6. Pre-ETS interview questions 3.18.21

OMB Control No: 1230-0NEW Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX

UMMS Pre-ETS Case Interview Questions

Introduction

The Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE -Youth), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, is conducting research on Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). Your state has been selected as part of a case study for delivering required Pre-ETS to students with disabilities. We are interviewing leaders in your state about three topics: A) promising strategies and challenges in delivering Pre-ETS; B) equity in Pre-ETS provision; and C) delivering Pre-ETS to students who are “potentially eligible” for state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services.

The interview will take about 60 minutes and we will record the interview with your permission. We will be asking about your perceptions and experiences regarding the delivery of required Pre-ETS in your state. Your answers will be combined with that of others interviewed, and your name and identity will not be disclosed in these materials, unless you give us express permission to do so.

The information we gather will be used to develop a resource which will contain a description of how required Pre-ETS has been delivered in selected states, along with strategies and suggestions that could benefit Pre-ETS administration in other states. It will be widely distributed to state agencies and policymakers and used to guide technical assistance.

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. You can always contact us if you wish to add to or amend your responses at Marsha.Ellison@umassmed.edu.

First, let's begin by learning more about you.

Demographic Information

What is the name of the agency/organization you work for?

What is your professional role/position within your agency/organization?

Now we will begin to discuss Pre-ETS.

1. Promising practices and challenges in delivering Pre-ETS in your state:

1. Please describe your state's process and resulting design for developing a Pre-ETS delivery plan. [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: 1) strategic planning efforts, 2) inter-agency coordination or partnerships with state education, local education authorities (LEAs), or other systems, 3) conducted needs assessment, 4) specialized training, 5) design of procurement of services].

2. Thinking about Pre-ETS delivery in your state prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what promising strategies did your state implement that led to successful delivery of Pre-ETS? [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: 1) coordinating with state or local educational agencies and with other agencies 2) using VR resources more efficiently and effectively to help states balance providing Pre-ETS with the full VR program, 3) efforts to create Pre-ETS equity in urban/rural locales, 4) other implementation or administration practices]

3. Thinking about Pre-ETS delivery in your state prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what challenges have you observed or experienced in implementing and/or administering Pre-ETS? [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: 1) coordinating with state or local educational agencies and with other agencies, 2) using VR resources more efficiently and effectively to help states balance providing Pre-ETS with the full VR program, 3) efforts to create Pre-ETS equity in urban/rural locales, 4) difficulties encountered in procuring each Pre-ETS, and 5) other implementation or administration practices]
   
   
   

4. In your experience, what strategies (if any) have alleviated those challenges? Describe.
   
   
   

5. What, if any, standardized and research tested practices or programs are being used in your state to deliver any of the five Pre-ETS?
   
   
   

6. What effect (positive or negative) has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the delivery of Pre-ETS and on the number of students receiving Pre-ETS in your state?

7. Based on your experiences during the pandemic, how do you think Pre-ETS will be delivered after the pandemic?  

B) Equitable provision of Pre-ETS: The following questions will ask about disparities in Pre-ETS provision that you may have observed in terms of race/ethnicity, barriers to employment, and disability type.

Thinking about Pre-ETS delivery in your state prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in your experience or observation:

8. What disparities (if any) have you observed in the delivery of Pre-ETS by race/ethnicity? [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: disparities in referrals, outreach, engagement, completion rates, resulting post-school outcomes].

   1. If yes, describe the disparity.

   2. If yes, do you have data on this disparity? Describe.

9. What strategies have been promising in delivering Pre-ETS to racial or ethnic minority groups? [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: strategies in referrals, outreach, engagement, completion rates, resulting post-school outcomes].

10. What disparities (if any) have you observed in the delivery of Pre-ETS to students with additional barriers to employment? (e.g., students who are in foster care, homeless, ex-offenders, low income, English language learners, single parents, or who have low literacy or cultural barriers and are at risk of dropping out of school).

11. What strategies have been promising in delivering Pre-ETS to students with additional barriers to employment? (e.g., students who are in foster care, homeless, ex-offenders, low income, English language learners, single parents, or who have low literacy or cultural barriers and are at risk of dropping out of school).

12. What disparities (if any) have you observed in the delivery of Pre-ETS by primary disability type? [For this interview we define primary disability as students who have either a) communicative impairment, b) physical impairment, c) sensory impairment, d) mental-cognitive impairment (including ADHD, Autism, Intellectual Disability, Traumatic Brain Injury, Developmental Disability, Congenital Condition or Birth Injury); e) Mental -Psychosocial impairments (including: Anxiety Disorders, Depressive and other mood disorders, Eating disorders, Personality Disorders, Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders or, f) other mental-impairments (including Learning Disability, Alcohol Abuse or Dependence, or Drug Abuse or Dependence]

12a. (If disparities were noted, ask) What strategies (if any) have been promising in delivering Pre-ETS to students across a range of disability types?

13. What other disparities (if any) have you observed in delivering Pre-ETS to students across a range of settings, backgrounds, and/or demographic characteristics (e.g., disparities by age, gender, rural/urban setting, secondary vs. post-secondary setting)?
    12a. (If disparities were noted, ask) What strategies (if any) in your experience or observation helped to alleviate that disparity?
    
    
    

14. What effect (positive or negative) has the COVID-19 pandemic had on any disparities in the delivery of Pre-ETS?

C) Serving students with a disability who are “potentially eligible for VR services:”

In your experience or observation:

15. How are students who are potentially eligible for Pre-ETS identified in your state? [ If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider such as, sources of referral other than special education: students with 504 plans, other secondary sources (guidance, student health, career planning, discipline) students who are home schooled, students in post-secondary settings]
    
    

16. What strategies are promising in garnering Pre-ETS referrals from other state agencies? [If the respondent is unsure about how to answer the question or provides a brief or limited answer, suggest these topics for them to consider: other state agencies such as: juvenile justice, residential mental health treatment centers, private and public mental health centers, child welfare/foster care, homeless agencies]
    
    

17. What practices are promising at retaining students in Pre-ETS once enrolled [Prompt for: that is, to prevent drop-out]?

Closing: Thank you for participating in this interview. We will maintain your contact information on file in case we would like to follow-up for any clarifications. We will be emailing you a draft of the completed report to review prior to producing a final draft. In the meantime, you can always contact us if you wish to add to or amend your responses. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Dr. Marsha Ellison at Marsha.Ellison@umassmed.edu.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The valid OMB Control Number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. The time required to participate in the interview is estimated to average 60 minutes, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed and complete and review the collection of information. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to US Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20210 and reference the OMB Control Number xxxx-xxxx.

Privacy Act Statement
Collection and Use of Personal Information

The following statement is made in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5. U. S. C. 552a). Information collected will be handled and stored in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). Furnishing the Pre-ETS data requested is voluntary.

We will use the Pre-ETS data you provide for the CAPE-Youth Pre-ETS Research Project, funded by The United States Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (Title 5 of Public Law 107-347) and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will not be disclosed in identifiable form without your informed consent. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, Federal information systems are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data.