Assets for Independence Act Evaluation:
Phase I Implementation Final Report
October 5, 2001
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Appendix BProcess Interview Guides |
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Guide A: First Round Interview Guide — Coordinators |
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| A. | Respondent Background | ||
| B. | Organizational Structure | ||
| C. | Program Background & Development | ||
| D. | Account Activity Levels | ||
| E. | Federal Grant | ||
| F. | Other Funds | ||
| G. | Participant Eligibility | ||
| H. | Qualified Uses of IDAs | ||
| I. | Matching Provisions | ||
| J. | Reporting and Evaluations | ||
| K. | Effects | ||
| L. | Observations | ||
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Guide B: First Round Interview Guide — Associates |
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| A. | Respondent Background | ||
| B. | Program Operations | ||
| C. | Participant Interactions | ||
| D. | Effects | ||
| E. | Observations | ||
Guide A: First Round Interview Guide - Coordinators
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Respondent name: ___________________________________
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Introduction
[DESCRIBE PROJECT, INTERVIEWING ORGANIZATION, AND INTERVIEW]
A. Respondent Background
Before we start discussing the IDA program, I'd like to take a moment to learn a little bit about you and your own relationship to the program.
A.1. How would you describe your role in relation to the [IDA PROGRAM NAME]?
A.2. When did you first begin working on this program? (PROBE: Was the program just getting started then?) Approximately what portion of your work week do you now spend dealing with (program name)?
A.3. Could you briefly describe your other job responsibilities apart from those related to the program -- just a sentence or two is plenty.
A.4. What other services does your organization provide,
in addition to [IDA PROGRAM NAME]? What kinds of people participate
in these other programs?
B. Organizational Structure
B.1. How many organizations are involved in the operation of your IDA program?
B.2. *What sort of legal entity is each of these organizations (e.g., not-for-profit (501)(c)(3) organization, State or local government agency, tribal government)?
B.3. Excluding financial institutions, what other public
agencies and private organizations are involved in the program's
operation (including all whose cooperation is required to
operate the program effectively)?
B.4. Please describe each agency's or organization's role
in the program's operation.
B.5. *What financial institutions are involved?
B.6. *Is this financial institution Federally insured?
B.7. What was involved in getting financial institutions
involved in the program initially? What factors were most
important?
C. Program Background & Development
C.1. Did [ORGANIZATION] have an IDA program prior to receiving AFIA funding?
C.1.1. (If yes:) When was that effort started? When was the first account opened?
C.1.2. About how many accounts had been established at the time that you secured AFIA funding? [NOTE: From here, all remaining questions pertain to the AFIA-funded program]
C.2. What if any challenges did the AFIA-supported IDA program face in its initial development period (prior to accounts being opened)? (PROBE: Did any significant issues, obstacles, or problems arise in gaining the participation of financial institutions, cooperation with other agencies, or buy-in from other stakeholders?)
C.3. When did the program become operational? (i.e., when were the first accounts opened?)
C.4. What challenges did the IDA program face in its startup period (after the first accounts were opened)? (PROBE: Did any issues arise in outreach to potential applicants, training of participants, relationships with banks or other partners?)
C.5. Did any difficulties arise with respect to. . .
C.5.1 Outreach to potential applicants?
C.5.2 Relationships with banks or other partners?
C.5.3 Case management?
C.5.4 Developing the educational component?
C.6. Is this program serving the number of account holders it was funded to serve?
C.6.1. If not, what are the reasons for this in your mind?
C.6.2. Do people not know about the program?
C.6.3. If they do know about the program, do they believe it will help them?
C.7. Did individuals enroll in the program [received financial literacy training] and not open an account?
C.7.1. If so, what reasons did they cite?C.7.2. What other reasons, if any, did you perceive?
D. AccountActivity Levels
D.1. Approximately how many accounts are open now? (An approximation is fine.)
D.2. What is the total level of funds in the AFIA-funded IDA accounts now?
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposited Amount | |
| Match funds | |
| Total |
D.2.1. These figures are as of what date?
D.3. Please give me a sense of the savings patterns you have observed so far. What is the "typical" size of deposits? How frequently are these usually made? (PROBE: if there is no "typical" pattern, please give me a range).
D.4. Approximately how many account-holders have made withdrawals
for allowable uses to date?
