Communication and Outreach Study

ATTACHMENT D:

FOCUS GROUP PROTOCOL FOR CURRENT USERS

DRAFT E-Verify Evaluation – Communication and Outreach Study

Focus Group Script

Users Group

I want to thank you for agreeing to participate and for fitting this session into your busy schedules.

My name is __________ and I work for Westat, a social science research firm in Rockville, MD. Today, I will be the moderator for this 1 hour group discussion.

We are conducting a study of the E-Verify work-authorization program administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security. As part of the study we are examining the effectiveness of the communication and outreach activities conducted by the program to increase employers’ awareness about it. Our purpose today is to obtain input from companies that are currently enrolled in the Program.

In order to make this an efficient session, here are some guidelines:

• Please talk one at a time.
  

• Talk in a voice as loud as mine.
  
  

• Avoid side conversations with others in the group.
  
  

• I need to hear from everyone; however, you do not have to answer every question.
  

• It is OK to piggyback on someone else’s comments.
  

• Work for equal “air time” so that no one talks too little or too much.
  

• Allow for different points of view. There are no wrong answers.
  

• All discussions are private. We will not use your name or the name of your company in any reports or notes. I encourage you to speak honestly and candidly so we can hear as many perspectives as possible. To reinforce confidentiality, can we all agree NOT to share information from the focus group with anyone outside of the group? [WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO SAY “YES.”]

• With me is a member of the Westat study team, who is taking notes as a backup to the audio recording. The session is being recorded to enable me to write an accurate report, not of who said what but “what was said.”

• When you begin to respond to a question or make a comment, please start by stating your first name only, so that I can identify the speaker while also protecting your privacy.

• Please use your phone handset rather than the speaker phone, if possible, when you are speaking. The speaker phone is more likely to distort the sound or pick up background noise.

• We have a number of topics to cover in a short period of time; therefore, I apologize up front if I must interrupt you so we can move on to the next topic. If time permits, I will return to any unfinished discussions.

Are there any questions before we begin? [WAIT FOR RESPONSE.]

Let’s begin by introducing ourselves. Please tell us your first name, the industry your company represents and the number of employees working for your company. For example, I am _____ and I work for a social science research company with about 2,000 employees.

1. How did you first find out about E-Verify? [PROBE ON PERSON, ORGANIZATION, AND MEDIA, IF NOT MENTIONED.]
   
   
   

• IF HEARD ABOUT IT FROM SOMEONE IN THE COMPANY, THEN PROBE: What position does/did this person hold in your company (e.g., HR representative, CEO, legal counsel, administrative staff)?
  
  
  

• IF HEARD ABOUT IT FROM MEDIA, THEN PROBE: Where did you hear or read about it (e.g., print, radio, TV, or internet advertisements; PSAs; association outreach events; newsletter articles)?
  
  
  

• FOR BOTH GROUPS: If you recall what was said/mentioned about
  E-Verify, please tell me about it.

2. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a federal agency that developed the E-Verify Program, uses a variety of communication methods to increase employers’ awareness of E-Verify, for example, print, radio, TV, or internet advertisements; PSAs; association outreach events; and articles. Over the past 6 months, do you recall hearing or seeing any messages about E-Verify from the federal government?

For those of you who said yes:

• What types of messages were they?

• If you recall anything about the content of the message(s), please tell me what you remember.

For those of you who said no:

• Do you recall ever hearing or seeing anything about E-Verify at all? If so, where? About how long ago was that?

3. Who in your company typically receives news or information about E-Verify (e.g., HR manager, CEO, legal counsel, administrative staff)?

If you typically receive the news:

• Do you share this news or information with anyone else at your company? If so:

• What are their positions?

• What type of information do you share with them?

• How do you share this information?

If someone else at your company typically receives the news:

• What is that person’s position?

• What type of information do they share with you?

• How do they share this information?

4. Which media sources (e.g., TV, radio, print advertisements, articles, websites) about E-Verify do/would you find most reliable and credible? What makes you say that?

5. Are there any media sources that you find less reliable and credible?

For those of you who said yes:

• Which ones?

• Why do you think these media sources are less credible than others?

6. What topics related to E-Verify would you be interested in learning about?

• How would you prefer to learn about these topics?

