Instrument 3: Guide for Implementation Study for CoC Management

^{Instrument 3:} Discussion Guide for Implementation Study Interviews with Continuum of Care Management (Interview, First Site Visit)

This information is being collected to inform the evaluation of the Family Unification Program (FUP) being conducted by a research team at the Urban Institute, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and Child Trends. This information will be used to inform the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (HHS ACF) and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve the administration of the FUP program. All the information you provide will be kept private to the extent permitted by law.

If you have questions or concerns about the study, please contact:

Michael Pergamit Mark Courtney

Urban Institute Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

202-261-5276 773.702.1219

mpergamit@urban.org markc@uchicago.edu

If you agree to participate in this study and feel that your rights have been violated or that you have

not been treated fairly, contact:

The Institutional Review Board Coordinator

Everett Madden

Urban Institute

2100 M Street NW

Washington DC 20037

Phone: 202-261-5632

The Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Unification Program.^[3] Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. 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 and expiration date for this collection are OMB #: 0970-0514, Exp: 09/31/2021. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Michael Pergamit at mpergamit@urban.org.

Discussion Guide for Implementation Study Interviews with Continuum of Care Management (Interview, First Site Visit)

First Site Visit (6-9 months after implementation)

Continuum of Care Management (CoC) Background

Please tell me about your agency.

• What is your position at the agency?

• What is the service area of your agency?

• Do you operate a coordinated entry system?

  • If yes, how does that system work? How is housing allocated within that system?

  • If yes, will FUP go through the coordinated entry system?

• What outreach does the CoC conduct for families with homeless families in the community?

COC Role in FUP

• How is your agency involved in the FUP program?

  • Do you refer families to FUP?

    • If yes:

      • How long have you been referring families for FUP?

      • Do you refer families to the child welfare agency or to the public housing authority?

      • What are the eligibility criteria for the FUP program?

      • How do you identify the eligible families?

        • Is there a referral screener sheet?

      • Have you ever matched the HMIS data to the child welfare data to identify homeless families in both systems?

  • Do you provide services to FUP families?

    • If yes, what kinds of services do you provide? (probe for description of each type of service)

      • Housing application assistance?

      • Housing search assistance?

      • Financial assistance?

      • Landlord outreach?

      • Post-move services?

      • On-going case management?

    • (If yes) Will data on services for FUP families be entered into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)?

• Is there a staff person who is responsible for FUP? Is FUP the only program they work on?

• Are there any other ways you are involved in administering FUP?

• Is the CoC providing training to the PCWA or PHA on coordinated entry? Homelessness services?

• Is the PHA providing the CoC training on voucher and housing eligibility?

• Is the PCWA providing the CoC training on child welfare families and their special circumstances as a result of being involved in child welfare (e.g. their child may not be with them when they move into housing)?

Partnership with Public Child Welfare Agency and Other Collaborating Agencies

• How did your collaboration with the public child welfare agency (PCWA) and the Public Housing Authority (PHA) for FUP come about? Did someone at the Public Housing Authority (PHA) or the Public Child Welfare Agency (PCWA) reach out to the CoC? Or did the CoC initiate the relationship? At what level was the contact made (agency head, program director, etc.)?

• Have you ever collaborated with the public child welfare agency or the public housing authority in the past, on either FUP or another project? If so, please describe.

• How would you characterize the strength of your relationship with the PHA? Why?

  • Probe: Are there clear roles and responsibilities? Is there a sense of common mission? Are processes tailored to work effectively, or are they built as work-arounds to existing processes? Is there trust between the agencies? Has the partnership led to other joint ventures?

• How would you characterize the strength of your relationship with the PCWA? Why?

  • Probe: Are there clear roles and responsibilities? Is there a sense of common mission? Are processes tailored to work effectively, or are they built as work-arounds to existing processes? Is there trust between the agencies? Has the partnership led to other joint ventures?

• Are you collaborating with any other agencies or organization around FUP?

• What role does this agency/organization play in FUP?

• How did that collaboration come about?

• How did you determine their role in administering FUP?

• How did you work with this organization in developing the FUP application?

• Once the vouchers were awarded, did the organization’s role in administering FUP change? If so, how?

• Have you ever collaborated with this agency/organization in the past, on either FUP or another project? If so, please describe.

• How would you characterize the strength of your relationship? Why?

  • Probe: Are there clear roles and responsibilities? Is there a sense of common mission? Are processes tailored to work effectively, or are they built as work-arounds to existing processes? Is there trust between the agencies? Has the partnership led to other joint ventures?

Community Context

• Please describe the homeless population in [SITE]. How many homeless families are there in [SITE]? Are they generally seeking shelter services, doubling up, or in another situation?

• Please describe the social services landscape. How widely available are social services for homeless families?

• What housing resources other than the Family Unification Program are available for homeless families through the CoC?

  • Are there any housing providers or emergency shelters that operate outside the CoC?

Data Systems

We are interested in learning about your Homeless Management Information System data.

• Is the HMIS open (that is are data shared across providers)? Or closed (data is not shared across providers)?

• Does the HMIS data include all shelter (beds in the area? If not, which shelters or kinds of shelters does it exclude?

• What types of information is collected?

• How consistently is this information collected?

• What is the process for an external organization to get access to the data for research?

• What data sharing is covered in the consent form filled out for individuals that will be entered into HMIS? Do most individuals sign the consent form?

Implementation Challenges

• Have you encountered any challenges implementing the FUP program? If so, please describe.

• How did you overcome those challenges?

• Have any factors been particularly helpful in implementing the program?

Closing

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

Is there anything that I did not ask about that you think I should know about the FUP program or your experience with FUP families?

Any final questions for me about the study, or about the Urban Institute?