D.5. What is the total level of funds that have been withdrawn
to date from the AFIA-funded accounts?
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposited Amount | |
| Match funds | |
| Total |
D.5.1.These figures are as of what date?
D.6. What have been the uses for which these funds were withdrawn?
PROBE: Approximately how many withdrawals were for. . .
| Use | Number |
|---|---|
| Home ownership | |
| Business startup | |
| Education and training | |
| Emergencies | |
| Other uses |
D.7. Approximately how many participants who opened accounts have left the program without completing it? (i.e., quit or were dropped from the program due to withdrawals or lack of participation.)
D.8. What is the full-time equivalent number of staff people
working on the IDA project? How many of these people work
at organizations other than your own? (PROBE: That is, how
many people work on the project and what percentage of a 40-hour
week do each of them typically spend on it?)
E. Federal Grant
E.1. Who was directly involved in securing Federal funds for the IDA program?
E.2. What is the total level of Federal AFIA funds you have secured for the IDA program?
E.2.1. What is your AFIA grant amount?
E.2.2. For how many years are these Federal funds guaranteed?
E.3. For what have you used these funds to date? What amounts have been used:
E.3.1. To match deposits into IDAs?
E.3.2. To help participants obtain the skills and information necessary for using IDAs (e.g., economic literacy, budgeting, and counseling)
E.3.3. To administer the project?
E.3.4. To participate in monitoring and evaluation activities?
F. Other Funds
F1.1. Please give me a sense of how the AFIA funding fits into the context of other IDA funding your organization receives. What funding is currently available to you from these sources?
| Source (type) |
Amount | Purpose
of funds (e.g. match, administration) |
Level
of funding for each purpose ($ amount, % share) |
Time period over which this funding is available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. AFIA |
a. b. c. |
a. b. c. |
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| 2. |
a. b. c. |
a. b. c. |
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| 3. |
a. b. c. |
a. b. c. |
F.2. How adequate would you say are the administrative
resources you have available from all these sources for
the IDA program?
F.2.1. If you feel administrative funding is no adequate, what could be done additionally, or better, with more such funding? What are the consequences of insufficient administrative funding for your IDA program?
G. Participant Eligibility
G.1. Who is eligible for the program? (PROBE: How does
financial eligibility for TANF and EITC affect an individual's
eligibility for the IDA program?)
G.2. When assessing applicants to the IDA program , does
your organization look for a particular type of person,
or for certain characteristics? If so, why are these considered
important? (PROBE for traits that the program might be
screening for: for example, motivation, family support,
level of need.)
G.3. Is anyone ever considered inappropriate for this IDA program (beyond those who are simply ineligible)? If so, what types of people? For what reasons would someone be considered inappropriate?
G.4. What is the maximum applicants can hold in assets (excluding the value of the primary dwelling unit and one motor vehicle owned by the household)?
G.5. What additional screens or eligibility assessment do you perform on applicants who pass the income and asset related criteria?
G.6. How are potential participants informed about the existence of your IDA program? (PROBE: What use, if any, do you make of program brochures, media advertising, or caseworker referrals from other program services?)
G.6.1. How effective do you think this overall strategy has been in "getting the word out" to potential participants?G.6.2. Which component(s) do you think were most effective? Least effective? What changes would you make if you could?
H. Qualified Uses of IDAs
H.1. What types of purchases or investments can IDAs be used for?
H.2. At what point after the initial deposit is made
can a withdrawal be made?
H.3. Does the program allow for emergency withdrawals?
H.3.1. For what circumstances are emergency withdrawals permitted? H.3.2. What funds can/cannot an individual withdraw for these emergency purposes?
H.4. After making an emergency withdrawal, does a participant need to repay the funds in order to continue participating?
H.4.1. Is there a time period within which the funds must be repaid in order to remain eligible for the match funds?
H.5. Can IDAs or IDA funds be transferred to eligible
family members (such as a spouse or dependent child)?
In what circumstances?
I. Matching Provisions
I.1. Do you place any restriction on the type of funds that can be deposited into an IDA? (PROBE: Does it have to be earned income?)
I.2. What is the match rate that an account-holder receives?
