Appendix A: Instructions for the Descriptive Evaluation Final Report Template for HMRF Grant Recipients

Instructions for the Descriptive Evaluation Final Report Template

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Grant Recipients

December 2024

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this collection is ##-#; this number is valid through [DATE]. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 hours, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, reviewing the collection of information, and revising it. This collection of information is voluntary for individuals, but the information is required from HMRF grant recipients to retain a benefit (Authority: 42 U.S.C. 603[a][2]).

Contents

Purpose of this document 1

How to submit the report 2

Instructions for completing the descriptive report template 3

X. Cover Page and Front Matter 3

XX. Structured Abstract 3

I. Introduction 4

II. Description of the intended program 4

A. Focal population 4

B. Program as intended 4

III. Research questions 5

A. Outcomes study 5

B. Implementation study research questions 6

IV. Design of the outcomes study 7

A. Data sources and data collection 7

B. Evaluation enrollment or sample 7

C. Measures 8

D. Analysis approach 10

E. Sample attrition 10

V. Design of the implementation study 12

A. Data sources and data collection 12

B. Evaluation enrollment and sample 14

C. Measures 14

D. Analysis approach 15

VI. Findings 16

VII. Discussion and conclusion 17

A. Implications 17

B. Equity considerations 17

C. Limitations and future directions 17

D. Other lessons learned 18

VIII. References 18

IX. Appendices 18

Purpose of this document

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) requires all Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grant recipients with local descriptive evaluations funded by OFA to submit a final report on their evaluations. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on structuring your final report so it is comprehensive and accessible. Many of the report sections draw directly from the descriptive analysis plan (healthy marriage and relationship education [HMRE] evaluations) or the updated evaluation plan (Responsible Fatherhood [RF] evaluations). This document refers to these materials as “plans.” The instructions give the relevant sections in the plans whenever possible. You can simplify your report writing by using and updating text from your plan.

These instructions are in the form of an annotated outline that provides guidance for writing each section of the final report by following the report template (provided in a separate file). The outline describes (1) the purpose of the section and the information you should discuss; (2) things to keep in mind when writing the section; (3) documents (like the plans) you might use to help you write the section; and (4) whether to include tables or figures and where to find shells for them.

You can write the report directly in the separate template (HMRF Descriptive Report Template.docx), which will make it easier for ACF and your evaluation technical assistance partner (ETAP) to review and will help ensure each report meets the accessibility requirements.¹ See the box below for tips on making your report meet Section 508 compliance standards. The template outlines the report and gives you space to fill in each section. There are table shells in the template that we recommend you use and paste in as you write the report. Using these shells will help you complete the report faster and give readers key details that will help them understand your findings.

Tips for creating Section 508 accessible documents

Accessibility, or 508 compliance, means that a person with a disability can successfully navigate to and understand the information in a document. To reduce barriers for people with disabilities in accessing your report, please consider the following tips:

• Headings: Please use the template provided and the built-in style elements to create headings.

• Alternative (alt) Text: Alt text is read aloud to the person accessing the document by a screen reader. Alt text is required for any graphic (including images, charts, equations, and diagrams) to clearly describe an included image and should include any text that is part of the graphic. If the graphic is sufficiently described in the body of the text, then the chart title as alt text would be sufficient.

• Tables: Please use the table shells provided as these have been created to meet accessibility standards. Please do not merge cells and avoid blank cells. Each table header should be repeated at the top of each subsequent page. Please don’t allow rows to split across pages.

• Color contrast: Use dark text colors on light backgrounds (or vice versa) to provide sufficient contrast. Do not use colors as the only way to convey important information or content.

For more information and tips, please review ACF’s tip sheet on 508 compliance²

Here are some additional recommendations for your final descriptive report:

1. Organize the final report so it is approximately 30 to 40 double-spaced pages or 15 to 20 single-spaced pages, not counting the tables, figures, references, and appendices. Appendices should be used for additional tables and technical details, as explained at the end of this outline.

2. The report should be written for all audiences. Write as if the audience knows nothing about the intervention or the evaluation. The report should give enough details for the reader to understand the intervention and its evaluation, and it should be free of project- or intervention-specific jargon and abbreviations.

3. Reach out to your ETAP with questions about the report guidance or your approach as you begin to work on your report. Your ETAP is available and eager to address your questions quickly. Getting questions resolved early in the process will simplify the review process at the end of the grant period.

