Telephone script for program directors

Attachment 1 OMB Number: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

HEAD START FAMILY AND CHILD EXPERIENCES SURVEY

Telephone script for program directors

INTRODUCTION

My name is ___________________________. I am calling from [Mathematica Policy Research/Juarez and Associates] to talk about your program’s participation in the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, which we refer to as FACES. I am calling about [PROGRAM NAME], which is GRANTEE NUMBER [#] and DELEGATE NUMBER [#]. We recently sent you a letter informing you that your program was selected to be part of a research project for the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We included a fact sheet with information about the study. Did you receive a letter about the study and other materials from Dr. Jerry West? And have you had a chance to go over them? [HAVE LETTER AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION IF PERSON IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE STUDY. IF CALLING FROM JUAREZ, EXPLAIN MATHEMATICA’S ROLE IN THE STUDY.]

Is this a good time to talk? I would like to answer any questions you have about FACES and discuss the logistics of the study with you. I would also like to speak with you about your identifying an on-site coordinator for your program. That person will work with the FACES project team to plan the visits to the centers in your program. I would also like to explain more, about how centers and participants will be selected for the study. This call should take no more than an hour to complete. [IF ASKED FOR TYPICAL DURATION, SAY AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BUT UP TO 45-60 MINUTES].

[ALLOW TIME FOR QUESTIONS, RESPOND OR DEFER UNTIL LATER IN THE CALL WHEN THE TOPIC IS PRESENTED.]

Your participation today is voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx and it expires xx/xx/xxxx.

[SITE VISIT PURPOSE AND BASIC ACTIVITIES]

First, I would like to quickly review some of the details about the purpose and design of the study that we included in the letter, and some of the activities that will take place when we visit Head Start centers in your program. Please stop me at any time if you have questions.

• The purpose of FACES is to provide descriptive information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start and to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

• We will survey the parents of Head Start children and administer a battery of child assessments to children participating in the study. We will also survey Head Start staff and conduct classroom observations.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CLASSROOM-ONLY DATA COLLECTION]

• We will survey Head Start staff and conduct classroom observations.

[ALL]

• The information that comes from FACES will be used to identify strategies to improve the effectiveness of Head Start programs. Mathematica will not judge or report on the performance of individual programs, staff, or children.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

If you agree to participate, the study team for FACES will visit your program’s centers on three occasions: fall of 2014, spring of 2015, and spring of 2017.

• During each visit, a team of five or six people will spend about one week in your program, dividing their time between the two centers selected for the FACES study.

• We will work with the on-site coordinator and center staff to limit any disruption caused by our visit.

• In fall of 2014 and spring of 2015, we will administer a child assessment battery to children in the study. The assessment measures a range of areas that are covered by the Head Start’s Child Development and Early Learning Framework. The assessments will be administered by members of our staff who have been specially trained to assess children for FACES 2014–2018.

• Also in the fall of 2014, and then again in the spring of 2015, teachers from each selected class will be asked to supplement this information by completing brief forms about the social and emotional development of each child. This questionnaire will be available on the web and as a paper copy. Teachers are expected to complete the checklists on their own time and will be paid $10 for each form they complete.

• Another component of the data collection that will take place in the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015 will be a survey of parents of the children participating in the study. Parents will receive $25 for completing the survey on the web or $10 for completing it by telephone. Also, parents will be given a children’s book worth $10.

• In spring of 2015 and spring of 2017, we will also observe the selected classrooms and ask you, the center directors, and teachers of the selected classrooms to complete surveys.

• In spring of 2017, we will re-select classrooms in your program’s selected centers and conduct classroom observations and staff surveys.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CLASSROOM-ONLY DATA COLLECTION]

If you agree to participate, the FACES 2014–2018 study team will visit your program centers on two occasions: spring of 2015 and spring of 2017.

• In spring of 2015 and spring of 2017, we will observe the selected classrooms and invite you, the center directors, and teachers of the selected classrooms to complete surveys.

[ALL]

Now, moving onto three other important points.

First, all information will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. All information collected during the course of FACES will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and will not be shared with anyone outside the research team, including your program staff or parents. Programs, Head Start staff, and families will never be identified by name in any reports of the study's findings.

Second, field staff requirements include criminal background checks. To ensure the safety of our field staff and participants, Mathematica hiring policy requires all newly hired and rehired field staff to pass a background check. Mathematica has selected Sterling Testing Systems to conduct the background checks, which include a Social Security trace, criminal conviction search, sex offender database search, and a Department of Motor Vehicles report. For more information on Sterling Testing Systems, visit its website http://www.sterlingtesting.com/.

And finally, information collected during this study is not for accountability or monitoring. We want to assure you that the information collected during this visit will be reported only in aggregate with information from all of the 180 Head Start programs.

Do you have any questions so far?

Next, I want to confirm and collect some basic information about your Head Start program. [CONFIRM AND/OR UPDATE THE FOLLOWING INTO THE FACES DATABASE OR ON THE CONTACT SHEET FOR LATER DATA ENTRY]:

• CONFIRM CONTACT INFORMATION: Would you mind confirming the following information? I want to be sure I have the correct information and spelling for each: (program director name, physical and mailing addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses)

• PROGRAM OPTION: Is your program center-based, home-based, a combination, or is it locally designed?

• If center-based: How many centers do you have? Can you give me the name of each Head Start center in your program as well as the address and/or zip code of each? [IF THIS IS A LARGE PROGRAM, ASK IF THEY CAN EMAIL OR FAX YOU THE INFORMATION. FOR NOW YOU CAN COLLECT JUST CENTER NAME AND ZIP CODE].

