Interview Guide for Focus Groups with American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations

APPENDIX D

Interview Guide for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations

Interview Guide for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations

BACKGROUND and INFORMED CONSENT

Hi. Thanks for joining me today. My name is [NAME], and I work for a research company called Westat that is based in Maryland. At Westat, we do a lot of work for the federal government on a variety of issues, including individuals’ and families’ access to social service and public assistance, opportunities for employment training, and children’s issues, including education and child welfare. The reason I’m here today is because the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC is sponsoring a study into the social service needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives who are living in urban areas. Westat is conducting site visits to four different cities to learn more about what services are available in each city that might meet your needs or the needs of other American Indians or Alaska Natives who live here. We will be speaking to several other members of the local Indian community while we’re here. We are interested in learning if there are organizations members of the community prefer to work with; other organizations that may have needed resources, but folks would rather not go there; and any suggestions you may have for ways in which ACF can improve its outreach and services delivery to American Indians and Alaska Natives. This discussion will last about one hour.

Before we get started, there are a few things I’d like to mention:

• First, this is a research project, so you need to know that you do not have to be here – this is voluntary on your part. If you decide you don’t want to participate in the discussion, that’s fine. Also, you don’t have to answer any questions that you don’t want to answer.

• With your permission, I would like to audio-record our discussion today solely for my use – I want to make sure that I accurately represent your viewpoints and the views of others when I submit my reports to ACF. We have processes in place to protect your identity and keep your responses private. After our discussion today, I will securely transmit this audio file to Westat; there, another member of my research team will store the file in a folder on the computer that no one has access to but me and a couple of other researchers. Once all of our reports are completed, we will destroy all of the files – at that point, even I won’t have access to them.

• When we write our reports for ACF, we will not use any names or describe anyone in a way that he or she could be identified. Also, we typically like to convey viewpoints that were shared with us by more than one person (“Several individuals in Minneapolis said that…”).

• Before we start the discussion, I’d like you to read this Informed Consent Form – it should say everything that I just explained (voluntary, audio, no names, that I’ll be writing a report). If you see something in the form that I forgot to talk about, or if you have any questions at all, please ask me before you sign. Once you’ve signed, please hand me one copy, and then you can keep one for yourself.

If you’re ready, I’m going to turn on the audio recorder now. [INTERVIEWER: ONCE AUDIO RECORDER IS ON, ASK PARTICIPANTS TO STATE THAT THEY GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO RECORD THE FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION.]

1. I’d like to start off the discussion by better understanding your history and experiences in [CITY]. If you could, please tell me how your family came to be located here in [CITY].

PROBE AS NEEDED ON:

• Tribal affiliation of parents/grandparents;

• Where they lived prior to moving to city;

• R’s tribal affiliation;

• Where other family members are located (same or other city? Reservation?).]

2. One of the reasons we selected [CITY] to visit is because there is a relatively large number of American Indians/Alaska Natives living here. In your opinion, what are the best things about the American Indian/Alaska Native community here?

3. The goal of our study is find out where you and other American Indians/Alaska Natives in [CITY] turn if you need certain kinds of assistance. There are some areas in which we are particularly interested; for example, if you or someone you knew needed [FILL FROM LIST BELOW], who or what organization in the city might be able to help you?

PROBE AS NEEDED: Assistance to pay for home heating or cooling bills

Enrolling a child in Head Start Public assistance/TANF

Medicaid/Medicare

Behavioral health services (SA treatment, MH services)

Child welfare (including foster care)

Child Care

Child Support

Family members with disabilities

Domestic violence

Parenting young children or teenagers

4. Overall, how willing are people in the American Indian/Alaska Native community here to actually seek and receive help for these issues?

• What are some the reasons people might not seek help for these issues?

  • [Probe: Are they reluctant to seek help? If so, explain.]

• What efforts are organizations making to conduct outreach to the AI/AN community?

  • What are Native provider organizations doing to encourage and support community members to obtain assistance?

  • What are non-Native provider organizations doing to encourage and support members of the AI/AN community to obtain assistance?

    • How effective have these efforts been? Explain.

    • What could they do that you think would be more effective? Why?

5. When you think about the American Indian/Alaska Native community in this city in general, what do you believe to be the most significant needs facing the community? Explain.

6. And what do you believe to be the greatest strengths of the American Indian/Alaska Native community here? Explain.

7. Is there anything else about the services your organization provides to the American Indian/Alaska Native community in [CITY] that I didn’t ask about, but that you think would be important for me to know? Explain.

Thank you for your time!