4. Do not use causal language because the findings in this descriptive report are not evidence of a causal relationship between the intervention (or program) and the outcomes. For example, please do not make statements such as, “The intervention led to/increased/decreased an outcome.” Instead, use descriptive language such as, “The intervention is associated with an increase/decrease in [outcome]” or “Participants who received the intervention experienced an increase in [outcome].”

5. Visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/healthy-marriage-responsible-fatherhood/data-reports for examples of final reports produced for the 2015 cohort of HMRF grant recipients.

How to submit the report

1. Please submit a draft report that you believe is ready for review by your ETAP and family assistance program specialist (FPS) by March 31, 2025. Please use this naming convention when naming your file and submitting your report: [Grant recipient name] [Grant Project type, i.e. FF/FW/R4L] Descriptive Evaluation Final Report.docx. Send the final report as a Word document, not a PDF.

2. Your FPS and ETAP will review the final report, provide comments and suggested edits, and return it to you for revisions. Ideally, at least a few other reviewers will have read and edited it before you submit it; this should minimize the number of editorial comments your FPS and ETAP will need to provide. Their goal is to focus on content and technical details rather than presentation.

3. Email your final report, with the requested revisions addressed, to your FPS and ETAP whenever it is ready, but no later than August 29, 2025. Your FPS and ETAP will conduct final reviews of the report, and your FPS will send you their final approval by the end of the award period in September 2025.

Instructions for completing the descriptive report template

X. Cover Page and Front Matter

The cover page should include the title of the report, grant recipient name, date, all authors, and author affiliation(s).

On page iii, provide the recommended citation for your report, list any acknowledgements, and disclose any conflicts of interest—financial or otherwise. For an example of how to identify a conflict of interest, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Please note: if the evaluation team is not completely independent from the intervention team (that is, if they are not different organizations with completely separate leadership and oversight), this is a conflict of interest that must be documented.

Finally, include the attribution to ACF:

This publication was prepared under Grant Number [Insert Grant Number] from the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies of HHS, ACF, or OFA.

XX. Structured Abstract

Purpose	Provide a brief, structured high-level summary of the final report.
Instructions	In no more than 350 words, summarize: Objective of the intervention and descriptive study Study design Main result(s) Key conclusions Summarize the study design by briefly describing the non-experimental approach you used, the number of sites that participated in the study, the size of the final analytic sample (that is, the sample that the outcome analyses are based on), and the timing of the follow-up survey relative to the baseline survey. The summary of the main results should include only findings from the primary outcome analyses and not from the implementation or secondary analyses, unless these findings are essential for drawing the key conclusion(s).
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Updated evaluation plan
Tables or figures	None

I. Introduction

This section describes the goals of the study and the motivation behind it, and gives a high-level overview of the research.

Purpose	Orient the reader to the study.
Instructions	In one to two pages: Explain the motivation for this intervention and why education on responsible fatherhood or marriage and relationships is important for the local community under study. Briefly describe the program you studied. Explain the motivation for conducting this descriptive evaluation. List the primary research questions that are guiding the study. Briefly summarize how this current study compares to earlier research and adds to the knowledge base about these kinds of interventions. (You will add details on the intervention later.) Tip: This section should be a brief overview of the study and not intended to be a full, comprehensive literature review. Other sections of the report will provide details on the intervention, sample, methods, and findings in the study. The reader should understand why the intervention focused on the population under study and the motivation for selecting that intervention.
Documents to reference	All grant recipients: Grant application and evaluation plan HMRE evaluations: Descriptive analysis plans RF evaluations: Updated evaluation plan
Tables or figures	None

II. Description of the intended program

1. Focal population

   Purpose	Describe the focal population being studied.
   Instructions	This section should describe the focal population the program was intended to serve.
   Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Section A of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Sections 1, 1.2, and 9 of your evaluation plan
   Tables or figures	None

2. Program as intended

Purpose

Summarize the program being studied.

Instructions

Describe how the program was intended to be implemented (that is, the services the intervention participants were supposed to receive). You can draw from the description in your plans. When describing the program, discuss its components, content, and intended implementation—including the location or setting, duration, dosage, and supplementary components—and staffing (including the education and training of staff).

Please note that in Section D, you will discuss the services participants actually received in this study. Here, you talk about what they were supposed to receive.

