Paived Ssb_5-16-18

Preventing and Addressing Intimate Violence when Engaging Dads (PAIVED)

OMB Information Collection Request

New Collection

Supporting Statement

Part B

January 20, 2021

Submitted By:

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

4^th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building

330 C Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

Project Officer:

Samantha Illangasekare, ACF/OPRE

B1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

RF Programs and Partner Organization Screening

RF programs will be recruited nationwide. The study team will begin to identify Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program organizations for participation by examining grantee applications, progress reports, program websites, and other documents that provide information about RF programs’ geographic location, populations served, IPV response protocols, partnerships, and other services offered. They will also have individualized conversations with federal staff in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA) and Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), RF technical assistance providers, experts, and stakeholders. Programs that reflect a diverse cross section of federally and non-federally funded RF programs whose services seem to be reflective of the overall RF program population in the United States will be prioritized for inclusion. Once a set of programs have been identified for study participation based on these characteristics, the next step will be to screen RF programs and partner organizations via phone (see Attachment 1. PAIVED Interview and Site Visit Screener). We anticipate screening 50 RF programs and partner organizations. The grantee progress reports and applications will also provide a point of contact for each RF grantee. Contact information for non-federally funded RF programs will be obtained through public information, including website contact information. The study team will email the point of contact to introduce the study and ask to set up a time to administer the study screener.

The respondent universe for screening interviews includes a staff member, most likely the Program Director, from all identified RF programs – both federally and non-federally funded. Programs in the respondent universe are those who we learn about through the means described in the preceding paragraph. During the screening process, the study team will track characteristics of organizations that are suitable for participation in the interviews and site visits at the organizational level to ensure we select, and therefore visit, observe, and interview staff at, a broad range of RF programs (see interview and site visit sections below for more information). These characteristics include geographic region, target population, services provided, partnerships, and OFA-funding status.

RF Programs and Partner Organization Interviews

Once sites are selected for participation, the study team will interview staff from up to 10 RF programs, including a subset of RF programs funded by OFA in 2015. The study team will ask the point of contact that completes the study screener to recommend potential participants. We will then follow up with the potential interviewees to describe the study and consent process and to collect their contact information for further follow up. A copy of the consent form will be provided at this time (see Appendix A Consent Form PAIVED Interviews). Prior to the start of in-person interviews, the interviewer will also give the respondent another copy of the consent form.

Staff interviews from up to six of these programs and their partner organizations will occur during site visits (see section below for more information about the site visits). Staff from the remaining programs and their partner organizations will be interviewed via telephone. For each RF program we will conduct at least three semi-structured interviews, targeting a Program Director, Program Facilitator, and an individual that works at a partner organization such as a community clinic that offers counseling to families involved in IPV or a community based organization that works closely with the RF program. Our target sample size is approximately 40 semi-structured interview participants (25 RF program staff and 15 partner organization staff members).

The respondent universe for semi-structured interviews includes Program Directors at RF programs, Program Facilitators working directly with fathers in the RF program, and personnel working at organizations that partner with an RF program. Individuals in the respondent universe are those who hear about our study through word-of-mouth, or via email (see Appendix B Introduction to PAIVED Study Email and Phone Scripts), and have an internet connection or a phone connection. Because we are collecting information about program services and implementation and not personal information from the staff it is not necessary to track characteristics of semi-structured interview respondents.

RF Programs and Partner Organization Site Visits

We will select up to six RF programs and their partner organizations for participation in the site visits. In addition to interviews, we will conduct up to two program observations at each of the site visits. However, there are no participants for the program observations, thus no participant universe.

B2. Procedures for Collection of Information

Semi-structured interviewing is one of the most common techniques used in small-scale qualitative research. It allows flexibility for the respondent to help guide the semi-structured interview and focus on the most important topics of conversation. Semi-structured interviews are versatile and can be adapted to a variety of respondent types which make them ideal for interviewing respondents at a range of different RF programs and for being adapted to different respondent types (Program Directors, Program Facilitators, and partner organization personnel) (Rubin, 2011).

Once the study team has recruited RF programs and determined eligibility at the organizational level, they will then select roughly half of the recruited programs for in-person site visits and conduct interviews with the remaining half via telephone. Which programs are selected for site visits will depend on the timing of services and programs offered. For each RF program the study team will conduct semi-structured interviews with a Program Director, at least one Program Facilitator and at least one individual from a partner organization.

Once the study team has identified RF programs for recruitment (see previous section), programs will be recruited by email (or phone if they are not responsive to email) using the point of contact names and email addresses available in the grantee applications and through other publicly available information for non-grantees to introduce them to the study (see Appendix B Introduction to PAIVED Study Email and Phone Scripts). The point of contact will be asked to email or call a study team member to set up a time to complete the study screener if they are interested in taking part in the study. RF programs recommended by OFA staff and identified via grantee applications/progress reports/expert and stakeholder testimonials as either implementing innovative IPV-related services or experiencing challenges in implemented IPV-related services will be prioritized for these calls.

