Telephone script for on-site coordinators

Attachment 2 OMB Number: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

HEAD START FAMILY AND CHILD EXPERIENCES SURVEY

Telephone script for ON-SITE COORDINATORS

INTRODUCTION

My name is ___________________________. I am calling from [Mathematica Policy Research/Juarez and Associates] to speak with you about your program’s participation in the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (which we refer to as FACES). We received authorization from [PROGRAM DIRECTOR] to contact you, and I recently sent you a letter and fact sheet about this research project for the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Did you receive the letter and fact sheet? Have you had a chance to review 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 may have about FACES, and discuss logistics and your duties as the on-site coordinator so we can begin planning the visit to your program. I would also like to explain more about how the centers and study participants will be selected for the study.

[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.

[PURPOSE OF SITE VISIT AND BASIC ACTIVITIES]

First, I would like to briefly review some of the details about the purpose and design of FACES 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 Head Start children and families, and about Head Start classroom practices and quality.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

• We will survey the parents of children in Head Start 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 emerges from FACES will be used to identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of the program and by the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start to obtain information on the characteristics and experiences of, and outcomes for, children and families served by Head Start.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

The FACES 2014–2018 study team will visit your program’s centers on three occasions: fall 2014, spring 2015, and spring 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 you to limit any disruption that might be caused by our visit.

• In the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015, we will administer a child assessment battery to children in the study. The assessment will measure a range of areas that are covered by the Head Start Child Outcomes Framework and will be administered by Mathematica staff specially trained to assess children for this round of FACES, which extends from 2014 to 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 the information by completing brief forms about the social and emotional development of each child. This questionnaire can be completed online or on paper. Teachers will receive a small token of appreciation 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 the spring of 2015, we will also observe the selected classrooms and ask the program director, 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]

The FACES 2014–2018 study team will visit your program’s centers on two occasions: spring 2015 and spring 2017.

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

[ALL]

I’d now like to say a few words about privacy. All information collected during the course of FACES will be kept strictly 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.

We also take safety very seriously. To ensure the safety of our field staff and respondents, Mathematica’s hiring policy requires all newly hired and rehired field staff to pass a background check. Mathematica has contracted with Sterling Testing Systems to conduct the background checks, which include Social Security trace, criminal conviction search, sex offender database search, and a Department of Motor Vehicles report. For more information on Sterling Testing Systems, you can visit its website http://www.sterlingtesting.com/.

It’s also important for me to reiterate, as we stated in the letter, that the information collected during the visit is not for accountability or monitoring. It will be reported in aggregate form with information from all of the 180 Head Start sites that participate. It will not be reported by program, center, or child.

Do you have any questions so far?

Next, I want to confirm and collect some basic information about the centers in your program. [CONFIRM AND/OR UPDATE THE FOLLOWING INTO THE FACES Sample Accrual System OR ON A DATA SHEET FOR LATER DATA ENTRY]:

• FIRST, CONTACT INFORMATION. Would you mind confirming the following information? I want to be sure I have the correct information and spelling for each: (on-site coordinator’s full name, address, phone/fax, email address; center directors’ names, physical and mailing addresses, phone/fax numbers, and emails for their centers).

• NOW, OPERATING SCHEDULE. 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? [NOTE: SOME PROGRAMS DO NOT HAVE CLASSES ON MONDAYS OR FRIDAYS].

• What is the start and end date for each center for the program year 2014–2015?

We will need your help as we prepare for our data collection. It is important that we establish a close working partnership—you are the [person/people (IF MORE THAN ONE OSC)] who will ensure that our data collection plan conforms to your local requirements. We will work with you to minimize the burden on your program. Together, we will develop the plan, and then we will submit it to your program director.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

[IF OSC IS ALLOWED AN HONORARIUM] We will provide $500 per program for the fall 2014 round of data collection for your help. You will receive an additional $250 for each subsequent round of data collection at the Head Start centers. The token of appreciation for this help can be given in cash or as a gift certificate, according to your program’s preference.

We assume that most of the work can be done outside of regular work hours so it will not take time away from your normal duties. You will be responsible for:

• Coordinating the field enrollment specialist visit that will take place three weeks prior to the fall data collection and just before the spring 2017 data collection.

• Assisting the field enrollment specialist in drawing the study sample

• Obtaining parental consent for the sampled children and tracking receipt of the consent forms

• Helping coordinate the on-site data collection visit at each center and

• Scheduling times and locations for the child assessments and classroom observations.

[PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CLASSROOM-ONLY DATA COLLECTION]

[IF OSC IS ALLOWED AN HONORARIUM] We will provide $250 per program for the spring 2015 round of data collection for your help. You will receive an additional $250 for the subsequent round of data collection at the Head Start centers in 2017. The token of appreciation for this help can be given in cash or as a gift certificate, according to your program’s preference.

We assume that most of the work can be done outside of regular work hours so it will not take time away from your normal duties. You will be responsible for:

• Coordinating the field enrollment specialist visit that will take place at the start of each data collection week.

• Providing the field enrollment specialist with lists of all Head Start class sessions

• Helping coordinate the on-site data collection visit at each center, and

• Scheduling the classroom observations.

[CLASSROOM AND CHILD SELECTION FOR PROGRAMS SELECTED FOR CHILD-LEVEL DATA COLLECTION]

Finally, I would like to explain to you the way that we are choosing the classrooms and children that will be asked to participate 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 2014 FES visit, the FES will ask you to provide a list of all classrooms in your center. The FES will visit again just prior to our spring 2017 data collection.

• Child selection (Fall 2014 only). 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 classrooms for data collection

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]

• Now that we have laid the groundwork for our tasks ahead, tell me which is the easiest way to reach you—by phone or email? [CONFIRM THAT THIS PERSON IS THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE YOUR REGULAR CONTACT].

• I would like to find out about your availability in order to begin crafting the data collection plan for your program. When is the best time to reach you? Do you have any dates that you will not be available?

• Do you have any questions at this point? If questions or concerns come up, please feel free to contact me.

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

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