Att 4_Introductory E-mail

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-new

Exp. Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Attachment 4 Introductory E-mail

Dear SEA Program Leads, LEA Program Leads, and CDC DASH staff,

With a commitment to provide tailored training and technical assistance (TTA) services to the 1308 funded partners and CDC DASH staff, the DASH Professional Learning Collaborative (PLC) Core at ETR requests your response to a Survey Gizmo questionnaire by XYZ, 2014 (link below). The data collected will be used to develop TTA services that are responsive to your needs as you implement or advise on implementing the approaches required under the 1308 FOA.

Please be aware that this survey is not anonymous. The PLC Core will be sharing agency-specific responses from SEA and LEA with CDC DASH as we work collaboratively to meet your specific needs. However, survey responses of DASH staff will only be seen by the PLC Core. Otherwise, any reports associated with the needs assessment results will share data in aggregate and will not identify responses by agency or individual name.

You will notice with the first survey questions that we are asking SEA and LEA team leads to (1) complete the questionnaire with their team and (2) identify by name the individuals that come together to provide responses. The PLC Core and CDC DASH are vested in serving SEA and LEA needs at the program level rather than just the individual level. This is because we recognize that not every individual within a program holds all the necessary skills to implement the approaches in the 1308 FOA. The work requires a team approach; so it is absolutely necessary that SEA and LEA respond to the questionnaire as a team, given this will be the target level of our TTA services. We encourage the team, however it is define (e.g., team lead with other staff and/or key consultants) and regardless of its size (e.g., two people, six people), to respond honestly to the survey questions. CDC DASH funded the PLC because it expects that needs exist and that support is required to do this work. Meeting your needs will be best served if we can identify them upfront.

If you have questions about the needs assessment, please direct them to Jill Elnicki, PLC Core Evaluator, at [email protected]. As you might imagine, we are anxious to complete the needs assessment so that we can move forward with TTA services. The PLC Core will track responses and follow up with those unable to meet the survey deadline. We are determined to achieve a 100% response so that the development of TTA services will take ALL needs into consideration. With your assistance, we will easily achieve this goal.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

The PLC Core