OMB
No.: 1290-0NEW
Expiration:
TBD
RESEA Interview Protocol – RESEA Participants
Welcome: Hello, my name is [insert name] [Pass to colleague if needed]. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. We know being unemployed can be a stressful situation and so we really appreciate you taking the time to discuss your experience with [INSERT NAME OF STATE]’S RESEA program. Is now still an okay time to talk?
Introductory statement to respondents [Customize this for the state depending on what components they are evaluating]: We work for the research firm, Abt Global. The U.S. Department of Labor has hired us to evaluate the RESEA program in [INSERT NAME OF STATE]. We are examining whether the program achieves better outcomes with a single one-on-one meeting vs. multiple one-on-one meetings. We are also examining whether meeting format (in-person vs. remote) affects outcomes. The outcomes we’re focused on are Unemployment Insurance (“UI”) claimants’ duration on UI and employment.
This interview is part of the evaluation and is designed to understand how RESEA works in [INSERT NAME OF STATE], with a focus on the implementation of RESEA meetings and the format of those meetings.
Consent confirmation: Before we begin, I want to assure you that all your responses will be used only for this research study and your responses will be kept private. Your name will not appear in any written reports we produce, and your state and AJC personnel will not know your responses. We will try to describe any responses you give in a way that will make it impossible to identify you. The interview itself is voluntary, and you may choose not to answer any specific question or to opt out of the interview at any time. Not participating in this interview or skipping questions will have no impact on your unemployment benefits or RESEA services. After the interview, you will receive a $25 incentive as a thank you for your participation.
Are you okay continuing with this interview?
Questions/IRB: Do you have any questions before we get started? If you have questions or concerns about today’s interview, specifically your rights as participant in this research, you can call the Abt Global Institutional Review Board (toll-free 877-520-6835).
[If the interviewees ask about the study, feel free to share any of the following information:
We plan to visit [YY] [insert local name of AJCs—e.g. career source centers ] where RESEA services are offered.
At each site, we try to speak with (i) staff who deliver RESEA services, (ii) Career Center leadership, and (iii) RESEA participants. We also plan to observe the implementation of RESEA service delivery (i.e., RESEA one-on-one meetings, and reemployment workshops or other referral services).]
We would like to record our conversation so we can have a back up to our notes. The recording will remain private. We will de-identify your information if we cite quotes from this discussion in our reports by removing references to any personal identifying information. We will erase the recording before the end of the project. Is it okay for us to record?
[If yes, thank the respondent and wait to record until you have confirmed the participant’s name. After the recording is started, please add an introduction to the recording like: “This is an interview recorded on [date] by interviewer [name].”]
Background on Respondents
Please tell us how you got connected with the RESEA program.
Were you familiar with the RESEA program before you were notified of the requirement to attend?
Program Experience
Do you remember how many times you attended a one-on-one RESEA meeting? [Interviewer note: This is a confirmatory question. We will already know if they attended one meeting or more than one meeting. If they attended a different number than expected, proceed with the guide following the skip pattern for the actual number they attended.]
Initial RESEA Meeting [Customize as needed for each state]
The next several questions I have are about the first RESEA meeting you had.
Length & Modality
How long was the meeting?
Was the meeting conducted in-person or remotely?
If in-person:
At what location?
If remotely:
Was it by phone or other mode (which)?
Do you remember if you both used your camera?
Content [Customize for each state, as needed]
Please describe the first meeting and what you discussed with your RESEA case manager? [customize by state, Note to Interviewer: treat the list below like a checklist, confirming that each element of the RESEA meeting was described or noting they don’t remember]]
Probe for:
UI eligibility review
Work search activity log review
Needs assessment
LMI information
Individual employment plan
Resume review/prep
Perspectives on RESEA content [Customize for each state, as needed]
What do you think is the most important component of the Initial RESEA meeting?
Why?
How valuable did you find the meeting in helping you with your job search, where 10 is the most valuable and 1 is not valuable at all: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
And why did you provide that rating?
Probe: What characteristics made it valuable?
What do you think about how the staff person ran the meeting?
Why?
What do you think is the least important component of the initial RESEA meeting?
Why
What, if anything, would you change about the Initial RESEA meeting?
