Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc) Formative Evaluation

Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting (HomeEc)

The HomeEc team will use this guide to do the following:

• Learn whether and how the home visiting programs are currently addressing family economic well-being

• Understand the programs’ successes and challenges with and opportunities to improve family economic well-being

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR NEEDS IDENTIFICATION

A. Introduction and Informed Consent

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. My name is [NAME] and my colleague’s name is [NAME]. We are from [ORGANIZATION(S)], and we are here to learn about your experiences with [HOME VISITING PROGRAM].

We are part of a team conducting a study called Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting, or HomeEc for short. The Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is overseeing this study, in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The study will help us better understand, measure, and support the economic well-being of families enrolled in home visiting programs. For our study, we have defined economic well-being as how well families’ financial situations match up with what they want and need. This might include a family’s ability to (1) meet and sustain basic needs, (2) have present and future financial security and the capability to absorb financial shocks over time, (3) have control over financial decisions, and (4) achieve security and satisfaction in employment.

Today, we want to learn about your experiences in [HOME VISITING PROGRAM], how the program supports family economic well-being, and how you think the program could improve on this.

The information you share will inform the next steps for our study of [HOME VISITING PROGRAM], and it may be summarized in a public final report about what we learned. But we will not name you in our reports, so please feel free to talk openly.

Your participation in this interview is voluntary, and you can decline to answer any questions. You have the option to skip any question or end the interview at any time without any for any reason and consequences. We are interested in learning about your experiences and perspectives; there are no right or wrong answers. Your answers to these questions will not affect your home visiting grant. There are no direct benefits and no risks associated with participation in the study. All information you provide will be kept private to the extent permitted by law, except if you say something that suggests you are very likely to harm yourself, that you are planning to hurt another person or child, or that someone is likely to harm you. We expect this discussion to take about 90 minutes.

If you want more information or have questions about the study or your privacy rights, you can call the project director, Katie Eddins at 202-838-3614.

We value the information you share with us and want to make sure we capture it all by recording it. The records will be securely kept and no one other than the research team will listen to or view the recordings. The recordings will be kept until the end of the project and then discarded. Do we have your permission to record the discussion?

[If yes, press record. If the answer is no, acknowledge that you understand, do not record, and take handwritten notes instead.]

Do you agree to participate in this interview?

Do you have any questions before we begin?

B. Interview questions

INTERVIEWER NOTE: Tailor this guide before the interview based on your current understanding of the program and information we have already collected. Fill in the home visiting program or partner program’s name in the appropriate brackets.

Not all programs will have staff in the roles identified in Table 1. Tailor the guide based on the following definitions:

• Program directors and managers. Individuals responsible for the overall direction and management of the program who have a high-level understanding of the program’s mission. This can include program directors or managers at a partner agency, if appropriate.

• Program supervisors. People who oversee program implementation, provide support to the home visitors and other frontline staff, and provide information to program directors and managers.

• Home visitor and other frontline staff. Individuals in the program responsible for serving families in the program. Separate interviews will be conducted with staff or small groups of staff in unique roles (for example, home visitors and other specialized staff, such as case managers or care coordinators).

• Partner agency staff. Individuals who work for partner agencies, including directors, managers, or frontline staff.

• Program participants. Caregivers who receive services from frontline staff.

