Appendix D: Sample Interview Questions

This appendix includes examples of questions likely to be asked by Federal team members; they represent some of the issues to be addressed during the SACWIS assessment review. The questions are organized by the agenda session in which the issues are likely to arise. See the sample agenda (Appendix E) for information on other topics covered in each session.

Local/county office interviews

General questions

How did you get your SACWIS/network passwords? How often do you have to change it?

What parts of the system do you use most often? What helps most to manage workload?

How often do you use the following help features? Do you have suggestions for improving them?

• on-line help
• local support
• internet support
• help desk
• training

Are error messages clear? What do you do when you get an error message?

Can you show me ticklers/alerts that you use?

Can you demonstrate searches for the following?

• a case
• persons in a case
• investigations
• foster parents
• other resources

Can you demonstrate some of the edit checks (e.g. do you have to enter data in a certain order, are there required fields, things that the system will not accept, or does the system compare data in different fields to prevent entry of erroneous data)? Are there reports that help you to identify missing or questionable data?

Can you show me how you record case notes?

Can you show me some of the forms and notifications SACWIS generates for you?

Are there reports you would like that the system does not produce? Do you generally view reports on the screen or do you need to print out copies?

Intake questions

What is the practice during intake? Can you show me the steps as you enter a new report into the system?

Investigation questions

How is risk assessment conducted? Can you show me how this is entered into the system?

Does the automated system provide for the input of information collected during the investigation process, including the recording of dates for each event and the recording of contacts made during the investigation?

Case assessment questions

What is the practice at your office for recording family problems/issues/strengths? How are service objectives recorded?

Can you show me an example where you record strengths and weaknesses of a family? How do you determine needed services?

Can you show me an example of establishing a case plan goal for a family/case? How do you determine the case plan goal?

Can I get copies of the case reports you most commonly use?

How does the system make service referrals? What are the steps followed? How are referrals tracked?

Eligibility determination questions

Can you demonstrate how eligibility is determined? How is it re-determined?

Can you show me how foster families are licensed?

Can you show me what happens if a foster family or other facility loses its license?

Case management questions

Could you demonstrate the case management activities that SACWIS saves information on and tracks?

Could you demonstrate how the SACWIS supports the following programs?

• Adoption Assistance Program
• Independent Living
• Family Preservation & Support Services
• Foster Care
• Child Abuse and Neglect
• ICPC

Resource management questions

How would you know if an abuse/neglect report were lodged against a foster care family?

How do you go about selecting a foster family for a specific child? How do you find other types of service providers?

Court processing questions

What court documents do you commonly see and work with? Are any of them generated by the system?

Are any of the court documents only available in paper? Does information from court records get into SACWIS?

How does the system support the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)? Does the system flag tribal children? Is the tribe notified that a child is in custody? If the tribe is notified, how is the tribe notified?

Staff management questions

Do supervisors use the system in case assignment?

How do managers use the system to ensure worker compliance with State and Federal regulations?

AFCARS Interview

If the State has not submitted AFCARS data, what is the time schedule for submitting data from the new SACWIS?

Has the State tested the AFCARS extraction routine and created an AFCARS test file?

Is the State using the Data Quality Utility and Data Compliance Utility to identify errors in the data?

Optional and mandatory interfaces interview

How does the SACWIS capture information needed by the IV-D program (absent parent) to open a IV-D case?

Central office program and policy staff interview

What is the procedure to allow clients to review information in their record?

How does the SACWIS support court ordered mandates?

Technical Staff Interview

What is the State's policy, including repercussions, for unauthorized access to client information?

What is the State's policy regarding archiving and purging of case information from the information system?

At what point and to whom are unique identifiers assigned? Are IDs given to individual children, related individuals, families, perpetrators, incidents, or cases?

Does the system produce data quality reports (i.e. reports pinpointing possibly erroneous or inconsistent data)?

Financial review/administration review

How does the SACWIS support provider payments functions? How does it track payments? Does it include alerts/reports for possible problems? Is it easy to understand and use these functions?

Are there range checks to ensure appropriate payments?

How does the system handle overpayments?

What sort of resource tracking does the system do? Does it include a mechanism for licensing renewal? Does it indicate when a license has expired? Are complaints logged in the system?