Introduction
Research Questions
- How did FaDSS use data-driven reflection to better understand the opportunities and problems to solve in using a virtual coaching approach?
- What did FaDSS learn about how virtual coaching was meeting the needs of families and the potential for implementing a hybrid coaching approach in the future?
- How can practitioners use a data-driven reflection process (Learn phase) to identify, clarify, and prioritize problems and assess the organization’s readiness for evidence-informed change?
The global COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of conditions requiring state, local, and tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and other human services agencies to rapidly change how they provide services. Program leaders and direct service staff across the country have shown resilience and unprecedented creativity in shifting from in-person to virtual services, among other changes. One such program that made the shift to virtual service delivery was Iowa’s Family Development and Self-Sufficiency (FaDSS) program, which is a comprehensive, statewide home visiting program that provides employment-related coaching for families with low incomes that receive TANF and face complex challenges to employment. This brief describes FaDSS’ experiences using a data-driven reflection approach to program improvement called Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) to assess their successes and challenges with implementation of virtual service delivery and how they might use what they learned to improve the quality of coaching in the future. Drawing on FaDSS’ experiences, this brief focuses on the first phase of the LI2 process — the Learn phase — and aims to help other practitioners learn how to incorporate data-driven reflection into their work.
Purpose
The purpose of this brief is to describe how the FaDSS program used a data-driven reflection process to understand how well virtual coaching is meeting the needs of families and whether families may want a mix of remote and in-person coaching options in the future. This brief describes lessons learned through this process and aims to help TANF and other human services agencies generate ideas of how to use data-driven reflection to make decisions in their own organizations.
Key Findings and Highlights
The FaDSS leadership team took four steps to execute the Learn phase of the work. First, they narrowed their focus to how Certified Family Development Specialists (family specialists) were connecting with families virtually and how the quality and frequency of services compared to the model prior to the pandemic. They also identified and mobilized key partners, including their existing network of providers, coordinators, and family specialists, and added families who had experience as FaDSS service recipients. They then created and executed a plan for gathering feedback. After executing the plan, they shared findings with providers, coordinators, and family specialists to seek their feedback.
Findings revealed that family specialists and families prefer an in-person home visiting approach or hybrid of in-person and virtual visits. While virtual visits were helpful in increasing the number of contacts with families and make visits easier to schedule, many families lacked access to technology or an Internet connection. It was also difficult to engage all family members during virtual home visits.
In reflecting on the data-driven reflection process, FaDSS shared the following lessons:
- Solicit input from people with lived experience with the program—both staff and participants
- Trust the process—it will uncover the actual problems to solve
- Recognize opportunities for broader learning
Methods
The FaDSS leadership team collected data between January and April 2021 from a variety of sources including:
- Electronic surveys of 16 FaDSS coordinators, 69 family specialists, and 62 families
- Three 60-minute virtual human-centered design sessions with 65 family specialists (total)*
- One 60-minute virtual human-centered design session with 17 coordinators*
- Seven in-depth telephone interviews with families receiving FaDSS services
*These data collection sessions generated more than 1,400 virtual sticky notes.
Citation
Derr, Michelle K., Ryan Ruggiero, Lorie Easter, Page Eastin, Ella Gifford-Hawkins (2022). Learning to Enhance Strategies for Coaching Families Virtually: Lessons from Iowa’s Family Development and Self-Sufficiency Home Visiting Program, OPRE Report #2022-56, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- TANF:
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- FaDSS:
- Family Development and Self-Sufficiency
- LI2:
- Learn, Innovate, Improve