Documents to reference

HMRE evaluations: Section A of your descriptive analysis plan

RF evaluations: Section 1.2 of your evaluation plan

Tables or figures

Tables II.1 and II.2 in the template are a helpful way to summarize program components in a table. Further instructions are in Box 1.

Box 1. Instructions for completing Tables II.1 and II.2

• Summarizing intervention information in a table may improve readability. You might include, for example, rows for the focus population, intervention components, intervention content, and planned mode of delivery.

• In Table II.1, describe the intended intervention components, including the curriculum and content, dosage and schedule, delivery mode, and focal population.

• For HMRE evaluations, Tables II.1 and II.2 are the same tables you completed for your analysis plan with some new fields added.

• Examples of how to fill out the tables are in italics:

  Component	Content	Dosage and schedule	Delivery	Focal population
  Relationship skills workshops	Healthy relationships curriculum: understanding partner’s perspectives; avoiding destructive conflict; and communicating effectively	20 hours, with two-hour sessions twice a week or four-hour sessions every Saturday	Group lessons provided at the program’s facilities by two trained facilitators in every session	Married couples with low income
  Fatherhood workshops	Skills-based fatherhood curriculum to promote healthy parent, co-parent, and partner relationships	Eight two-hour sessions over five weeks	Group lessons provided at the intervention’s facilities by two trained facilitators.	Urban fathers age 18 or older with children up to age 24

• In Table II.2, provide information about staff training and development to support the intervention components. Examples of how to fill out the tables are in italics.

  Component	Education and initial training	Ongoing training
  Relationship skills workshops	Facilitators are any gender, hold at least a bachelor’s degree, and received four days of initial training.	Facilitators receive a half-day of semiannual refresher training in the intervention’s curricula from study staff.
  Fatherhood workshops	Facilitators are male, hold at least a bachelor’s degree, and received three days of initial training.	Facilitators receive intermittent professional development.

• Note: If you created a graphical representation of your logic model in your evaluation or the descriptive analysis plan, you may include it here; or include it in the appendix and briefly mention it here.

III. Research questions

1. Outcomes study

   Purpose	Clearly describe the study’s research questions and evaluation goals.
   Instructions	List the research questions for the outcome study as specified in your plans. If applicable, add secondary research questions. Remember, primary research question(s) should focus on how participating in the intervention is associated with HMRF-related outcomes, whereas secondary research questions may examine other non-primary outcomes or be exploratory analyses.
   Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Descriptive evaluation plan and Sections B.1 and C.1 of the analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 1.1 of the evaluation plan
   Tables or figures	None

2. Implementation study research questions

Purpose	Provide a clear description of the study’s implementation research questions, as applicable.
Instructions	List your research questions for the implementation study.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Descriptive evaluation plan and Sections B.1 and C.1 and Table 5 of your analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 1.1 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	None

IV. Design of the outcomes study

Briefly introduce the outcomes study and provide an overview of this section, saying you will describe (1) how you constructed the analytic sample you used for the analysis, (2) the measures, and (3) the characteristics of the analytic sample. Conclude by summarizing the structure of this section (that is, give a road map).

1. Data sources and data collection

   Purpose

   Document the data sources and data collection methods that you used to conduct the outcomes study.

   Instructions

   Describe how you collected data on outcomes of interest and key explanatory variables. Include sources, timing, mode of administration, and overall process. You can include copies of your data collection instruments in Appendix A.

   Documents to reference

   HMRE evaluations: Section B.3 of your descriptive analysis plan

   RF evaluations: Section 10.3 of the evaluation plan.

   Tables or figures

   If you collected data from a variety of sources, a table can help organize what you present in this section, as shown in the instructions in Box 2 for completing Table IV.1.

   Box 2. Instructions for completing Table IV.1

   • HMRE evaluations can refer to Table 3 in your descriptive analysis plan to fill in this table. RF evaluations can refer to Section 10.3 of your evaluation plan.

   • Include one row per data source. An example of how to fill out the table is in italics below:

   Data source	Timing of data collection	Mode of data collection	Start and end date of data collection
   Intervention participants	At the first workshop (one month after enrollment)	In-person online survey	September 2020 through March 2024

   

2. Evaluation enrollment or sample

Purpose	Clearly describe the study’s sample, as applicable.
Instructions	Describe how members of the focal population became part of the outcomes study, including the eligibility criteria, purposeful sampling, and consent process for study enrollment. Include descriptive statistics (demographic characteristics and other key details) on the analytic sample and indicate which variables were used as covariates in the analysis. You might need to describe the different samples you used for different research questions (if applicable).
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Sections B.2 and C.2 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Sections 9.1 and 10.2 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	We recommend using Table IV.2 in the template to summarize participant characteristics. Instructions are in Box 3.

