Expanding Evidence on Replicable Recovery and Reunification Interventions for Families (R3)

Instrument 1

R3 Guide for Informational Calls with Potential Program Sites

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: Through this information collection, ACF is gathering information to conduct a feasibility study of one or more promising family recovery and reunification interventions that use recovery coaches. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average six hours per grantee, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0356 and the expiration date is 06/30/2021. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Kimberly Francis, R3 Project Director, at Kimberly_Francis@abtassoc.com or (617) 520-2502.

Instrument 1: R3 Guide for Informal Informational Calls with Potential Program Sites

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to meet with the R3 study team at Abt Associates. We are conducting a feasibility study of recovery and reunification interventions that use recovery coaches in child welfare settings, on behalf of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The study will help us determine the feasibility of conducting a rigorous evaluation of one or more potentially replicable and scalable interventions. This feasibility study is the first step toward the goal of conducting a rigorous evaluation. Today we are calling because we are in a preliminary phase of gathering information about potential sites that are implementing (or planning to implement) recovery coaching interventions of interest to ACF, and thought it would be valuable to learn more about your program.

Over the next hour, we would like to walk through the questions we provided in advance of the meeting. We would also value your initial thoughts about whether your program could potentially be included in the feasibility study. Lastly, please know that your participation in all discussions with our team is completely voluntary. Should you choose to participate, your responses will be discussed internally among the study team and the funding agency (the Administration for Children and Families) but that, to the extent allowable by law, individual identifying information will not be disseminated publicly.

Study overview

• Describe R3 study goals and timeline

• Describe feasibility study site roles and responsibilities

• Describe possible benefits of participating in the feasibility study

• Elicit questions from program

Overview of prior knowledge

• Walk through what study team may already know about the organization and its programming.

Organization and program background and overview

• How long has [organization name] been operating in the community/communities? What other programs does the organization provide?

• Is the program currently in operation?

• How long has the program been operating? What are your funding sources?

• What is the program catchment area?

• Who are the key community partners helping to implement the program? What are their roles in the program?

• What are the challenges in these communities that inspired this program?

• Has the program been evaluated? Is an evaluation underway?

• Do you have any programmatic or evaluation materials you could share with us?

Program design

• Who does the program serve primarily? (e.g., target population)

• How do you identify and recruit parents/families?

• Where does intake and enrollment take place?

• What are the core program components?

• How does recovery coaching fit into the program model?

• What services does the recovery coach provide? What are the recovery coach's primary responsibilities?

Program implementation (if applicable)

• How many staff does the program employ? What are their roles? What is the supervisory structure?

• Do you work with a specific program developer and/or technical assistance provider to train staff, provide TA, and monitor the program? If so, what process do you follow for each?

• About how many families does the program serve per year in each enrollment location?

• What do participants like about the program?

• What program features or factors do you believe are most important to the program’s successes?

• What have been the primary challenges? What future challenges do you see?

• Are there any modifications or adaptations that you have made to the program to serve parents and families in these locations?

Service environment

• What other similar services are provided within the organization?

• What other similar services are provided within the community(ies) in which your participants live?

• What kind of SUD treatment services are available in the communities in which your participants live?

• What are the “usual services” if participants were not offered this program?

Future plans

• Are there plans to operate the program in the future? Are you currently planning any additions or changes?

• Do you have funding to continue the program? To expand the program?

• Would you be open to future conversations with the study team to explore the feasibility of designing a rigorous evaluation of this program?

Next steps

Thank you for speaking with us today. The study team is holding informational calls with a number of program sites and will coordinate with ACF to determine which programs may be a good fit for the feasibility study. We may follow up with additional questions, and will keep you informed on next steps.