Child Care Interstate Background Check (CC-IBaCs) Environmental Scan

Appendix H.4: Interview Guide NEICE

U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (DHHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE)

Child Care Interstate Background Checks (CC-IBaCs) Environmental Scan

Interview Guide for National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE) Custodian

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview today. My name is __________. I work for CNA, a research organization based in Arlington, VA. We are working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care and Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation to find ways to improve the implementation of the interstate background checks on child care workers that are required under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014. For this study, we are interviewing a wide range of key people involved in the background check process. ACF will use the data collected through the interviews to support the development of promising solutions to strengthen nationwide implementation of child care background checks as mandated by the CCDBG Act and provide states and territories with additional technical assistance to facilitate implementation. Please note that the sole purpose of this study is to gather data to inform how ACF can better support state and territory agencies.

Before we get started, there are a few things I should mention. This is a research project, and your participation is voluntary. We expect that the interview will take about 30 minutes to complete . We will summarize your information and use it to produce a final report that will be used for internal planning at the Office of Child Care, but we will not identify or quote any of the specific people interviewed for the report. We aim to summarize findings so that comments cannot be attributed to any specific person.

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 0970-0356 and the expiration date is 06/30/2021.

Do you have any questions before we start?

With your permission, we would like to record the interview. The recording will be used to help us ensure our notetaking is accurate. The recordings will be accessible only to the project team at CNA, and will not be shared with the Office of Child Care. We will destroy the recordings after the study is complete. Are you okay with us recording our interview today?

1. What is your role with NEICE?

2. Have you or your agency had any discussions or exchanged information about the requirement to screen child care workers against state child abuse and neglect registries? If so, please describe it.

PROBES: What groups were involved in the discussions or information exchange?

What was the outcome?

About how long ago was this?

3. How many States have fully implemented NEICE? Is there a “users group” for NEICE?

4. What is the current process for transmitting and accepting data via NEICE? How does the process differ when a state uses the NEICE Case Management System versus the NEICE Clearinghouse?

PROBES: Are there any fees for using the system?

How many cases have been handled in NEICE since the rollout began?

5. Who is authorized to access NEICE?

PROBE: [If only child welfare agencies] Are there any exceptions?

6. Who is authorized to see data via NEICE?

PROBE: [If only child welfare agencies] Are there any exceptions?

7. What data are included in the NEICE information exchange?

8. Does NEICE support requesting and transmittal of interstate background check data?

PROBE: [If yes] How does this work?

9. Is there documentation on the system model and functional specifications for NEICE?

PROBE: [If yes] Is there a website where I can download a copy?

10. What are the barriers to providing data via NEICE to agencies conducting child care worker background checks? [Interviewer: For each barrier identified, ask the respondent to describe the issue and how it affects out-of-state registry checks.]

PROBES: Are there barriers related to…

• NEICE regulations?

• State child welfare or child abuse and neglect registry privacy restrictions?

• Need for additional automated functions?

• Cost of extra volume?

• Staff time to process?

• Integration with other State systems?

• Other?

11. What would be required to make NEICE usable for child care worker background checks?

PROBES: Would the things required include….

• Legislative changes?

• Additional resources?

• New automated systems?

• Other?

12. What would you like to see the federal government do to support implementation of out-of-state background checks for child care workers?

13. Are there any other people from other programs or interested agencies that you think we should interview for this study?

4