[If participant only attended one meeting] Did you feel that you needed or wanted to attend any additional meetings with RESEA staff?
Referral to other services
Did staff refer you to any other services?
Which ones?
Did you connect with the service?
How did it go?
How valuable did you find the service in helping you with your job search, where 10 is the most valuable and 1 is not valuable at all: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
And why did you provide that rating?
Perspectives on Meeting Modality
What were the pros and cons of meeting [Interviewer note: INSERT MODE-- remote vs. in-person service delivery—we will know this from their answer to an earlier question]?
Probes for in-person meeting
Pros-
Confirm: Did you get a chance to see the services offered at the AJC?
If yes, Do you think it was beneficial to see the AJC and other resources offered there? Why?
If no, why not?
Do you think it was beneficial to meet with staff in-person (vs. via video conference or phone)?
Why?
Cons
Did it create challenges to have to come in-person for the meeting?
If yes, what were the challenges?
Probes for virtual meeting
Pros-
Do you think it was beneficial to not to have to go in-person?
Why?
Cons
Was it challenging to use video conference software? If yes, how so?
Did the lack of an in-person setting make the meeting less engaging?
Why?
Would you have preferred to meet virtually or in-person?
Why?
Do you think remote delivery is better suited for some services over others?
Why?
Do you think in-person delivery is better suited for some services over others?
Why?
[Interviewer note: Only ask Section 2 questions of those participants who attend more than one one-on-one RESEA meeting]
Subsequent RESEA meeting [This term may need to be customized]
Now we would like to cover the details of the subsequent RESEA meeting.
Length & Modality
How long was the meeting?
Was the meeting conducted in-person or remotely?
If in-person:
At what location?
If remotely:
Was it by phone or other mode (which)?
Do you remember if you both used your camera?
Did you meet with the same person in the subsequent meeting as the last meeting?
[If “yes”] Do you think that was beneficial? Why or why not?
[If “I don’t know” or “no”] Would you have liked to? Why or why not?
Content
How did the second (subsequent) meeting compare to the first? Was the content similar?
[This list will need to be customized by state] Note to Interviewer: treat the list below like a checklist, confirming that each element of the Subsequent RESEA meeting was described]:
Probe for:
UI Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire and work search log review
Verify completion of interim services
Review resume
Review LMI research activities
Further review of needs
Referral to future reemployment/career services
Perspectives on RESEA content [Customize for each state, as needed]
How valuable did you find the subsequent meeting(s) in helping you with your job search, where 10 is the most valuable and 1 is not valuable at all: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
And why did you provide that rating?
Probe: What characteristics made it valuable?
What, if anything, would you change about the subsequent RESEA meeting?
Did you feel that you needed or wanted to attend any additional meetings with RESEA staff?
Referral to other services
Did staff refer you to any other services?
Which ones?
Did you connect with the service?
How did it go?
How valuable did you find the service in helping you with your job search, where 10 is the most valuable and 1 is not valuable at all: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
And why did you provide that rating?
Perspectives on Meeting Modality—Subsequent meeting & hypotheticals
Earlier you shared [insert what their preference was for meeting mode]. Is your preference the same for the second meeting?
Thinking hypothetically, would you have liked to have the initial meeting in-person and the subsequent virtually or vice-versa (the initial meeting remotely and subsequent meeting in-person?) Why?
Closing
Relative to when you started receiving UI benefits, what did you think about the timing of your meeting RESEA staff? Would you have preferred to meet sooner or later?
[Customize for state, may not need to ask]Do you think it was important to meet with a RESEA case manager from your local area or region of the state? Why or why not?
Did you learn about resources or services available through the AJC that you did not know about before? If so, what?
Overall, how satisfied were you with the RESEA program, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is extremely satisfied and 1 is extremely dissatisfied? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
And why did you provide that rating?
What, if anything, would you like to see changed about the program, such as any services you would like to have received or have been offered?
Is there anything about the RESEA program that we did not ask about that you think is important to discuss?
Do you have any questions for us?
We appreciate your time and your input!
Public reporting burden for this data collection instrument is estimated to average 30 minutes per response. The burden estimate includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing the interview. This collection of information is voluntary. You are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. Please send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to the U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210, or ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov and reference OMB control number 1290-0NEW.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Zachary Epstein |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-12-10 |