Instrument 1:
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OMB#: XXXXXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/202X
Hello, my name is [NAME]. I am joined by my colleague, [NAME], who will be helping me today by taking notes of our call. We are calling from Mathematica, which is under contract to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) for the Building Usage, Improvement, and Learning with Data in HMRF Programs project, also known as the BUILD-HMRF project. Today I would like to talk to you about your program’s participation in the BUILD-HMRF study on equity of the client surveys. The goal of this study is to inform potential changes to the surveys so they are more equitable, and that questions are reflective of and relevant to clients of different races and ethnicities served by the HMRF programs.
Is now still a good time to talk? I would like to answer any questions you have about this study and discuss the logistics of it with you.
[If they ask how long the call will take, say about 30 minutes.
If they say now is not a good time, set up another time for the call.
Allow time for questions, and answer or defer answering until later in the call if the topic is going to be covered later.]
B. BUILD-HMRF study activities
First, I want to tell you 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 the described information collection is [########] and the expiration date is [MM/DD/YYYY]. Your participation in this call is voluntary, and you do not have to answer these questions.
Now I’d like to tell you a little more about the study. As part of a study funded by ACF, Mathematica is examining the equity of the HMRF client surveys. To hear a range of perspectives, we have already talked to staff from some HMRF programs, other practitioners, and researchers. We have also spoken to a small number of current HMRF clients, but want to hear from many more clients with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, so their voices and their experiences can inform potential changes to the client surveys.
To minimize burden on clients, we plan to build on grant recipients’ regular operations and data collection. More specifically, we are asking participating grant recipients to schedule extra time at the end of a current or planned workshop. During that extra time, which could be a longer session or a separate session, clients would complete their exit surveys, as usual, and then consenting clients would stay for a focus group to talk about their opinions on the surveys. The clients would be in a room together at your location or attending virtually, if your workshop sessions are online. Mathematica staff would join virtually to lead the focus group session. The focus group would last about 60 minutes.
Participating sites would receive a $1,500 site payment to be used at their discretion to acknowledge their contribution to the study and their efforts in helping us coordinate the study activities. In addition, each participating client would receive $75 for sharing their expertise.
Before I get into more details, I’ll pause here to see if you have any questions so far?
Let me tell you a little more about the logistics. To participate in this study, we are asking programs to do the following:
Identify a current or planned program group workshop that will end within two to four months.
Schedule a longer session or an additional session at the end of that workshop for clients to complete the exit survey and participate in a focus group.
[For grant recipients serving adults:] Collect consent from clients in the group and administer a short demographic survey.
[For grant recipients serving youth:] Collect consent from youth clients’ parents and assent from youth clients in the group, and administer a short demographic survey to youth clients.
Hold the extended or extra session, administer the exit surveys as usual, then set up the connection so clients can talk virtually to the Mathematica team.
Our team would send all the virtual meeting information in advance, so your staff would set up the computer, sound (if needed), and click the link. The session would be over Zoom, WebEx, or another videoconferencing platform.
We would then like your staff person to leave the room so clients can speak freely.
[For grant recipients serving youth:] Does your program require that an adult be physically in the room with the youth?
The focus group would be about 60 minutes.
[SAY THE FOLLOWING ONLY if the director asks for specifics:] We will ask clients about the process of data collection and their opinions about survey questions, such as whether the questions are appropriate for people with different backgrounds and life experiences, and whether they think people would answer the questions honestly.
After the focus group, your program would send Mathematica the completed consent forms and questionnaires.
Program staff can mail the hard copies using postage-paid envelopes from us.
The feedback from your clients will help us improve the surveys, so they are appropriate and respectful for a diverse set of clients.
Do you have any questions or concerns?
Now that you have a better understanding of the study, do you think your program is able to participate?
[If not interested:] Thank you for your time. If your circumstances change and you are able to participate, feel free to reach out to us. [End call.]
C. Grant recipient workshop information
[If interested:] I am so glad you are interested! Let’s talk about a few of the details to make sure your program is a good fit. Please feel free to stop me at any time if you have any questions or concerns.
