RF administrators and facilitators: Interview Protocol

What are we hoping to learn from this activity?

Engage administrators, program leaders, facilitators, and/or services providers in programs that have not applied for HM&RF funding, but who work with Indigenous participants to (1) help elucidate promising practices and successes and challenges in serving Indigenous communities and (2) understand the likelihood and/or feasibility of their organizations operating HM&RF services in the future.

Activity assumptions

A semi-structured interview with one service provider.

• Plan for 30-60 minutes

• Token of appreciation ($50 for non HMRF grantees)

Pre-work

The moderator will create a copy of the protocol for each interview that customizes the questions for the invited participant, depending on whether or not they directly provide services (questions flagged for “facilitators”).

Instructions for moderators

You will be conducting an interview. You may need to skip some questions in order to focus on the questions that are most relevant to the participant.

Before you begin the interview, read the verbal consent script below to describe the study to respondents, and ask each participant to respond to the two requests for consent: (1) for participating in the interview and (2) for permission to record the interview. Do not start recording until after the participants consent. Do not record the interview if you do not have the participants’ consent to so. If this happens, be prepared for the notetaker to take detailed notes.

Introduction and consent script

Thank you for taking time to speak with me today. My name is [NAME] and I work for an organization called Mathematica. Mathematica is an organization that is committed to improving public well-being and promoting a more equitable and just world. Today, I’d like to hear from you about your experience providing services to Indigenous participants to better understand what has worked well for you, where you have encountered challenges, and what services might look like in the future. Before we move into the discussion, I would like to share some information about what you can expect and confirm your consent to participate today.

This conversation is to support a project called the Advancing Best Practices and Cultural Relevance of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs for Indigenous Communities project, or what we call I-HMRF. This project is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Your participation in the conversation is completely voluntary, and you may skip any questions you don’t wish to answer or stop at any time. If you participate in the interview, you will receive $50 to thank you for your participation. There are no known risks to joining today’s conversation, and there is no penalty or consequence for deciding not to participate. There are also no right or wrong answers to the questions I will ask; I’d just like to hear your perspectives based on your experience. We will use the information you share with us to write a summary of what we learned, but we will not attribute any of your comments to you in our reports.

We expect this discussion to take about 30-60 minutes. We value the information you will share with us and want to make sure we capture it accurately by recording it. Only the team that is working on the study will have access to the recording and the transcription. We will destroy the recording and the transcription at the end of the study.

Do you have any questions?

You should have received a form today that has all the information I just mentioned about participating in this focus group. If you think of questions after we are done today, you can call the number that’s provided on the form. If you didn’t get a form, just let [PROGRAM] know and they’ll give you one.

Before we can begin, I need to confirm your participation by asking you two questions:

• Do you agree to participate in this interview?

• [If yes] Do we have your permission to record the discussion?

There is a lot we look forward to asking you about, so I may change the subject or move the discussion ahead from time to time, just to keep the conversation moving. Please know that if we do this it is only to make sure we can cover all questions today. But if you feel like after the interview there is more you would like to speak about on a particular topic, please feel free to reach out to us. [IF IN-PERSON: We will provide our contact information on a handout. / IF VIRTUAL: We have attached a contact information handout document to this virtual meeting invitation]. Your thoughts matter to us.

Do you have any questions before we start?

[If permission granted, start recording.]

Now, before we get to the questions, I am going to read a statement required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, which is a law that describes how federal agencies can collect information from the public.

This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to inform future program development related to HMRF Indigenous grantees. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. 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 and expiration date for this collection are OMB #: 0970-0531, Exp: 9/30/2025. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Lauren Tingey; [email protected].

Introductions

Please introduce yourself by sharing your name, your Tribal affiliation or ancestry if applicable, and your role at [PROGRAM] and what that role entails.

Description of current program services

I’d like to dive in by hearing about the services you offer through [PROGRAM].

1. In your own words, what would you say is the goal or mission of [PROGRAM]?

2. What are the key services or support that [PROGRAM] provides, and how do those align with the program’s goals?

   1. Probe: What supports does this program provide for participants?

3. [IF FACILITATOR] What are your goals as a facilitator or service provider?

   1. Probe: What do you hope participants will learn or gain from these services, supports, or activities?

Promising practices, successes, and challenges

Our team is interested in learning what is working well and what is challenging for programs when providing services for Indigenous communities so that we can share these lessons with other programs.

4. When thinking about participant recruitment, what aspects of your current program services are most enticing or interesting to potential Indigenous participants?

1. Probe: Are there any aspects that are not enticing or interesting to potential Indigenous participants? If so, which ones? For instance, aspects that might seem irrelevant or even off-putting.

5. [IF FACILITATOR] Once a participant has been recruited and has engaged with services, are there aspects of your services that you find Indigenous participants are particularly receptive to?

6. How does your program support or encourage participants to attend and/or engage with services?

1. Probe: Are there aspects of the services that you notice make attendance challenging?

7. How have the services you offer helped participants make progress towards their goals?

1. Probe: Is there a success story or anecdote you might share of a time when you noticed this kind of progress or transformation?

8. Are there aspects of the services that are challenging to deliver? What makes them challenging?

1. Probe: Are there aspects of the services that have not been helpful for or relevant to your clients? Please tell me about them.

9. Are there any services that [PROGRAM] doesn’t currently offer that you believe would be beneficial for the people you serve?

1. Probe: What feels like it might be missing from the current list of activities or supports?

2. Probe: What supports would your program need to offer these services?

10. What lessons have you personally learned about providing these services that you think other programs serving Indigenous populations might find helpful, especially ones that are new to serving this population?

7. Probe: What do you wish you had known when you began in this role about how best to approach this work?

Potential for HM&RF

Currently, only two programs in the U.S. are federally funded to provide healthy marriage and/or responsible fatherhood services in Indigenous communities. We are interested in learning more about why more organizations do not apply for this type of funding.

11. Has your program ever explored the possibility of applying for federal funds to offer healthy marriage and/or responsible fatherhood programming?

1. Note: It’s okay if you’re not sure!

12. If so, what made the program decide not to apply?

1. Probe: What challenges prevented you from applying?

13. If not, do you think there would be interest in this community for healthy marriage and/or responsible fatherhood programming?

1. Probe: What features would these services need to include to bring about general interest or uptake?

14. What would encourage or support your program to apply for healthy marriage and/or responsible fatherhood services funding in the future?

Closure

Those are all the questions I have for you today.

15. Any final comments, thoughts, or questions you would like to share before we wrap up?

[IF IN-PERSON: We will provide our contact information on a handout; / IF VIRTUAL: We will share a link in the chat] to provide optional anonymous feedback if you have anything else you would like to share with us after the session.

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Mathematica^® Inc. 3