Box 3. Instructions for completing Table IV.2

• The purpose of this table is to clearly summarize the characteristics of participants (such as age, sex, race or ethnicity, etc.) in the outcomes study at baseline.

• Add or revise rows to include key characteristics such as income, marital status, education level, number of children, or other characteristics relevant to your focal population. Indicate which characteristics you used as covariates in the analysis.

• Please add columns as appropriate. For example, if your research questions explored differences between two subgroups, include a column for each subgroup and a Total column that includes the full sample.

Characteristic	Average at baseline
Age	35
Number of children	2.5
Relationship status (%)
Married or partnered	40%
Single	60%
Sample size	350

3. Measures

Purpose	Describe how you used various data elements to construct the outcome measures.
Instructions	Describe the outcomes you examined for each research question, and briefly explain how you constructed each outcome measure. Summarize the outcome measures in a table that maps each measure to each research question (see example Table IV.3 in Box 4). If you constructed a measure from multiple items, please document the source items and explain how you combined them to create an outcome that you analyzed. In the “Outcome measure” column, please give the name you will use for the outcome throughout the report. Discuss how you developed qualitative measures, including coding, reliability, and so on.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Descriptive evaluation plan and Sections B.1 and C.1 of the analysis plan RF evaluations: Sections 10.1 and 14 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	Table IV.3 can help you summarize the measures and constructs corresponding to each research question.

Box 4. Instructions for completing Table IV.3

• The purpose of this table is to list (1) the outcome measures you used to answer the research questions for the outcomes study, (2) the sources for the measures, and (3) the timing of the measures.

• Include one row per outcome. If applicable, include the question from the survey and/or source of the validated measure.

• HMRE evaluations can refer to Table 4 in your descriptive analysis plan to fill in this table. RF Evaluations can refer to Section 10.1 of your evaluation plan.

• Examples of how to fill out the table are in italics.

Research question	Outcome name	Description of the outcome measure	Source of the measure	Timing of measure
[Insert]	Marital status	The outcome measure is a yes/no response taken directly from the question in the survey, “Are you currently married?”	nFORM exit survey	A post-test (immediately after the intervention ends)
[Insert]	Level of affection	The outcome measure is a scale (value range 1 to 5) calculated from both partners’ responses as the average of five survey items measuring support, intimacy, commitment, trust, and friendship. Cronbach’s alpha: [enter number]	Local follow-up survey	Three months after the intervention ends
[Insert]	Parenting attitudes	The outcome measure is constructed from seven items that examine the frequency of key attitudes (categories on a five-point scale)	nFORM entrance survey, local follow-up survey	At baseline and one-year follow-up

4. Analysis approach

   Purpose	Describe the method(s) used to analyze findings and, if applicable, provide context for the study findings.
   Instructions	The discussion of quantitative methods should summarize the following: The model specification, including any covariates you included. Note whether covariates differed across the models you used to answer research questions. It might help to refer to Table D.1 (characteristics of participants in the outcomes study at baseline). Criteria used to assess statistical significance. If applicable, information on sample weights and other items related to the study design. The discussion of qualitative methods should describe the qualitative approach you used to interpret data, including a high-level description of the process you used to synthesize themes and interpretations. (Specific technical details of the coding process should be included in Appendix C.)
   Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Section B.5 and Section C.4 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 14 of the evaluation plan
   Tables or figures	None

5. Sample attrition

Purpose	Clearly describe the study’s attrition and the sample for each research question as applicable.
Instructions	Clearly state how many program participants (for example, individuals or couples) were in your analytic sample for each research question, and how you created the analytic sample. How did you define the sample? What data were required for an individual to be part of the sample? How did you handle missing baseline data? Discuss the approaches you used to minimize sample attrition. Describe why any attrition occurred. Document the overall attrition rate from the baseline sample (the sample of study participants who completed the baseline data collection) through the final analytic sample used to conduct the outcomes study.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Sections B.2 and C.2 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 14 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	Table IV.4 in the template may help you summarize sample attrition.