The information in nFORM shows that your program has [number] active workshop session series. Is that correct? [If not correct:] How many currently active workshop session series does your program have?
I’d like to confirm the information we have from nFORM and ask you a few more questions about each active workshop session series.
[If the grant recipient serves more than one client population:] The client population served in this session series is [SELECT: HM youth, HM adult individuals, HM adult couples, RF community fathers, or RF reentering fathers].
It started on [Date].
It will end on [Date].
It is [SELECT: open, cohort] enrollment.
[If set enrollment:] [Number] people are enrolled.
How many people usually attend?
Although you might not know for certain, how would you describe the racial and ethnic composition of the group?
What language is primarily used in the workshop?
Making your best guess, do you think clients in this session series would generally be interested in participating in a focus group? If time is added to the session series for the focus group, how likely are clients to attend?
Anything else we should know that might make this group a particularly stronger or weaker candidate for the focus group?
The information in nFORM shows that your program may be starting a session series soon. Is that correct?
For each upcoming session series in nFORM:
The client population served in this group will be [SELECT: HM youth, HM adult individuals, HM adult couples, RF community fathers, or RF reentering fathers].
It will start on [Date].
It will end on [Date].
It will be [SELECT: open, cohort] enrollment.
What language do you expect the facilitators will primarily use in the workshop?
Do you have any workshop session series that will start in the next month or so, which are yet not entered into nFORM?
[If the grant recipient serves more than one client population:] What client population will be served in this session series? [If respondent is unclear say: That could be HM youth, HM adult individuals, HM adult couples, RF community fathers, and RF reentering fathers.]
When will it start?
When will it end?
Will it be open or cohort enrollment?
[If cohort enrollment:] Have you started enrolling clients for this workshop cohort yet? If yes, how many people are enrolled so far? How many people do you expect to enroll? Do you have a limit on the number of people who can enroll in this cohort and participate in the workshop?
What language do you expect the facilitators will primarily use in the workshop?
[If serving youth ask:] For the youth, are the classes separated by gender or mixed?
For each upcoming workshop not in nFORM:
[If the grant recipient serves more than one client population:] What client population will be served in this session series? [If respondent is unclear say: That could be HM youth, HM adult individuals, HM adult couples, RF community fathers, and RF reentering fathers.]
When will it start?
When will it end?
Will it be open or cohort enrollment?
[If cohort enrollment:] Have you started enrolling for this workshop cohort yet? If yes, how many people are enrolled so far? How many people do you expect to enroll? Do you have a limit on the number of people who can enroll in this cohort and participate in the workshop?
[If serving youth ask:] For the youth, are the classes separated by gender or mixed?
What language do you expect the facilitators will primarily use in the workshop?
[If no session series will be ending within the next few months:] Although we are prioritizing focus groups, if we are not able to talk to many clients that way, we are considering doing virtual interviews with individual clients. Because we do not want to affect clients’ answers on the exit survey, we would only speak to people who completed the program. If we use that approach, would you or someone on your team be willing to identify eligible clients, collect consent from them, and schedule the interviews?
Thank you for that information! As I mentioned earlier, we are trying to talk to people from different racial and ethnic groups in this study. So I will consult with the larger team and will get back to you soon about whether and which of your program’s workshops we would like to work with.
D. Research protocols
Mathematica adheres to the research protocols for this project that were approved by ACF, the study funder, and Health Media Lab, the IRB that has approved this study.
Does your grant follow any other research protocols we need to be aware of? If yes, can you provide us with written information on this?
E. Next steps
Thank you for talking to us. We will email you within the next few weeks to discuss whether and which workshops we would like to include in this study or whether we would like to schedule interviews with some of your clients.
Who should be our main point of contact?
Do you have any questions at this time?
If you think of any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at [PHONE or EMAIL ADDRESS]. Thanks again for your time today.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | 1-column report template |
| Author | Sarah Avellar |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-02-17 |