Case Manager Interview Guide (A-2)

Appendix A-2:
Case Manager Interview Guide

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

Case Manager 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 [INSERT GRANTEE AGENCY]—your strategies for identifying and serving domestic victims of human trafficking, the services you provide to victims, and the ways you collaborate with other agencies to meet the needs of victims. We’re also interested in hearing your thoughts about how the [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 1 hour and 15 minutes. 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 [INSERT 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

• What is your title?

• How long have you been in this position?

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

• Have you previously worked with domestic trafficking victims? International trafficking victims?

Community and Organizational Capacity

Grantee Capacity

• Please describe where the support and advocacy for responding to human trafficking comes from within your organization (examples include a specific organizational champion, consistency with the organization’s mandate, building on prior work).

• What types of resources does your organization provide for responding to trafficking victims, such as staff skills or programs?

Partnership Composition and Development

• In what ways do you interact with your organization’s partners on this grant [name organizations]? What are the strengths and challenges of this collaboration?

Referral Mechanisms and Information Sharing

• Please describe referral mechanisms and protocols that have been established among your partners. Which agencies refer new clients to your program? Which programs do you refer clients to?

• What works well with the referral processes, and what is challenging?

• What has been your experience in asking partners and clients for information about clients? What works well, and what is challenging?

Comprehensive Victim-Centered Services

Screening and Assessment

• Please tell me about how the intake and assessment process works with new clients.

• What has been your experience with the process, particularly in providing information that is part of the evaluation? What works well, and what is challenging?

• How well does the screening process work in practice? What works well, and what is challenging?

Case Management

• We understand that many case management models are difficult to fully implement as they are intended. Please describe the case management model your program has adopted, particularly with respect to the following components:

• Your intended availability to meet clients

• Where you are able to meet clients

• The intended staffing pattern for case management (one case manager per client, teams, caseloads?)

• Please describe what your case management model looks like in practice, again focusing on the following components:

• Your actual availability to meet clients

• Where you meet clients

• What the staffing patterns look like in terms of providing case management

• Please provide us with an overview of other aspects of your case management model, including the following:

• A description of your case management activities

• The focus of your case management

• The challenges you’ve encountered and the strategies you’ve used to overcome those challenges

Program Engagement Strategies

• Please describe program engagement strategies for different types of clients—what encourages clients to come to the program and to continue coming back.

• What challenges have you encountered when engaging clients, and what strategies have been successful in addressing those challenges?

Victim-Centered Services

• Please describe how you ensure that client confidentiality is protected.

• Please describe how you help the client make informed decisions, especially with respect to working with law enforcement.

• Describe how you and the client decide which services the client will use.

• Please describe strategies used to ensure that the case management you provide

• is sensitive to the types of trauma that clients may have experienced [probe for allowing victim to tell own story, elimination of trauma trigger words];

• is a good match to clients’ race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity [probe for access to staff/resources that speak client’s language, awareness of culture, respecting cultural norms or concerns, documents translated in client’s language]; and

• is a good match for clients’ age and developmental state [probe for language appropriate to age or understanding; provide documents at appropriate reading level].

• Are there services that you provide that you think may need to be adapted to be more sensitive to client needs?

Staff Supervision and Support

• Please describe the supervision and support activities that you receive. How well do these work for you and other case managers, and what could use improvement?

• Does your agency provide staff training on client-centered care? If so, please provide your overall assessment of the training.

Comprehensive Services

• Are there any services that are not available through your program and your partners’ programs, or that are not a good fit for the clients you work with?

• What strategies are you using to support clients in utilizing the services you and your partners offer?

• Please describe challenges to service delivery and strategies you have used to overcome those challenges.

Program Strengths and Weaknesses
[recap points identified earlier]

• Can you please describe the strengths and weaknesses of the case management model you use?

• What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your program’s service delivery?

Wrap-Up

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