I.2.1. Of that, what is the match rate paid by AFIA funding? By other sources?
| Source of Funding | Match Rate |
|---|---|
| 1. AFIA | |
| 2. | |
| 3. |
I.2.2. Does the match rate differ for different families (e.g., families with higher or lower incomes)?
I.3. When or how often are matching deposits made from your Federal funds?
I.4. When or how often are match deposits made from your non-Federal funds?
I.5. Is there any restriction placed on the amount of Federal match funds in any one IDA account? What is the restriction per individual? Per household?
I.6. Do you co-mingle the participants savings with
the matching money in a single account, or keeping the
matching money in a separate but parallel account?
J. Reporting and Evaluation
J.1. Do you submit progress reports to the US Department of Health and Human Services? How often? What do they contain?
J.2. Do you report separately to any other funding organizations? What information do they require? How often?
J.3. Do you engage in any self-evaluation activities? Please describe them.
J.4. Have you established any performance goals for
the IDA program or individual staff? (PROBE: for example,
milestones for recruitment, savings goals, or withdrawals.)
If yes, what are they? How do you track them?
K. Effects
K.1. Understanding it may be too early to tell yet, are you seeing any evidence of the following:
K.1.1. Effects on participant savings behavior?
K.1.2. Different effects on savings by members of different demographic groups (e.g., gender, age, family size, race or ethnic background, and income)?
K.1.3. Effects on homeownership rates?
K.1.4. Effects on post-secondary education attained?
K.1.5. Effects on self-employment / business startup?
K.1.6. Economic/self-sufficiency effects on participants? (reduction in public assistance)
K.1.7. Civic effects on participants (voting, school involvement, community involvement, etc.)?
K.1.8. Social or psychological effects on participants? (future-orientedness, feelings of self-efficacy, motivation, other behavioral changes)
K.1.9. Family stabilization effects on participants? (parenting behaviors, marital status, domestic violence)
L. Observations
L.1. Do you think the program is serving as many people as it could? Is the program underused, or is it operating at "full capacity"? Please explain.
L.2. What have been the main issues or obstacles to getting eligible people to participate? (e.g., low income, trust issues, barriers to employment, inexperience with bank accounts, limited outreach/information)
L.3. Have you noticed any general patterns or trends in participants' savings behavior? (IF NO RESPONSE, PROBE: e.g., poor people's ability to save, people making deposits regularly vs. in lump sums - like at tax time)
L.4. What type of person tends to succeed in this IDA program? What type of person tends not to succeed?
L.5. Looking outside the IDA program for a moment, what do you see as the primary factors that have shaped the program's results? (IF NO RESPONSE, PROBE: e.g., welfare reform, the local economy, housing market)? How have these factors influenced your work?
L.6. Which aspects of the IDA program do you feel are most appealing to clients? Which are the least appealing?
L.7. Are there any significant unresolved issues or obstacles with respect to the administration of the program? (PROBE: Are there any issues involving state or federal policy, participation by banks or other groups?)
L.7.1 In your judgement, what is the effect of these unresolved issues on your operations?
L.8. What works less well? What would it take to improve it?
L.9. Is there anything else that I have missed that you think is important to understanding the IDA program?
Thank you for your time!
Guide B: First Round Interview Guide - Associates
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Respondent name: ___________________________________
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Introduction
[DESCRIBE PROJECT, INTERVIEWING ORGANIZATION, AND INTERVIEW]
A. Respondent Background
Before we start discussing the IDA program, I'd like to take a moment to learn a little bit about you and your own relationship to the program.
A.1. How would you describe your role in relation to the [IDA PROGRAM NAME]?
A.2. When did you first begin working on this program? (PROBE: Was the program just getting started then?) Approximately what portion of your work week do you now spend dealing with (program name)?
A.3. Could you briefly describe your other job responsibilities apart from those related to the program—just a sentence or two is plenty.
A.4. What other services does your organization provide, in addition to [IDA PROGRAM NAME]? What kinds of people participate in these other programs?
B. Program Operations
B.1. Who conducts the initial check that the applicant is eligible for the program? How? What is involved in determining eligibility?
B.2. Please describe the mechanics of establishing an account. Specifically, what are the necessary steps to be taken by: (1) the participant? (2) the caseworker? (3) other program staff? and (4) the financial institution?
