Project Director Interview Guide (A-1)

Appendix A-1:
Project Director Interview Guide

OMB No. 0970-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

Project Director Interview Guide

Introduction and Consent

Before we begin our questions, I want to share a few key points about this interview.

This interview provides RTI with the opportunity to learn more about [GRANTEE AGENCY]—your strategies for identifying and serving domestic victims of human trafficking, the services you provide to victims, and the ways in which you collaborate with other agencies to meet the needs of victims. We’re also interested in hearing your thoughts about how [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT] is working, including successes and challenges. Information from the evaluation will inform future program development and evaluation and provide information for ongoing program improvement to Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) grantees.

Participating in this interview is completely voluntary. The interview should last about 2 hours. 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-XXXX and the expiration date is XX/XX/20XX.

The questions that we will be asking you are probably topics that you would discuss with colleagues, but you may decline to answer any question or stop the interview at any time. We will not share your responses with anyone outside the RTI evaluation team, to the extent permitted by law. Our reports will combine information across all the individuals we talk with about [GRANTEE AGENCY]. You will not be identified by name in any reports. If we would like to quote you, we will first ask for your permission. We’ll be taking notes, but if you don’t mind, we’d also like to record the conversation as a backup for our own use. We will delete the audio recording after we have finalized the notes, and only the RTI evaluation team will have access to the audio recording or notes. Are you okay with us recording our discussion?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

Respondent Background

First, I’d like to ask you a few questions about yourself and the other project staff.

• What is your title and role at [GRANTEE AGENCY]?

• How long have you been in your current position?

• How long have you been with [GRANTEE AGENCY]?

• Please tell me about your role in [GRANTEE AGENCY].

• On average, what percentage of your time do you spend working on the [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT]?

• [Ask if not 100% on project] In addition to the [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT], what are your responsibilities at [GRANTEE AGENCY]?

Grantee Capacity

[Review grantee proposal, Section 8].

• Is there anything we should understand regarding your organization’s mission, history, and structure?

• Is there a single person within your organization’s leadership who has been particularly active in developing and advancing human trafficking work?

• Is there anything else we should understand regarding your organization’s experience working with trafficking victims and vulnerable populations?

• Besides you, which staff in your organization work on [DEMONSTRATION PROJECT], and what are their roles and duties with respect to the grant? [Probe for whether they work directly with victims of trafficking, provide admin support, etc.; whether they were hired specifically to work on the demonstration grant; and previous staff experience working with trafficking victims.]

• Is there anything else we should understand about your organization’s resources in terms of staff directly focused on human trafficking and their skills (including credentials, degrees, and internal trainings)?

• How does this grant expand your organization’s resources to address human trafficking?

• What are your expectations regarding your organization’s ability to sustain its capacity to prevent and respond to human trafficking?

Community and Organizational Capacity

Community Policy and Practice Related to Human Trafficking

• Please describe any formal policies and informal policies, such as standard practices, that your own organization has in place to respond to trafficking victims and people at risk of trafficking. (Examples include training all staff on warning signs, reserving shelter beds for people at risk of trafficking, or establishing protocols for responding to clients you have lost contact with.)

• Please describe any formal policies and informal policies, such as standard practices, that partners and other important community agencies have in place to respond to trafficking victims and people at risk of trafficking.

• Can you please describe whether and how the policies are trauma-informed? (Examples include training on trauma-informed practice, allowing clients to direct sequence and timing of services.)

Community Resources to Prevent Human Trafficking and Respond to Human Trafficking Victims

• Please describe the resources your community has to respond to human trafficking victims.

• Are there other community resources focused on prevention of trafficking among vulnerable populations?

• What is your assessment of the sustainability of your community’s capacity to prevent trafficking and respond to trafficking victims? (Clarify if needed: this question refers to sustainability of resources other than the grantee’s.)

• Please describe the extent to which your program serves underserved target populations, that is, people who wouldn’t normally receive services from existing programs.

Community Outreach, Training, and Technical Assistance

• What successes have you experienced with regard to conducting community outreach and providing training and technical assistance to enhance support for the trafficking program?

• What challenges have you encountered, and how have you addressed them?

Partnership Composition and Functioning

Community Assessment and Partnership Expansion Planning

• Please describe the process you used to conduct your community assessment and partnership expansion plan (CAPEP).

• What challenges and successes did you experience with the CAPEP process?

• [Reference CAPEP document] What were the key findings from your CAPEP?

• What actions have you taken based on the CAPEP, or what do you anticipate doing?

Partnership Composition and Development

• [Reference any description of partnerships from funding application] Please name the partners with whom you are working and provide the following details:

• In what service sector do they work?

• What target population do they serve, and what kinds of services do they offer?

• Is the partnership new since receiving the grant funding, or was the partnership already in existence?

• Do you have a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) that applies to your collaboration for trafficking victims?

• How frequently do you interact with the partner/partner service, and through what means do you typically interact?

• Please describe the referral process between your program and the partner (referrals to the grantee or from the grantee).

• What protocols do you have to facilitate information sharing?

• Please describe the strategies your organization has used to expand and diversify your partnerships and the factors that impacted partnership formation and expansion.

• What types of organizations are not included among your existing partnerships?

• What factors have helped or hindered you in expanding partnerships?

Collaboration Structures and Activities

• Do the partnerships you describe exist as part of a multi-agency collaborative, one-to-one, or as part of some other structure?

• Please describe any new services created or made available through your collaboration with partners.

Referral Mechanisms and Information Sharing (asked for each partner, above)

• Have you encountered reluctance among other providers to share information about clients, and if so, how do you address this?

• What factors have facilitated information sharing among providers?

Partnership Functioning

• In addition to the information you provided about each partner, how would you generally describe the partnership in terms of engagement and functioning?

• How would you describe any facilitators and barriers you’ve experienced in collaborating and coordinating services?

Comprehensive Victim-Centered Services

Screening and Assessment

• Please describe your intake and assessment process.

• What kinds of screening and assessment tools do you use, other than those that are part of the evaluation’s intake?

• How well do these tools work in practice?

• Have you encountered reluctance among clients to share information, and if so, how do you address this?

Case Management

• Please describe your approach to case management under this grant.

• What challenges have you encountered in providing case management, and how have you addressed these?

Comprehensive Services

• Are any of the services defined by the grant’s comprehensive service model not available to clients in your program? Are any difficult to access or not ideally suited for some clients?

• Do any of the services that you provide under this grant use evidence-based models? (e.g., trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy).

• What are the greatest challenges you’ve encountered in service delivery? How has the organization addressed these?

• What do you consider to be your organization’s successes in service delivery?

Staff Supervision and Support

• Please describe the staff supervision and support activities that are provided to staff.

• Do you provide staff training on client-centered care?

Program Strengths and Weaknesses

• What do you see as the particular strengths of the case management model you use? Weaknesses?

• Can you provide a description of the strengths and weaknesses of your program’s service delivery?

Wrap-Up

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your program and your experience under this grant