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SRAENE 2.0 Community Settings Study: Protocol for Provider Staff Interviews (Program manager, supervisors, and facilitators)
Interview information 

Respondent’s name 

Respondent’s organization 

SRAE provider name

Mathematica project team present
Moderator:
Notetaker: 
Date of interview 


Moderator note: Some questions in this protocol are specific to a role and do not need to be asked of all respondent roles. The role-specific questions are specified with green text listing the roles that should receive the question. If no green text begins the question, please ask it of all respondents, regardless of role.
Introduction and consent
Moderator and co-moderator introductions
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. We are from Mathematica, an independent research firm, and we are here to learn about your experiences with Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) programming. My name is [name] and my colleague is [name].
Explanation of project and purpose of discussion and consent statement
We are speaking today on behalf of the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education National Evaluation, which we refer to as “SRAENE”. SRAENE is a study sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 
The goal of this project is to learn more about the SRAE programming providers delivered to youth in [community setting], and other community settings, including [other community settings]. The study will describe programming in these settings and share promising practices and strategies to address challenges. The study’s findings may help improve future programming for youth in these settings across the country. We will be speaking today about your experiences with the SRAE program, including whether you have been able to implement your program as planned, the extent to which you think the program meets the needs of the youth who participate in the program in [community setting], and the organizations you have partnered with for your program. 
Before we start, I want to let you know that your participation in this interview is voluntary, and you may stop at any time. 
Providing information is voluntary, and all individual responses that are collected will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. We expect this discussion to take up to 50 minutes. There are no right or wrong answers. We value the information you will share with us and want to make sure we capture it all by recording it. If you do not agree to being recorded, you can still participate, and we will not record it, but we have someone who will take notes. 
The recording and notes will be kept in a secure location for the study team to use, and we will destroy the information at the end of the study. We might share the recording with outside partners to transcribe notes, but your name will not be included in the recording. We will not use your name in any of our reporting. 
Do you consent to participate in this interview? Do we also have your permission to record the discussion?
Do you have any questions before we get started?
Please note: 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 this information collection is 0970-0531 and the expiration date is 09/30/2028.
Respondent background
    1. To start us off, can you describe your current role at [provider name] and tell us how long you have been in this role? 
        a. What are your responsibilities in this role? 
        b. How long have you been with the organization? 
    2. Do you have prior experience working with youth in [community setting]? If yes, can you describe that experience?
    3. Program managers only: How long has [provider name] been working with youth in [community setting]? Providing adolescent pregnancy prevention programming? A rough estimate is fine if you aren’t sure of the exact amount of time.
Staff training and retention 
We want to learn more about how your team prepares and is trained to work with youth in [community setting] and deliver SRAE programming.
    4. Supervisors and facilitators only: What types of training and support do you receive? Can you describe who provides each type of training and what it involves?
        a. If not mentioned, probe on training related to the curriculum, engaging with youth, mental health/suicide prevention, trauma, and implementing in the community setting 
    5. Supervisors and facilitators only: Are you satisfied with the training and support you receive? If not, what could be improved? 
    a. Do you think the training and support they receive is sufficient? If not, what could be improved?
    6. Supervisors only: What types of training and support do facilitators receive? 
    a. Do you think the training and support facilitators receive is sufficient? If not, what could be improved?
    7. Program managers and supervisors only: Have you had any challenges with identifying or retaining facilitators that are a good fit to work with youth in [community setting]? If yes, please describe these challenges.  
    8. Program managers and supervisors only: Are there specific strategies you or your organization uses to identify or retain staff who are involved in SRAE programming in [community setting]?
    9. Program managers and supervisors only: Is there anything more you think you or your organization could do to support facilitators who are providing SRAE programing to youth in [community setting]?
    10. Is there anything more your team or organization could do to support you? 
Program implementation fidelity 
Next, we would like to talk about SRAE program implementation and fidelity in [community setting].
    11. Can you describe the SRAE program [provider] delivers to youth in [community setting], including any named curricula and other services, resources, or experiences the program includes?
    12. Program managers only: How and why did [provider] select the curriculum? Has [provider] ever tried implementing anything other adolescent pregnancy prevention curriculum in [community setting]?
    13. Has [provider] adapted any SRAE program content or activities for youth in [community setting]?
    14. If provider has adapted content/activities: How have you adapted the content and activities and why? How did you determine there was a need for change? 
        a. Probe on whether provider made any adaptations to meet the needs of youth in [community setting] if not mentioned. For example, because population is transient and whether providers make adaptations based on particular characteristics of youth (e.g., age, sex, etc.)
    15. Supervisors and facilitators only: Have you/your team been able to implement the program as planned? Why or why not? 
