Frequently Asked Questions for Participant Surveys

You received an email to complete a survey because you are receiving services from a provider that receives grant funding from Family Support Services (FSS). FSS funds several different programs across the state of Texas for pregnant and expecting caregivers, and families with children from infancy through 18 years old.

FSS collects survey information to help us understand the needs of the families that we serve. This helps FSS to look at the success of services provided and improve services where needs may be identified. 

The survey identifies the person who should answer these questions. Most often, this is the primary caregiver who is participating in services. Children and youth aged 10 or older may receive a survey to provide feedback on their experiences.

This survey information is stored in a secure database and it is available only to your provider and FSS staff members.

The protective factors survey focuses on how participants feel about their parenting and caregiving experiences. The survey looks at the attitudes of caregivers in different areas that are protective against child maltreatment. There are no right or wrong answers, and your answers will not affect the services you receive. When you fill out the pre-survey when you start receiving services, please feel free to answer honestly—there is no right or wrong answers. Your score allows your provider to tailor services to your needs and meet you where you are in your caregiving journey. If you disagree with many of the questions, this may help your provider work directly on specific concerns or needs that you have. 

The survey is given at the time participants start receiving services and again when services have completed. The survey is given more than once to determine how the participants’ outlook or circumstances have changed after receiving services from a provider. For programs that serve families for more than one year, the survey may be given annually.

When filling out this survey after completing services, think back to before you started services and compare to your thoughts now that you have completed services.

The survey measures the satisfaction with services provided by the provider. FSS looks at this survey information to make sure that services are effective and have a meaningful, positive impact on families and caregivers. This helps FSS ensure that providers are providing quality services that meet the needs of families.

The survey identifies the person who should answer these questions. This survey is completed by the caregiver who is primarily participating in services or the youth who is receiving services.

The program experience survey is assigned to children and youth who are at least 10 years old. If you have concerns with your child completing this survey, please contact the service provider for more guidance. 

For youth filling out their own surveys, there are some questions that can be skipped. For any questions that do not apply, select “Not Applicable” as the answer.

One of the primary goals of FSS is to promote family success and independence. This survey measures different factors that are related to self-sufficiency including employment status, education, housing status and household income. 

FSS looks at the data at a global level to better understand the needs of families and how to best support them. This data is not used to identify individual families and does not prevent families from receiving services.