Business-for and not-for-profit Respondents

Attachment I.2. E&T Provider
Frontline Staff Protocol

OMB No. 0584-[NEW]

Job Search as a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) Component

January 14, 2021

Project Officer: Danielle Deemer

Office of Policy Support

Food and Nutrition Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1320 Braddock Place

Alexandria, VA 22314

703.305.2952

danielle.deemer@usda.gov

OMB Number: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Revised E&T Provider Interview Protocol

My name is [name], and I’m a researcher at Insight Policy Research. As you may know, Insight is conducting a study for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS) on the role of job search and job search training as SNAP E&T components. The study seeks to better understand the overall role of these activities in serving SNAP E&T participants and examine whether certain approaches to these activities are more effective than others in leading SNAP participants to self-sufficiency.

My colleagues and I are currently visiting local SNAP offices and E&T providers here and in three other States to collect information from a wide range of stakeholders involved in operating a SNAP E&T program. I want to start by thanking you for taking time to speak with us today. Your perspective and insights on these issues will be very helpful to the study.

Your participation in this interview is voluntary, and your responses will be kept private, except as otherwise required by law. We will not share the information you provide with anyone outside the study team, including your supervisor and State-level staff. You may refuse to answer any question, and you may stop the interview at any time. There will be no penalties if you choose not to participate in a part or the entirety of this interview.

We will take notes over the course of the interview and would like to audio record the conversation to help us remember the information we collect. The recording will not be shared with anyone outside the study team. The information you share with us today will be summarized and combined with information gathered from other people we interview. Nothing you say will ever be linked to your name. However, because of the relatively small number of E&T providers participating in the study, it is possible a response could be attributed to you.

I expect our conversation will take about 1 hour. Do you have any questions for me about the project in general or what we will be discussing today?

Do I have your permission to record our conversation? You may stop the recording at any time. [Confirm permission before recording starts. Do not record without respondent permission.]

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-xxxx. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 1 hour per response, 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 the following address: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314, ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

1. Introduction

I’d like to learn about your role and responsibilities.

1. What is your current job title or position?

1. What are your primary responsibilities?

1. Services Offered

Let’s talk about the job search and job search training activities you offer under SNAP E&T.

1. According to information we received from [State] SNAP office, job search and job search training include [activities]. Do you offer all of these activities? Are there any other activities you offer that might fall under job search or job search training?

1. When we talk about activities or your job search program, we’ll be referring to all of the activities we just discussed.

1. I’d like to learn more about each of the activities we just mentioned.
   [Interviewer Note: Repeat a through e for each activity offered by the provider.]

1. How is [job search activity] delivered?

1. How long does [job search activity] last?

2. What is the intensity of this activity? Is it heavy or light touch? Is it supervised? If so, how?

3. How satisfied are clients with [job search activity]? What changes could be made to increase satisfaction?

4. How satisfied are you with this activity? What changes do you think should be made to improve participant outcomes?

3. Are some job search activities that you offer, such as [list activities], more popular than others? If yes, which ones? What are the reasons for these differences?

4. Are job search activities recommended for all clients or only a subset of them? What are the reasons for this? Does it vary by type of job search activity? How?

5. Are job search services integrated with other program resources and/or activities? How?

1. What activities (for example on-the-job training, education, or workfare) are typically integrated with SNAP job search and job search training? Roughly what proportion of job search participants are enrolled in other activities?

1. What other programs are SNAP job search participants enrolled in (for example, WIOA)? Roughly what proportion of job search participants are dually enrolled?

3. How did your organization decide to integrate these services? What was the motivation behind the decision?

3. Job Search Service Delivery Process

Next, I want to discuss the process clients go through upon entering the program and how they move through the program.

1. Please describe the flow of SNAP clients from referral to completing the program.

1. How are SNAP clients referred to your organization? Do you do any outreach or recruitment? How long after referral must they check in with you?

2. Once a client shows up or makes contact, what happens next? Is there a standard intake process? Does the client need to schedule an appointment to meet with someone?

3. How long does a client have to begin participating in E&T after intake?

4. Please describe what types of assessments clients complete. What happens if the assessment indicates the client is not ready for employment?

5. Do you create an individualized employment plan (IEP) for each client? What does the IEP entail? How do you use the information in the IEP?

6. Does your organization conduct the orientation? If yes, can you describe what is covered during the orientation?

7. At what point in the process does the client begin to participate in job search activities? (e.g., how soon after orientation?)

8. How do you track participation? In other words, how do you monitor whether participants are meeting their E&T requirements?

9. How are nonparticipation and noncompliance defined, logged, and reported (for example, shared case management system)?

10. What is the timeframe for reporting noncompliance?

11. What are the reasons clients exit E&T? What are the main points at which they do so?

i. How often do clients exit because they have found employment?

ii. Because they have been sanctioned?

iii. Because of other reasons [list reasons reported by respondent]?

12. How frequently do clients who have exited E&T re-enter the program?

i. Where in the process do they re-enter? Intake? Screening?

ii. How long after exiting the program do they typically re-engage?

iii. How does this vary for clients who did or did not remain on SNAP the entire time?

4. Communication With SNAP Agency and Data Tracking

Let’s discuss how you communicate with the SNAP agency and the kinds of data you track.

1. What types of participation and outcome data do you track for job search participants? For instance, do you track—

1. Hours completed?

2. Jobs applied to?

3. Services started/completed?

4. Skill gains/certifications?

5. Job placement, retention, advancement? Over what period?

6. Earnings and types of employers?

7. Characteristics of clients?

8. Noncompliance (e.g., for ABAWDs)?

9. Anything else?

2. How frequently are these data collected/updated?

3. Do you share all of this data with the State or are some for internal use only? If so, what data are for internal use only?

   1. Do you report data on noncompliance of ABAWDs to the State SNAP agency?

4. What types of systems do you use to track your participants (for example, shared case management system)?

1. Do you enter information directly into a State data system linked to the SNAP agency?

2. [If data are not linked to a State system] How do you transfer/receive information to/from the SNAP agency?

3. [If data are not linked to a State system] How frequently do you report information to the SNAP agency on SNAP job search participants? What information is reported?

5. Does the SNAP agency conduct any monitoring/oversight of the program? Describe this process and frequency.

5. Outcomes

Next, I would like to learn more about participant outcomes. [Interviewer note: Ask for any spreadsheets or templates that the provider uses to track participant outcomes.]

1. How would you define “success” for SNAP participants in job search activities?

1. What job search activities contribute most to participants’ success? Please explain.

i. Which support services contribute most to participants’ success?

2. What are reasons others do not achieve success?

3. Is there anything your organization could do to help participants achieve success? Is there anything the State could do?

4. Does success vary for participants engaging in other activities in addition to job search? If so, how?

6. Challenges and Recommended Practices

Finally, I would like to learn more about any challenges you encountered while working with the SNAP E&T program and any lessons learned you can share with others.

1. What challenges has your organization encountered in implementing job search activities for SNAP participants?

1. How are these challenges being resolved?

2. Has the State helped your organization resolve these problems?

2. What are common challenges SNAP job search participants encounter in conducting job search activities [or meeting their job search requirements]?

1. What supports does your organization provide to help address those challenges?

2. What further supports, if any, are needed?

3. What helps facilitate SNAP participants’ success in job search activities?

4. What would help facilitate further success for SNAP participants in job search activities?

7. Wrap-Up

Thank you for answering our questions.

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

2. Is there anything we did not ask about that you think is important for us to know?

That completes our questions for you. Thank you very much for speaking with us.