Box 5. Instructions for completing Table IV.4

• The purpose of this table is to clearly present the sample sizes and response rates for each outcome.

• Summarize the number of individuals (and couples, if applicable) who were part of the outcome study in the analytic sample. If your study did not have couples, delete the last column.

• Italicized text highlights how to calculate total sample sizes and response rates given other information in the table. Italicized text in the first column also provides guidance. Please clearly indicate the timing of follow-up surveys relative to the administration of the baseline survey.

• Please add rows or columns as appropriate. For example, if you had two follow-up surveys, include a row for “Completed post-program survey (timing)” and “Completed follow-up survey (timing).”

• For the row “Completed post-program survey” and, if applicable, the corresponding rows for other follow-ups, you may have different sample sizes for two outcomes of interest because of different rates of missing data for the outcomes. If this is the case, please add a row for each outcome in each time period, as needed (shown in the example below). In a table note, say which outcome the sample sizes apply to.

• The following table shows what this could look like.

Number of individuals	Number of individuals	Number of couples (if applicable)
Enrolled in the program	1a
Completed a baseline survey	1b
Completed post-program survey	1c
Response rate (%)	1d = 1c/1a
Included in the analytic sample for Outcome A (accounts for item nonresponse and any other analysis restrictions)	1e
Attrition rate (%)	1f = 1e/1a*
Included in the analytic sample for Outcome B (accounts for item nonresponse and any other analysis restrictions)	1g
Attrition rate (%)	1h = 1g/1a*
Completed [another follow-up] survey	1i
Response rate (%)	1j = 1i/1a
Included in the [time period] follow-up analytic sample for Outcome A (accounts for item nonresponse and any other analysis restrictions)	1k
Attrition rate (%)	1l = 1k/1a*
Included in the [time period] follow-up analytic sample for Outcome B (accounts for item nonresponse and any other analysis restrictions)	1m
Attrition rate (%)	1n = 1m/1a*
Final analytic sample	1o
Overall attrition rate (%)	1p = 1o/1a

* This denominator may differ—for example, if only a subsample of enrolled participants are relevant to a given outcome.

• In the last row of the table, include the overall attrition rate (depending on your study, this could be from baseline to follow-up or enrollment to follow-up). The last row of sample sizes should be your final analytic sample and match the sample size in Table IV.1.

V. Design of the implementation study

Briefly introduce the implementation (or process) study and give an overview of this section, saying you will describe (1) how you constructed the analytic sample you used for the analysis, (2) the measures, and (3) the characteristics of the analytic sample. Conclude by summarizing the structure of this section (that is, a road map).

1. Data sources and data collection

Purpose

Document the data sources and data collection methods you used to conduct the implementation study.

Instructions

Describe the data you collected in response to research questions in the implementation study. Discuss the data sources for each aspect of the implementation you examined. What data were collected? Who was responsible for collecting the data?

Documents to reference

HMRE evaluations: Section C.3 of your descriptive analysis plan

RF evaluations: Section 10.3 of the evaluation plan

Tables or figures

Table V.1 can help you describe the data used in the implementation study.

Box 6. Instructions for completing Table V.1

• The purpose of this table is to describe the data used to address research questions in the implementation study.

• HMRE evaluations can refer to Table 6 in your descriptive analysis plan to fill in this table. RF evaluations can refer to Section 10.3 of the evaluation plan.

• Examples of how to fill in the cells are in the table below in italics. Include one row per research question.

Implementation element	Research question	Data source	Timing and frequency of data collection	Party responsible for collecting data
Fidelity	Were all intended intervention components offered for the expected duration?	Workshop sessions in nFORM	All sessions delivered	Intervention staff
Dosage	How often did clients participate in the intervention on average?	Workshop sessions and individual service contacts in nFORM; attendance logs	All sessions delivered	Intervention staff
Quality	What was the quality of staff–participant interactions?	Observations of interaction quality, using protocol developed by study staff	X percent of sessions selected at random for observation	Study staff
Engagement	How engaged were clients in the intervention?	Observations of engagement, possibly using an engagement assessment tool; ratings from facilitator fidelity logs; engagement ratings from participant satisfaction surveys	Y percent of sessions selected at random for observation	Study staff
Context	What other HM/RF programming was available to study participants?	Interviews with staff from partnering agencies in the community; survey items on baseline and follow-up assessments; websites of other agencies in the community providing HM/RF programming	Once a year; ad hoc	Study staff

2. Evaluation enrollment and sample

Purpose	Provide a clear description of the study’s sample, as applicable.
Instructions	Describe how members of the focal population became part of the implementation study, including the eligibility criteria, purposeful sampling, and consent process for study enrollment. Include descriptive statistics (demographic characteristics and other key details) of the analytic sample. You might need to describe the different samples you used for different research questions (if applicable). Describe whether and how sample formation for the implementation study differed from how the sample was formed in the outcomes study.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Section B.3 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 9.1 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	Use Table V.2.