        a. How do you know SRAE programming is implemented as planned? 
        b. Who is responsible for ensuring that the SRAE programming is implemented as planned?
    16. Supervisors and facilitators only: Can you describe anything that has gone particularly well when it comes to implementing SRAE programming as planned with youth in [community setting]? 
    17. Supervisors and facilitators only: Can you describe any challenges you and your team have faced to implementing SRAE programming as planned with youth in [community setting]? If not stated, probe on transient nature and [community setting] or site-specific restrictions.
    18. Supervisors and facilitators only: Are there any promising practices or lessons learned you think it would be helpful to share with other facilitators and grantees working with youth in [community setting] who might experience similar challenges? 
Characteristics of youth who receive SRAE programming, youth engagement, and youth experience 
Now, we want to talk about the youth [provider] serves in [community setting], and how SRAE programming fits their needs. 
    19. How would you describe the youth served by the SRAE program? 
    a. What are their strengths? 
    b. What are some challenges they face or needs they may have?
    20. Program managers only: Do youth who participate in the SRAE program need to meet any eligibility criteria aside from being in [community setting] (for example, age, length of stay in facility, and so on)? If yes, please describe these criteria.
    21. Do you feel the SRAE program is relevant for the youth that [provider] serves in [community setting]? Why or why not? 
    a. What SRAE program content is the most relevant? Least relevant? 
    b. Does the relevance of the SRAE program depend on experiences youth have had in their lives? [If they are unsure, provide some examples here, such as youth having initiated sex already; youth having experienced trauma, including abuse, as children; youth not having trusted adults in their lives.]
    22. Do you think the SRAE program meets the needs of the youth who [provider] serves in [community setting]? Why or why not? 
    23. Supervisors and facilitators only: How engaged are youth in the SRAE program?  
    a. What SRAE program content is the most engaging? Least engaging? [If not stated, probe on how they define engagement and whether they use any metrics to assess/track] 
    24. Facilitators only: Are there specific activities or topics students find the most helpful or interesting?
    25. Facilitators only: What strategies do you use to engage youth, especially when they are not responsive or do not seem interested? 
    26. Are there any other adaptations or improvements that you would make to the SRAE program to make it more relevant, helpful, or engaging for youth? 
Partnerships 
Finally, we would like to learn more about the organizations you partner with as part of your SRAE program. 
Program managers only (Questions 27-37):
    27. Can you name all the organizations you partner with for SRAE programming? 
This should include all that play a key role in SRAE programming. If the provider lists a large number, we may need to work with them to figure out how to prioritize the most important ones given time constraints (we assume we can ask these questions about 1-3 partner organizations, but interviewer can gauge how many to ask based on the time left in the interview time). Ask the following questions about each partner: 
    28. How long have you partnered with this organization? A rough estimate is fine if you aren’t sure of the exact amount of time. 
    29. How did the partnership initially begin? If not mentioned in response, probe on: 
    a. Which organization reached out to the other originally?
    30. Why did your organization decide to partner with [partner organization name]? 
    31. Does your organization have a formal agreement with [partner organization name]?
    a. If yes, do you know what types of information is included in the agreement? 
    b. If no, do you think a formal agreement would have been beneficial for your partnership? 
    32. Can you describe the roles and responsibilities of [partner organization name]?
(If not mentioned in response to question 38, interviewer can probe on these areas to see if the partner helps with…
            i. Recruiting and enrolling youth in programming
            ii. Scheduling the SRAE lessons 
            iii. Implementing SRAE programming (including supporting classroom management) 
            iv. Maintaining youth attendance in the program 
            v. Providing space or materials for the program
            vi. Providing incentives to youth (if applicable) 
            vii. Other activities?)
The next set of questions are about all partners.
    33. Thinking about all your SRAE program partnerships, which ones do you consider critical or essential for the program to be successful? 
    34. Was there anything that went particularly well when you first started working with any of your partners? How about after the partnership was established?
    35. Did you experience any challenges when you first started working with any of your partners? How about after the partnership was established?
    36. Are there any other organizations that would be helpful for your program to partner with in the future? 
    37. Are there any lessons learned you can share that might be helpful for other SRAE providers looking to partner with other organizations for their SRAE program?
Supervisors and facilitators only (Questions 38-40):
    38. In your role as a [supervisor/facilitator], do you work with anyone from other organizations that partner with [provider] for the SRAE program? 
    39. If they work with partner organizations: What are the names of the organizations you partner with for SRAE programming? 
        a. For each partner they work with directly [Repeat this question for each partner organization they work with]: Can you describe the roles and responsibilities of [partner organization name] and how you work together?
        b. Across all partners they work with directly: Thinking about all the partner organizations you work with directly, do you think any of these partnerships are critical or essential for [provider] to deliver SRAE programming? 
        c. Are there any lessons learned you can share that might be helpful for other SRAE providers looking to partner with other organizations for their SRAE program?
    40. Are there any other organizations that would be helpful for your program to partner with in the future? 
Wrap up 
Thank you so much for answering our questions and sharing with us today. Is there anything else you want to share about your SRAE program in [community setting]?