Study team staff will call a point of contact from the identified RF programs to establish eligibility using a 60-minute study screener (see Attachment 1 PAIVED Interview and Site Visit Screener). Team members will be trained on the script/screener prior to calling any participants.

The study screener will identify RF programs that are operating across the country and target different populations. We aim to visit sites with diverse approaches to addressing IPV. Thus, our study screener asks about IPV-related services and activities, partnerships, and partner organization services. We will use a screening matrix to track characteristics including funding and geographic region, priority population, and IPV service location (onsite vs. partner location) (see Appendix C Screening Matrix PAIVED Site Visits). If information gathered from the study screener suggests an RF program may be appropriate for participation based on their characteristics, a staff member at up to two partner organizations will also be screened. Collecting information about the services partner organizations deliver will help us determine which RF programs would be best suited to participate in the study in general, as well as which programs the study team will approach for site visits/program observations. The study team, including the contractor and federal staff, will meet regularly to discuss each screened program’s advantages and disadvantages for program selection to determine which programs will participate in the study. Using the screening matrix, the team will discuss how the recommended sites, taken together, provide the desired variability in program features.

The study team will then follow up with the RF programs by email (see Appendix D PAIVED Recruitment and Logistics Email and Phone Scripts) and attach a semi-structured interview consent form (see Appendix A Consent Form PAIVED Interviews) to narrow down logistics such as dates for the site visit and to ask the point of contact to provide contact information for at least two potential participants for the semi-structured interview.

Regardless of whether an organization participates in the site visits, all interview participants will be contacted via email to schedule a time for an interview. If participants are not responsive to email, we will follow up with a phone call to schedule the interview (see Appendix D PAIVED Recruitment and Logistics Email and Phone Scripts). We will send them the consent form (see Appendix A Consent Form PAIVED Interviews) via email (or if needed, fax or mail) prior to their interview. For sites participating in site visits, the Program Facilitators that participate in the semi-structured interview will be ideally, but not necessarily, the same individuals facilitating the lessons that we observe.

Recruited participants (the point of contact for the site visit and/or the semi-structured interview respondents) will receive a reminder email (see Appendix E Reminder Scripts Site Visit and Interviews PAIVED) and call one week and the day before the site visit and semi-structured interview. Based on the study staff’s prior experience, these procedures have been found to minimize the number of cancellations and no-shows. Participants for semi-structured interviews will be asked to provide consent at the time of their scheduled semi-structured interview. Participants will receive thank you letters (see Appendix F Thank You for Participating Script PAIVED).

Each semi-structured interview will be about 90 minutes long; all other interview preparation activities described above (e.g., study screener, scheduling and reminder emails, reminder calls, consent, etc.) will take place before the semi-structured interview and will take about 1 hour. In-person semi-structured interviews will be conducted at a time and place that is convenient for the participant. Telephone interviews will be scheduled to take place at a time that is convenient for the participant.

B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

Expected Response Rates

The study team expects that the maximum of 25 RF program staff and 15 partner organization staff from up to 10 organizations implementing RF programs (including up to six for site visits) can be successfully recruited based on experience with similar studies in the past. Based on prior experience, we anticipate that we will need to contact (call, email, or screen) 50 RF programs and partner organizations to achieve a sample size of 25 RF program staff and 15 partner organization staff.

Dealing with Nonresponse

If an eligible participant declines to participate in the semi-structured interview, the interviewer will discuss the individual’s concerns and attempt to address the concerns. If the participant cannot or will not participate in the research, we will select another individual (or organization) with similar characteristics. Nonresponse bias may occur if the participants provide responses that may differ from individuals who choose not to participate. For example, RF programs that are struggling to address IPV may not be as interested in participating in the study. The responses from these organizations may differ from the responses we receive from the programs we do recruit for our study. However, our screening and tracking procedures should help to alleviate some of this potential bias by carefully tracking the characteristics of the RF programs and their services so that we may adjust our enrollment decisions to ensure a more balanced sample across a number of specific characteristics.

Maximizing Response Rates

To maximize response rates, study staff will schedule site visits and semi-structured interviews during dates and times that are most convenient for participants. We will call and email the day before scheduled interviews to remind participants of the interview or program observation.

B4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The study team will conduct up to 9 pilot semi-structured interviews with RF program and partner organization staff between July and September 2018. If revisions result from pretesting, the revised instruments will be submitted to OMB for review. This will be completed as a nonsubstantive change request if OMB review of the initial package is complete and a nonsubstantive change is deemed appropriate through discussion between ACF and OMB.

B5. Individual(s) Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The PAIVED study team at Child Trends is led by Dr. Mindy Scott, principal investigator, Dr. April Wilson, senior research scientist; Dr. Elizabeth Karberg, research scientist, Heather Wasik, senior research analyst; and Brooke Whitfield, senior research assistant. Partner staff include Juan Carlos Arean and Lonna Davis, from Futures without Violence; and Dr. Megan Bair-Merritt, from Boston Medical Center. The PAIVED project officer at OPRE is Samantha Illangasekare and senior advisor at OPRE is Anna Solmeyer.

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