Box 7. Instructions for completing Table V.2

• The purpose of this table is to summarize the characteristics of participants (such as age, sex, race or ethnicity, and any others) in the implementation study.

• Add columns for different samples in the implementation study; for example, one column could list characteristics of focus group participants, and another column could list characteristics of individuals responding to feedback surveys.

• Add or revise rows to include key characteristics such as income, marital status, education level, number of children, or others relevant to your focal population.

• Please refer to instructions for completing Table IV.1 for an example.

3. Measures

Purpose	Describe how you used various data elements to construct the outcome measures.
Instructions	Describe how you constructed each measure. A table may help you show the link between measures and research questions. Discuss how you developed any qualitative measures, including coding, reliability, and so on.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Section C.4 and Table 7 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Sections 10.1 and 14 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	Table V.3 may help you summarize the measures and constructs corresponding to each research question.

Box 8. Instructions for completing Table V.3

• Include one row per research question. Examples of how to fill the cells are in the upcoming table in italics.

• HMRE evaluations can refer to Table 7 in your descriptive analysis plan to fill in this table. RF evaluations can refer to Sections 10.1 and 14 of your evaluation plan.

Implementation element	Research question	Measures
Fidelity	Were all intended intervention components offered and for the expected duration?	Total number of sessions delivered Average session duration, calculated as the average of the recorded session lengths (in minutes)
Dosage	How often did clients participate in the intervention on average?	Average number (or percentage) of sessions clients attended Percentage of the sample attending the required or recommended proportion of sessions Percentage of the sample that did not attend any sessions
Quality	What was the quality of staff–participant interactions?	Percentage of sessions with high quality interactions, calculated as the percentage of observed interactions that study staff scored as “high quality”
Engagement	How engaged were clients in the intervention?	Percentage of sessions with moderate participant engagement, calculated as the percentage of sessions in which study staff scored participants’ engagement as “moderately engaged” or higher Average engagement rating, calculated as the average of engagement scale scores (ranging from 1–5, for example) across satisfaction surveys
Context	What other HM/RF programming was available to study participants?	Percentage of the sample receiving HM/RF programming from other providers, constructed from clients’ survey data on experiences outside of the current intervention List of HM/RF programming available to study participants outside of the current intervention, as described on the websites of other agencies in the community

4. Analysis approach

Purpose	Describe the method(s) used to analyze findings and, if applicable, provide context for the study findings.
Instructions	This section should briefly describe the methods you used to analyze the implementation data. In addition to describing the analysis method you used, discuss how you compared any findings of the implementation study to those in the outcome study. For example, explain whether you conducted a correlational analysis of the association between implementation variables and outcome measures, or conducted a pre-post analysis that compared indicators at baseline and follow-up.
Documents to reference	HMRE evaluations: Section C.4 of your descriptive analysis plan RF evaluations: Section 14 of the evaluation plan
Tables or figures	None