B.3. Please describe the process of making deposits. Is anyone else besides the account-holder and the bank involved in making deposits? If so, how?
B.4. How are account balances monitored? By whom? How often?
B.5. Please describe any IDA-related training that participants receive:
B.5.1. Is there a 'financial literacy' training component? If so please describe it: What is the curriculum? How many class sessions are there? How long is each session? How many students are typically involved?
B.5.2. Is there a purchase-specific training component? (e.g., a component specific to purchasing a home or starting a small business)
B.5.3. Is there any other training or counseling component (e.g., credit counseling, financial planning, career counseling, general counseling)? If so, please describe.
B.6. Please describe the mechanics of making eligible withdrawals for an approved purchase. What are the roles of (1) the account-holder, (2) the bank, (3) caseworkers, (4) other program staff, and (5) any others. (PROBE: Is there a formal process for verifying that a withdrawal will be used for an allowable purpose?)
B.7. What happens if an account-holder decides to stop participating
in the program (or is asked to leave)? What is involved?
C. Participant Interactions
C.1. How do most participants first get involved with the IDA program? (PROBE: How do they learn about it? From where are they referred?)
C.2. How many times does a staff member (or partner agency staff member) typically meet with individuals before they open their IDA accounts?
C.2.1. What is discussed at these meetings? C.2.2. What is the character of these meetings? (PROBE: How many of these meetings are one-on-one?)
C.3. Is anyone ever considered inappropriate for this IDA program (beyond those who are simply ineligible? If so, what types of people? For what reasons would someone be considered inappropriate?
C.3.1. How does your organization handle such cases? (PROBE: for example, would they be turned away, or referred to another organization's IDA program, or told to apply again later?)
C.4. How many times does a staff member (or partner agency staff member) typically meet with a participant after they open their IDA account?
C.4.1. What is typically discussed at these meetings?
C.4.2. What is the character of these meetings? (PROBE: How many of these meetings are one-on-one?)
C.4.3. Are meetings generally held according to a regular schedule? How often?
C.4.4. Are the meetings held at the request of the participant?
C.4.5. What do participants tend to want to meet about?
D. Effects
D.1. Understanding it may be too early to tell yet, are you seeing any evidence of the following:
D.1.1. Effects on participant savings behavior?
D.1.2. Different effects on savings by members of different demographic groups (e.g., gender, age, family size, race or ethnic background, and income)?
D.1.3. Effects on homeownership rates?
D.1.4. Effects on post-secondary education attained?
D.1.5. Effects on self-employment/business startup?
D.1.6. Economic/self-sufficiency effects on participants? (reduction in public assistance,
D.1.7. Civic effects on participants (voting, school involvement, community involvement, etc.)?
D.1.8. Social or psychological effects on participants? (future-orientedness, feelings of self-efficacy, motivation, other behavioral changes)
D.1.9. Family stabilization effects on participants? (parenting behaviors, marital status, domestic violence)
E. Observations
E.1. Do you think the program is serving as many people as it could? Is the program underused, or is it operating at "full capacity"? Please explain.
E.2. What have been the main issues or obstacles to getting eligible people to participate? (e.g., low income, trust issues, barriers to employment, inexperience with bank accounts, limited outreach/information)
E.3. Have you noticed any general patterns or trends in participants' savings behavior? (IF NO RESPONSE, PROBE: e.g., poor people's ability to save, people making deposits regularly vs. in lump sums - like at tax time)
E.4. Looking outside the IDA program for a moment, what do you see as the primary factors that have shaped the program's results? (IF NO RESPONSE, PROBE: e.g., welfare reform, the local economy, housing market)? How have these factors influenced your work?
E.5. Which aspects of the IDA program do you feel are most appealing to clients? Which are the least appealing?
E.6. What are some of the major unresolved issues or obstacles with respect to the administration of the program? (PROBE: Are there any issues involving state policy, state-level administration, local-level operations, participation by banks or other groups?)
E.6.1 In your judgment, what will it take to resolve these issues?
E.7. Have there been unexpected developments in, or consequences of, this program? Please describe.
E.8. In your opinion, what works particularly well in this program?
E.8.1. What works less well? What would it take to improve it?
E.9. Is there anything else that I have missed that you think is important to understanding the IDA program?
Thank you for your time!
