Form Focus Group Guide Focus Group Guide Focus Group Guide

Attachment 6:
Focus Group guide

OMB No 0930-0XXX

Exp. Date XX/XX/XXXX

Public Burden Statement: 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 control number for this project is 0930-0XXX. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.5 hours per respondent per year, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E57-B, Rockville, Maryland, 20857.

Cross-Site Evaluation of SAMHSA’s FY 2012 – FY 2015 PORTFOLIO of

Cooperative Agreements for State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and DISSEMINATION

Discretionary Grant Programs

Focus Group Session Guide for [SYT-ED/SYT-I] PROVIDER Staff

December 2015

Introduction

Thank you all for taking the time to meet with us today. I am [MODERATOR NAME] and will be moderating this discussion. [NOTE TAKER NAME] will be taking notes. Our team, which includes RTI International and its partners—the University of Arizona’s Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW), and the Health and Education Research, Management, and Epidemiologic Services, LLC (HERMES)—has been hired by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to conduct an evaluation of their portfolio of Cooperative Agreements for State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination discretionary grant programs. Although we are funded by SAMHSA, we are not part of that federal agency (or any other federal agency). We are independent evaluators.

These SAMHSA programs provide funding to states, territories, and tribes to improve treatment for youth with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders by helping to strengthen the use of evidence-based practices in community-based treatment providers such as yours. You are being asked to participate in this focus group because your organization is working with [INSERT GRANTEE NAME] to implement [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES].

Information gathered from this focus group will help us to better understand the facilitators and challenges of implementing the [SYT-ED/SYT-I] program and [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]. Your participation in this focus group is completely voluntary. Your name and title will not appear in any report unless we specifically ask for and receive your written approval. Although we are taking detailed notes, we would also like to audio record the session in case we need to verify our notes. This recording will only be used to ensure that our notes are complete and that we are accurately capturing your input. Recordings will be deleted after our notes are assembled. Is this OK with everyone?

Finally, we also ask that each of you recognize the importance of keeping information discussed in the focus group private and to respect each other’s privacy. [Moderator will ask each participant to verbally agree to keep everything discussed in the room private, and will remind them at the end of the focus group not to discuss the material outside.]

We expect this session will take no more than 90 minutes. During the focus group I want to encourage you to talk to each other rather than to me. It is okay to disagree with what others have said or to give a different opinion. I am interested in hearing everyone’s unique experiences. I may redirect the discussion if I feel that others opinions are not being heard. I will let you know when we are near the end of our time. Are there any questions before we begin?

Introduction:

[Moderator will guide questions to capture data separately for the evidence-based assessment(s) and treatment(s).]

1. Let’s start with introductions. Can everyone please go around the room and briefly say your:

• Name,

• Position at [INSERT ORGANIZATION NAME],

• How long you have been in this position,

• Your role in implementing [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES], and

• Your experience with evidence-based practices prior to implementing [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES].

Implementation Process:

Great, thanks. Now I would like to ask you some specific questions about the implementation process within [INSERT ORGANIZATION NAME].

Impact:

2. What have been the positive or negative impacts of implementing [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

Probe with:

• For example, what have been the impacts on:

  • Clients

  • Family members

  • You or other staff

  • [INSERT ORGANIZATION NAME] (e.g., organizational efficiency, workflow, etc.)

  • Community

Implementation Effectiveness:

3. To what extent have [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] been implemented in your organization?

Probe with:

• Are [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] reaching the majority of intended clients/families?

• Are [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] being delivered with high quality, with low quality, or somewhere in the middle?

• Would you say that [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] have been implemented as well as they could be, or are there things that could be done better?

• What, if anything, has gotten in the way of implementing [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

Leadership Engagement:

4. How involved has [INSERT ORGANIZATION NAME]’s leadership been during the implementation of [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

Probe with:

• How committed is the leadership to the implementation of [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

• To what extent was the leadership engaged with the planning for [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

• Would you say that the leadership’s involvement was appropriate/adequate, or are there things that they could have done or be doing better?

Implementation Climate:

5. To what extent do program staff believe that implementation of [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] was expected by the organization?

Follow-up with:

• Have expectations for staff been clearly communicated by the leadership?

• To what extent do program staff feel that their efforts to implement the [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES] have been appreciated and rewarded by the leadership?

Implementation Readiness:

6. To what extent do program staff feel they were given the necessary training, knowledge, and time to successfully implement [INSERT EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES]?

Follow-up with:

• What types of training or supports did you get, and what other types of training or supports would be helpful?

Provider Collaboration:

7. In what ways, if any, has collaborating or interacting with other community providers been helpful or challenging?

Exit Questions:

8. Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thank you very much for your time today. We appreciate your help in this important initiative!