VI. Findings

Purpose	Present the results for both the implementation and outcome studies.
Instructions	This section is divided into subsections organized by research question. We recommend presenting outcomes findings first, followed by implementation findings. Note that if two research questions are closely related, you may consider addressing those questions together; grant recipients may also consider other ways of organizing findings, as it makes sense for individual evaluations. Outcome findings First, in an introductory paragraph, briefly summarize the key findings from the outcome study. Next, describe the findings for each research question. Focus on factual description of findings, and save broader discussion of implications and policy recommendations for Section VII. For each research question, state the key finding(s) at the top of each subsection, as shown in the report template. For each research question, present the results in a table(s) (for example, use Tables VI.1 and VI.2), then describe the findings in the text. You can structure the table and discussion as you see fit. Make sure each finding aligns with a given research question. Briefly elaborate on the findings and patterns of findings in this section. Tip: Please present the findings in a way (for example, percentage point difference) that is easy for readers to interpret. For example, if the method was logistic regression, do not present odds ratios in the body of the report; instead, transform them into something that will make sense to a lay reader, such as a probability of the outcome. As an optional step, present findings on key research questions from the outcome study by subgroups of your focal population. This will allow readers to understand differences in outcomes across groups served in the program. There will be an opportunity to discuss equity considerations, such as if and why the program may have worked better for some subgroups than others, in the discussion section. As subgroups may be small, please be sure to note that findings by subgroup are exploratory, and use the discussion section to suggest future research priorities. Table VI.3 presents one structure for sharing findings by subgroup; please adapt it or create your own table for your study and include it in the appendix. Implementation findings Findings from research questions in the implementation analyses should follow a similar format to the outcome study findings. First, summarize the key findings or takeaway(s) across all the implementation analyses. Next, for each research question, state the key finding(s) at the top of each subsection, followed by details and data to support findings. The implementation findings should be reported concisely and grounded in numeric results. (For example, “The intervention was implemented with fidelity, and achieved its goals for attendance. Staff delivered 95 percent of all intended intervention sessions, and 82 percent of the sample attended most intervention sessions.”) Tip: Use this section to tell a story about the intervention’s process and implementation that provides both context for the outcomes study (if applicable) and the key lessons learned from implementation.
Documents to reference	None
Tables or figures	Please summarize results in tables or figures. You may choose to present findings from multiple research questions in the same table or figure, or separately. Tables VI.1 and VI.2 are examples of tables you can use if appropriate for your study.

VII. Discussion and conclusion

This section discusses the key findings of the study, focusing on their implications, lessons learned, limitations, future directions, and conclusions.

1. Implications

   Purpose	Discuss the implications of the findings.
   Instructions	Discuss the main findings of the study, and, if applicable, weave the outcomes and implementation findings into a coherent story about observed outcomes and intervention implementation, taking into account the results from the attrition analyses. For example, how might implementation fidelity, dosage, quality, and engagement help you understand the magnitude of differences observed in the outcome study?
   Documents to reference	None
   Tables or figures	None

2. Equity considerations

   Purpose	Discuss equity considerations.
   Instructions	Discuss equity considerations for the intervention, taking into account the results from any exploratory subgroup analysis. Discuss important lessons learned that are consistent with study findings or that could help others replicate the intervention or serve the same population.
   Documents to reference	None
   Tables or figures	None

3. Limitations and future directions

Purpose	Discuss limitations and future directions.
Instructions	Discuss limitations and next steps, including next steps for promising interventions, research directions, and policy implications, as appropriate. Draw conclusions.
Documents to reference	None
Tables or figures	None

4. Other lessons learned

Purpose	If applicable, discuss other lessons learned.
Instructions	Discuss other lessons learned from the study.
Documents to reference	None
Tables or figures	None

VIII. References

Purpose	Provide the full reference for any work cited in the report.
Instructions	Please use the American Psychological Association (APA) style guide for citing works in the report. This section should include the full reference for any work cited.
Documents to reference	None
Tables or figures	None

IX. Appendices

Based on our guidance for the report sections, the report may include the following appendices. (Note: it may not be necessary to include appendices for all of these items, and appendices are not included in the recommended page counts.)

1. Logic model (or theory of change) for the program. Insert your logic model or theory of change (see the logic model in your evaluation plan’s appendix).

2. Attrition analyses and tables. We recommend using Table B.1 to provide summary statistics of key baseline measures and baseline differences for the analytic sample compared with enrollees excluded from the analytic sample. Please present an equivalence table for each analytic sample being used to answer the primary research questions.

3. Technical details of the outcomes and implementation analysis, organized by research question. For example, talk about the technical details of the outcomes analysis, organized by research question(s). Or write about the methods you used to clean and prepare data for the outcomes and implementation studies, including detailed descriptions of how you handled missing and inconsistent data. For survey questions that involve data coding or complex analysis, discuss the details in this appendix.

4. Additional analyses, including subgroup analyses for key outcome research questions. Use Tables D.1 and D.2 to summarize findings from additional outcomes or follow-up periods, if applicable.

5. Data collection instruments. Include copies of the data collection instruments here.

1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Digital Accessibility at HHS.” n.d. https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/index.html.

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Section 508 Tips for Document Creation.” 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/508_tip_sheet.pdf