7. Some organizations and membership associations, for example, the Small Business Administration, chambers of commerce, and human resources associations, have provided information about E-Verify to their members. Have you received information or communication about E-Verify through any organizations or membership associations?

For those of you who said yes:

• From what organization(s)?

• What type(s) of information did you receive? If you recall the content, please tell me about it.

• How was the information provided?

• Do you prefer receiving information about E-Verify from membership organizations rather than hearing/reading about it from other sources (e.g., TV, radio, print media)? Why or why not?

8. Some of these same organizations might also provide E-Verify informational or training events. Have you participated in any informational or training events offered through any organizations or membership associations?

For those of you who said yes:

• From what organization(s)?

• What types of events have you attended (e.g., webinars, live E-Verify briefing meetings)?

  • Were these events conducted in connection with a meeting of an organization, such as an annual or regional meeting, or were they separate standalone events?

• How did you hear about the events?
  
  
  

9. Are there organizations or membership associations that you would encourage USCIS to partner with?

For those of you who said yes:

• Could you give me some examples?

• What do you see as the benefit of partnering with this/these organization(s)?

10. What suggestions do you have about how USCIS could communicate with current users about the E-Verify Program?

11. What suggestions do you have about how USCIS could communicate with potential users about E-Verify?

12. What motivated your company to participate in E-Verify?

13. What does your company see as the main benefits of participating in E-Verify?

14. Does your company see any barriers or challenges to participating in E-Verify?

15. Do you know if a person or group of people at your company was/were involved in discussions about whether or not to participate in E-Verify?

For those of you who said yes:

• What position do these individuals hold (e.g., HR manager, CEO, legal counsel, administrative staff)?

• How important do you think each of the people in these positions was in making the final decision about participation?

16. Do you know what sources of information or resources your company used to help make the decision to participate in E-Verify?
    
    For those who answered yes, we have several follow-up questions for you:

• What sources of information or resources did your company use?

• What do you think was the most useful source of information on
  E-Verify during the decision-making process? The least useful? Why?

• How easy or difficult was it to get the information your company needed about E-Verify in order to make the decision? What makes you say this?

• What type of information would have made this decision easier to make?

• What would be the most effective method(s) of receiving this information (e.g., through information from professional organizations, E-Verify website, PSAs)?

• What role, if any, did E-Verify communication (e.g., ads, PSAs, association outreach events, website) play in influencing your company’s decision?

• How important do you think E-Verify communication was in the decision-making process?

• What communication methods would you say were most effective in helping your company make the decision to participate?

• What made these communication methods more effective than other methods?

• What communication methods would you say were least effective in helping your company make the decision to participate?

• What made these communication methods less effective than other methods?

17. This question is for everyone. In the past 3 months, have you participated in any E-Verify webinars sponsored by USCIS?

For those of you who said yes:

• In which webinar(s) did you participate?

• How did you find out about the webinar(s)?

• What topics were covered in the webinar(s)?

• What did you like most about this activity? Least?

17. In the past 3 months, have you participated in any live E-Verify training or education events or activities sponsored by USCIS?

For those of you who said yes:

• In which event(s) did you participate?

• How did you find out about the event(s)?

• What topics were covered in the event(s)?

• What did you like most about this activity? Least?

17. In the past 3 months, have you visited the USCIS E-Verify public website that is available for anyone to search?

For those of you who said yes:

• What prompted you to visit the website?

• If you were looking for something in particular, did you find it?

• What topics did you read about on the website?

• Did you view any of the instructional videos on the website? If so:

  • What videos did you watch?

• What did you like most about the website? Least?

17. What other topics should USCIS cover in the webinars, live events, public website, or other education tools?

17. What has been the most effective way or ways of increasing your knowledge and understanding of the E-Verify Program? Least effective?

• Why is/are these method(s) more effective than other methods in increasing your knowledge and understanding of E-Verify?

17. Have there been E-Verify events or activities that have not been at all effective in increasing your knowledge and understanding of the E-Verify Program?

For those who answered yes:

• Which one(s)?

• What makes you say they have not been effective?

• Do you have suggestions for how to improve these events or activities?

Thank you for sharing your opinions with us. This has been a valuable discussion.

We very much appreciate your taking time from your busy schedules to participate in this discussion. Your opinions about this program are very important to us and to the client. Thank you again.