Table 1. Potential questions to cover in interviews

Question	Program leaders and managers	Program supervisors	Frontline staff	Partner agency staff	Participants
A. Program context
What are the goals of [program or partner agency]?				
What is [program’s or partner agency’s] staffing structure, including who oversees which staff?				
How many families are currently enrolled and receiving services in [program]?		
How many families are currently on your caseload [at program or partner agency]? What proportion of your time is dedicated to working directly with families?				
How many families that you work with receive home visiting services from [program]?				
Does [program or partner agency] have any specialized staff specifically focused on economic well-being, such as a case manager or care coordinator?				
Does [program] provide virtual home visits? (Probes: frequency, circumstances for virtual visits)			
Do you communicate with other staff members about families receiving different services through [program]? What does this communication look like?				
B. Family economic well-being services
What are the key economic strengths of the families that participate in [program or partner agency]? (Probes: stable housing, multigenerational homes, or supportive social networks)					
What are the key economic needs or challenges of the families that participate in [program or partner agency]? (Probes: financial insecurity, child care assistance, low-paying jobs, limited housing options)					
What areas of family economic well-being would be useful for [program] to address? (Probes: ability to meet basic needs and have financial security, control over financial decisions, and secure and satisfactory employment)					
What practices, if any, does [program or partner agency] use to address a family’s economic well-being? By economic well-being, we mean a family’s ability to meet basic needs and have financial security, control over financial decisions, and secure and satisfactory employment. (If needed: By practices, we mean services or strategies the program uses to address family’s economic well-being challenges.) (Probes: case management, referrals to partner organizations, goal setting, economic coaching, budgeting, direct financial or material assistance, financial education and/or literacy, financial incentives, job assistance, legal assistance.) (If program or partner agency does not use any practices to address family economic well-being, skip to question 5.)					
4a. What resources do these practices require in terms of training, guidance, time to implement, or materials? (Tailor based on answers to above question)				
4b. How well does [practice] fit with the home visiting model [program] uses?			
4c. For whom and in what circumstances is or could [practice] be used?				
4d. What successes have you experienced with [practice]? What has worked well? (Probes: family factors, frontline staff factors or skills, program factors, community or structural factors, training or guidance, materials)					
4e. What challenges have you experienced with [practice]? What is not working well? (Probes: family factors, frontline staff factors or skills, program factors, community or structural factors, training or guidance, materials)					
4f. What do families like or dislike about [practice]?				
4g. What do you like or dislike about [practice]?					
4h. How could [practice] be improved?					
[If program doesn’t currently use any practices to address family economic well-being] Do you have any ideas of practices that [program] could pilot to improve economic well-being of families?					
Have you previously tried using any economic well-being practices that have not worked? Tell me about them.				
Which practices would you say might be most effective or promising for addressing family economic well-being? Which might be the least effective?					
What are the federal, state, and local policies that affect family economic well-being? (Probes: child care availability, access to public transportation)					
What are the federal, state, and local policies that affect how [program or partner agency] supports family economic well-being?				
What program or organizational requirements affect how [program or partner agency] supports family economic well-being—for example, reporting or eligibility requirements stemming from funding sources or home visiting model requirements?				
How do staff ensure that the services provided to families align with a family’s goals for economic well-being?					
C. Partners
Who are [program’s] key partners for addressing family economic well-being? What services do they offer?		
What is your experience with partnering with [program or partner agency]?				
Are you receiving economic well-being services from other organizations? If so, what services?					
Has your home visitor connected you to other organizations or resources to help you or your family with financial needs or challenges? For example, a food bank, utility assistance, places to get a car seat, or options for child care? If so, please tell me about that experience. (Probes: how clearly was information communicated, whether the program or resource was helpful, whether the family felt supported in the referral process)					
How do referral relationships operate in [program]? What are some successes and challenges with cross-referrals?				
Is information about participants shared across partners? If so, how is it shared and how often?				
What are the successes and challenges associated with these partnerships? What could be improved?				
D. Data use and program improvement
How does [program] collect and track data related to economic well-being—for example, household income, wages, debt, employment status, and so on? What do you track and how often is it collected?			
How does [program or partner agency] track progress toward meeting a family’s identified needs or goals? (Probes: medical care, education status, affording basic needs)				
What are the challenges and benefits associated with collecting and using data about families’ progress?				
Are there any program-level reporting requirements for tracking family economic well-being? (Probes: model requirements, program-specific requirements)		
Does [program or partner agency] collect feedback about program services? How and from whom?				
Are data used to identify opportunities for improving [program or partner agency]? If so, how?				
E. Wrap-up
Overall, how do you think [program] can better address families’ economic well-being needs?					
Are there any practices not currently implemented by [program] that could be helpful for addressing family economic well-being?					
Considering our conversation, what do you think [program] should pilot test relating to family economic well-being? (Probes: existing practices/program elements to refine, new practices, things you don’t want the program to work on)					
Is there anything else you would like to share about [program] that we have not yet discussed?					
Do you have any questions before we wrap up?					

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