EJI Prosecutor Survey ICR Template_A11 Section 280 Clearance TR COMMENTS 4 8 25 slj2

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for Improving Customer Experience: OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation”

(OMB Control Number:1103-0120 (expires 04/21/2028)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: National Elder Justice Prosecutor Survey

PURPOSE OF COLLECTION:

What are you hoping to learn / improve? How do you plan to use what you learn? Are there artifacts (user personas, journey maps, digital roadmaps, summary of customer insights to inform service improvements, performance dashboards) the data from this collection will feed?

The questions comprising the National Elder Justice Prosecutor Survey are designed to update and expand a 2003 survey produced by the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). The Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) seeks to learn what prosecutors are struggling with and resources they need to enhance their prosecutorial work. The results of the survey will be used by EJI to identify gaps in needed resources, and to the extent feasible, fill those gaps. Ultimately, EJI intends to develop a suite of tools for prosecutors pursuing elder abuse crimes.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: (Check one)

X Customer Research (Interview, Focus Groups, Surveys)

Customer Feedback Survey

Usability Testing of Products or Services

ACTIVITY DETAILS

1. If this is a survey, will the results of this survey be reported to Touchpoints as part of quarterly reporting obligations specified in OMB Circular A-11 Section 280?

Yes

X No

Not a survey

2. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

X Web-based or other forms of Social Media

Telephone

In-person

Mail

Other, Explain

3. Who will you collect the information from?

Explain who will be interviewed and why the group is appropriate for the Federal program / service to connect with. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and if only a sample will be solicited for feedback, how you will select them(e.g., anyone who provided an email address to a call center rep, a representative sample of Veterans who received outpatient services in May 2019, do you have a list of customers to reach out to (e.g., a CRM database that has the contact information, intercept interviews at a particular field office?)

This information collection request falls under the Department of Justice, Civil Division, Elder Justice Initiative (EJI). EJI supports and coordinates the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse. The Department has a clear mandate to develop training and resources for federal, state and local prosecutors under the Elder Justice Act's adopted 8 recommendations (Recommendation 1: Support the Investigation and Prosecution of Elder Abuse Cases), and the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act, which instructs the Department to create, compile, evaluate, and disseminate materials and information, and provide the necessary training and technical assistance, to assist States and units of local government in prosecuting (among other activities) forms of elder abuse.

To access prosecutors, EJI is contracting with NDAA whose members are in state and local prosecutors’ offices from both urban and rural districts, as well as large and small jurisdictions across the country. The invitation to participate will be sent via email to the approximately 5000 NDAA members, supplemented by elder abuse prosecutors known to us, as well as to prosecutors serving on elder abuse multidisciplinary teams and coalitions identified through EJI's Networks Locator Map, a repository of elder justice networks in the USA. All members will be invited to participate, but responding to the survey will be voluntary. Consistent with other surveys of professionals, a 25% response rate is anticipated.

4. How will you ask a respondent to provide this information?

(e.g., after an application is submitted online, the final screen will present the opportunity to provide feedback by presenting a link to a feedback form / an actual feedback form)

NDAA will send out the survey to their members using an electronic survey format. Participants will be able to start and stop the survey as their time allows. Once completed, the responses will be contained in an excel file under the control of NDAA. NDAA will analyze the responses and draft a report for EJI. The invitation to participants will read:

Dear Prosecutor,

The National District Attorneys Association, in cooperation with the Elder Justice Initiative at the US Department of Justice, is inviting you to participate in a survey of prosecutors related to prosecuting elder abuse. The survey has twenty questions and will take you approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary. We are interested in learning the facilitators and challenges experienced when prosecuting elder abuse cases. The information you supply will be used by the Elder Justice Initiative to identify gaps in needed prosecutor training and resources, and to the extent possible, fill those gaps.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this important survey. To take the survey, click here:

If you have any questions or issues about the survey, please contact Travis Bird at [email protected].

5. What will the activity look like?

Describe the information collection activity – e.g. what happens when a person agrees to participate? Will facilitators or interviewers be used? What’s the format of the interview/focus group? If a survey, describe the overall survey layout/length/other details? If User Testing, what actions will you observe / how will you have respondents interact with a product you need feedback on?

Prosecutors who agree to participate will click a link and be taken to the online survey site. The initial six questions are for the purpose of describing the sample. The remaining questions are substantive in nature. Most questions have drop-down options for ease of responding, but there are three questions that are purposefully open-ended. The survey responses will be submitted to NDAA upon clicking "Submit" and respondents will be prohibited from accessing their responses thereafter.

6. Please provide your question list.

Paste here the questions or prompts presented to participants in your activity. If you have an interview / facilitator guide, that can be attached to the submission and referenced here.

1. How many prosecutors are in your office?

1. 0-10

2. 11-20

3. 21-50

4. More than 50

2. How would your jurisdiction best be described?

1. Rural

2. Suburban

3. Urban

4. Mixed

1. Does your office have a unit, area, or person dedicated to the prosecution of crimes in which older adults are the victims?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

4. How long have you been prosecuting elder abuse cases, either exclusively or as part of a broader caseload?

1. Less than 1 year

2. 1-3 years

3. 4-6 years

4. 7-10 years

5. More than 10 years

6. I do not prosecute elder abuse cases (Skip to Q20)

5. How often do you encounter elder abuse cases in your jurisdiction?

1. Rarely

2. Sometimes

3. Frequently, alongside other types of cases

4. Most of my cases involve elder abuse

5. All my cases involve elder abuse

6. Which type of elder abuse do you encounter most frequently? (Select all that apply if you encounter multiple types equally.)