• Can you give me an estimate of the number of children enrolled at each Head Start center this fall? And how many you expect in fall 2014? [ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS MAY BE VERY PRELIMINARY].

• What is the estimated percent of dual language learners in each center?

• What days of the week do you operate the children’s classrooms? Is it five days a week, four, or some other schedule? Does it vary by center? [SOME PROGRAMS DO NOT HAVE CLASSES ON MONDAYS OR FRIDAYS].

• When does your program start and end?

Identify On-Site Coordinator

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

We will be working with an on-site coordinator from your program—someone you designate—to help us with our preparations. This can be one person or two, depending on your preference. This person will be responsible for. . .

• Working with a field enrollment specialist to identify eligible classrooms and children to be sampled for the study

• Helping us to obtain parental consent and tracking the receipt of consent forms

• Helping coordinate the visit to each center, and

• Scheduling the child assessments

The OSC will receive an honorarium of $500 for helping us in fall 2014. If there are two coordinators, each will receive $250. The honorarium amounts for the spring of 2015 and spring of 2017 are $250. Cash or a gift certificate will be provided, whichever is your program’s preference, as a token of our appreciation for the help.

Do you know who you would like this person [these people] to be or do you want to think about it? I can call you at another time to discuss this if you are not sure. [ENTER THIS PERSON’S NAME INTO THE FACES DATABASE. BE SURE TO HAVE A CONTACT PERSON OTHER THAN THE OSC JUST IN CASE!]

With your permission, I would like to contact this person to explain our FACES procedures our expectations of the on-site coordinator. [GET THE OSC’S NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION, BUT WAIT FOR PERMISSION TO CONTACT THEM]

It is important that we establish a good working partnership with the on-site coordinator as he or she is the person we will work with to ensure that we develop a data collection plan that conforms to your local requirements and minimizes the burden on your program. I will work with the on-site coordinator to develop that plan, and we will send you a copy of the plan after it is drafted. The plan will include:

• A schedule for the preliminary visit to the program by the field enrollment specialist for selecting the sample of classrooms and children

• The procedures for obtaining parental consent

• A schedule for the data collection week

• Arrangements for testing locations

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CLASSROOM-ONLY DATA COLLECTION]

We will be working with the on-site coordinator from your program to help us with our preparations. This can be one person or two, depending on your preference. This person will be responsible for. . .

• Working with a field enrollment specialist to identify eligible classrooms to be sampled for the study

• Helping coordinate the visit to each center, and

• Scheduling the classroom observations

We have budgeted $250 per program for the spring round of data collection for this person’s help. If there are two coordinators, each will receive $125. The honorarium for spring 2017 is also $250. Cash or a gift certificate will be provided, according to your program’s preference, as a token of our appreciation for this person’s help.

Do you know who you would like this person [these people] to be or do you want to think about it? I can call you at another time to discuss this if you are not sure. [ENTER THIS PERSON’S NAME INTO THE FACES DATABASE. BE SURE TO HAVE A CONTACT PERSON OTHER THAN THE OSC JUST IN CASE!]

With your permission, I would like to contact this person to discuss our FACES procedures and what is expected of the person who fills this role. [GET THE OSC’S NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION, BUT WAIT FOR PERMISSION TO CONTACT THEM.]

It is important that we establish a good working partnership with the on-site coordinator as he or she is the person we will work with to ensure that we develop a data collection plan that conforms to your local requirements and minimizes the burden on your program. I will work with the coordinator to develop the plan, and we will send you a copy once it is drafted. The plan will include:

• A schedule for the preliminary visit to the program by the field enrollment specialist for selecting the sample of classrooms

• A schedule for the data collection week

CENTER, CLASSROOM, AND CHILD SELECTION

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

Finally, I want to explain to you the way that we will choose the centers, classrooms, and children that will be asked to participate in the study.

• Center selection. Typically, two centers will be randomly selected for participation in fall 2014 and spring 2015. If a program has only two centers, both will be included in the study.

• Classroom selection. Approximately two classrooms will be randomly selected in each center. If a center has two or fewer classrooms, we will include all of them. A Mathematica field enrollment specialist (FES) will visit your program about three weeks before our fall data collection begins. The FES visit will last approximately 2 days per center. During the fall FES 2014 visit, the FES will ask the OSC to provide a list of all classrooms in each center. The FES will visit again just prior to our spring 2017 data collection.

• Child selection. After classrooms have been chosen for the sample, children will be randomly selected for the study. The FES will ask for a list of the names and date of birth for each child in the selected classrooms. We will select approximately 12 children per classroom and will invite these children and their families to participate.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CLASSROOM-ONLY DATA COLLECTION]

Finally, I would like to explain to you the way that we will choose the centers and classrooms that will be asked to participate in the study.

• Center selection. Typically, two centers will be randomly selected for participation in FACES. If a program has only two centers, both will be included in the study.

• Classroom selection. Two classrooms will be randomly selected in each center. If a center has only one or two classrooms, we will include all classrooms. A Mathematica field enrollment specialist (FES) will visit your program at the start of each data collection period. Both FES visits, during spring 2015 and spring 2017, will last one half day.

[ALL]

NEXT STEPS

• Once you have established who the on-site coordinator will be, I would like to send that person, with your permission, detailed information about the study and arrange a time to discuss his or her coordination responsibilities. It would be helpful if that could be accomplished soon.

• In case I need to follow up with you for any reason, what is the easiest way to contact you—by phone or email? [CONFIRM THAT THIS PERSON IS THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE YOUR REGULAR CONTACT].

• Do you have any questions at this point? If questions or concerns come up, please feel free to contact me at [PHONE or E-MAIL ADDRESS].

Thank you for participating in this important study. We appreciate your cooperation, and I look forward to working with your program.

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