1. Physical

2. Emotional or psychological

3. Financial exploitation

4. Neglect

5. Sexual

6. Other (please specify) _______________________________

7. How are elder abuse cases most commonly initiated in your jurisdiction?

1. APS

2. LE

3. Victim

4. Caregiver

5. Facility

6. Healthcare provider

7. Concerned person

8. Other (please specify) ____________________________

8. Which agencies does your office work with when investigating elder abuse? (Select all that apply.)

1. Adult protective services

2. Law enforcement

3. Interoffice investigative unit/task force

4. Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU)

5. Health care facility or licensing board

6. Public health department

7. Area agency on aging

8. Social services

9. Other (please specify) _____________________________

9. Does your office have a victim advocate specifically assigned to work with older victims?

1. Yes

2. No

10. Do the victim advocates in your jurisdiction have specialized training in working with older persons?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

11. Does your office offer or do you have the opportunity to receive specialized training for prosecutors handling elder abuse cases?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

12. Which strategies does your office utilize when handling cases involving older victims? (Select all that apply.)

1. Early and/or intensive contact with the victim

2. Coordinate inside the office and with outside agencies and family

3. Use videotape and/or preserve statements of victim

4. Accelerated proceedings or advance on the docket

5. Special investigative procedures or obtain specific records

6. Make the victim’s time or role in the process easier

7. Work to build trust and understanding with the victim

8. Use staff sensitive to older victims and crimes against older persons

9. Obtain protection order or prohibit contact between victim and defendant

10. Use tougher charging, plea, or sentencing standards under statutes specific to older or vulnerable adults

11. Work to ensure restitution

12. Use vertical prosecution

13. Evaluate psychological or medical status of victim

14. We do not utilize strategies specific to older victims

15. Other (please specify) ________________________________

13. Does your office participate in public education or prevention efforts that highlight crimes committed against older persons?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

14. What do you consider the most difficult aspect of handling elder abuse cases? (Select all that apply.)

1. Victim cooperation

2. Witness intimidation

3. Physical health of the victim

4. Diminished mental capacity of the victim

5. Proving undue influence

6. Lack of resources

7. Lack of expert witnesses

8. Lack of expertise

9. Other (please specify) ____________________________

15. Have you encountered any legal or procedural obstacles unique to prosecuting elder abuse cases?

1. Yes (please specify) ________________________

2. No

16. Do you participate in a multidisciplinary team specific to the abuse of older persons?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Unsure

17. What specific legislative changes, if any, do you believe would improve the prosecution of elder abuse cases? Consider improvements related to prosecution, investigation, victim support, or reporting mechanisms. (Please specify) _____________________

18. How do you gather information and stay informed about practices and legal issues related to elder abuse? (Select all that apply)

1. Professional training or workshops

2. Conferences or seminars

3. Legal publications or journals

4. Online resources (websites, blogs, etc.)

5. Networking with colleagues

6. Professional associations or organizations

7. News media (articles, reports, etc.)

8. I do not actively gather information or updates in this area

9. Other (please specify) __________________________________

19. What topics related to elder abuse would you like to see more information and training resources developed on? (Please specify) ___________________________

20. Please share any additional comments regarding the prosecution of elder abuse cases, including specific support or resources that would be helpful to you. (Please specify) ___________________________________________

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

7. When will the activity happen?

Describe the time frame or number of events that will occur (e.g., We will conduct focus groups on May 13,14,15, We plan to conduct customer intercept interviews over the course of the Summer at the field offices identified in response to #2 based on scheduling logistics concluding by Sept. 10^th, or “This survey will remain on our website in alignment with the timing of the overall clearance.”)

The survey will be disseminated in early to mid-November and will be left open for four weeks to accommodate the holiday. NDAA members will be given a reminder notice (email) at week 2 and at week 3.

7. Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants?

No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Prosecutors (District Attorneys)	1000	15 minutes	250
Totals	1000	15 minutes	250

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collections are voluntary;

2. The collections are low-burden for respondents (based on considerations of total burden hours or burden-hours per respondent) and are low-cost for both the respondents and the Federal Government;

3. The collections are non-controversial;

4. Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the near future;

5. Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to the extent necessary and is not retained;

6. Information gathered is intended to be used for general service improvement and program management purposes

7. The agency will follow the procedures specified in OMB Circular A-11 Section 280 for the required quarterly reporting to OMB of trust data and experience driver data from surveys.

8. Outside of the quarterly reporting mentioned in the bullet immediately above, if the agency intends to release journey maps, user personas, reports, or other data-related summaries stemming from this collection, the agency must include appropriate caveats around those summaries, noting that conclusions should not be generalized beyond the sample, considering the sample size and response rates. The agency must submit the data summary itself (e.g., the report) and the caveat language mentioned above to OMB before it releases them outside the agency. OMB will engage in a passback process with the agency.

Name and email address of person who developed this survey/focus group/interview:

Name: Shelly L Jackson

Email address: [email protected]

All instruments used to collect information must include:

OMB Control No.    1103-0120

Expiration Date:   04/21/2028     

HELP SHEET

(OMB Control Number: 1103-0120    )

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: National Elder Justice Prosecutor Survey

PURPOSE: The purpose of this data collection is to learn from prosecutors what they are struggling with and resources they need to enhance their elder abuse prosecutorial work, and based on that information, develop resources and training for elder justice prosecutors.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: EJI is replicating a previous survey instrument, and adding an additional 11 questions to that original survey instrument.

CERTIFICATION: I have read and agree with the bullets in the certification statement.

Personally Identifiable Information: PII will be destroyed at the close of the data collection.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Respondents will consist of 3) State, local, or tribal governments.

No. of Respondents: 1000

Participation Time: 15 minutes to complete a 20-item Survey.

Burden: 250 hours

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