Child Care Research and Evaluation Capacity Building Center Needs Assessment

Instrument 1: Needs Assessment Survey

This collection of information is voluntary and will be used to develop resources to build the research and evaluation capacity of CCDF Lead Agencies. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 25 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. 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 number and expiration date for the described collection are OMB #: 0970-0356, Exp: 02/29/2024. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Mathematica; 1100 First St NE #1200, Washington, DC, 20002., Attention: Jennifer Herard-Tsiagbey.

Language: English

Programming Mode: web only

Survey distribution: password protected survey distributed via email

Back Button: include

Soft check on questions throughout by default unless the question is required for later skip logic or fills. These questions will be hard-checks.

Note: Question numbers and titles (in blue) are for internal use only and will not be displayed to participants

Sample preload variables

Variable		Source	Notes
N	Single Administrator = 1 Two Co-Administrators = 2	Sample Load
AGENCY		Sample Load	The CCDF Lead Agency
Administrator1email		Sample Load	Invitation email only
Administrator1FirstName		Sample Load	Invitation email only
Administrator1Name		Sample Load	The name of the first CCDF Administrator
Administrator1Title		Sample Load	The title of the first CCDF Administrator
Administrator2Name		Sample Load	The name of the second CCDF Administrator
Administrator2Title		Sample Load	The title of the second CCDF Administrator
GOVERNMENT	State = state Tribal = tribe Territory = territory	Sample load	Whether the agency represents a state or a tribe

Introduction and Consent

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization with offices across the country, and the Urban Institute, a non-profit nonpartisan research organization based in Washington D.C., to conduct a study of State, Territory, and Tribal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies.

ACF plans to offer more research and evaluation capacity building resources to support CCDF Lead Agencies and their partners. Your responses to this survey will help ACF understand how your agency currently uses research and analyzes administrative or program data, and what supports would help you use and conduct future research.

This survey should be completed by the CCDF Lead Administrator or a Co-Lead Administrator in your [FILL GOVERNMENT], with one section completed by the person who knows the most about CCDF-related research activities. This survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. There are four parts:

• The CCDF Lead Agency administrative structure (Sections A and B);

• Current research activities, research culture, and capacities at your agency (Sections C and D);

• Format and content of capacity building activities that your agency would like to participate in. (Section E);

• Resources and information for COVID-19 planning (Section F).

Your participation is voluntary, and you have the right to stop at any time. All responses will be kept private by ACF and the contractors doing this survey. The goal of this study is to get information that will help ACF better support CCDF Lead Agencies. Your survey responses will be maintained with the identity of your agency and shared within ACF. Some findings that do not identify specific agencies may be made public. We believe that the risks of participating are small, however it is important to note that because responses will be maintained with the identity of agencies, ACF will have access to information about agencies’ strengths and challenges and will know which agencies did not participate. Although CCDF Lead Administrator’s names will not be included in the data shared with ACF, this information may be identifiable due to the unique nature of the position. If you choose to participate, you can decline to answer specific questions.

If at any point you decide you no longer want your agency’s survey responses to be included in the study, you must notify the study team by calling 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX and providing a written letter to the study’s principal investigator, Teresa Derrick-Mills.

Please take your time as you answer these questions.

This survey is being administered by The Urban Institute and Mathematica on behalf of ACF. 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 and expiration date for this collection are OMB 0970-0356, Exp: 02/29/2024.

Do you consent to participate in this survey?

 Yes 1

 No 2

If consent =1, go to section A

If consent =2, Exit survey and display this message: If you clicked “No” by mistake, and would like to participate in the survey please contact [email protected] or 1-XXX-XXX-XXX.

Definition of Key Terms

Administrative Data	In this survey, when we refer to “administrative data” we mean program data or information about individual children, families, and/or providers of child care and early education and other family benefits that is collected and maintained as part of the operation of government programs.
Research or Evaluation	In this survey, when we ask questions about “research or evaluation,” we mean the work states/territories/tribes do when they have questions they want to answer. These questions may be about what works and why. Or they may be questions to inform policy, services, or outcomes. Research includes any time staff in your agency look at data to answer a question that comes up. Research can include formal or informal use of data not typically included in standard reports as well as regular and ongoing analysis of data. Research may also include collecting new data or information through focus groups, surveys, door-to-door canvassing, or other techniques. We are also interested in how your agency uses research such as reading reports and learning about what is going on in the child care field.
Other Agencies Administering CCDF Programs	Other Agencies Administering CCDF programs are any agencies (other than the CCDF Lead Agency) that are involved with licensing and regulating child care centers and homes, administering child care subsidies, setting early childhood goals and outcomes, monitoring service quality or integrity, or conducting research related to CCDF policies, programs and services.
The Past Two Years	In this survey when we refer to the past two years, we are referring to 2019- which was likely a more average year for your agency- and 2020 which was a year disrupted by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the survey these terms will be italicized. You can hover over these terms to see their definition.

Section A: Characteristics of CCDF Lead Administrator and Co- Administrator

First, we’d like to get some basic information about the CCDF Lead Administrator and the CCDF Co-Administrator (if there is one). We understand that the CCDF Lead Administrator is responsible for serving as the federal liaison for the CCDF program, reporting on the [FILL GOVERNMENT] CCDF-funded activities, and responding to requests from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), such as program and data collection instructions.

The Administrator’s role is sometimes shared by two Lead Agency staff, with both individuals receiving communication from ACF, such as program announcements, program instructions, and data collection instructions.

A1. According to our records, your [FILL GOVERNMENT]’s CCDF Lead Agency or joint inter-agency office is [FILL AGENCY]. Is this correct?

 Yes 1

 No 2

A1 = 2

[FILL GOVERNMENT]

A1a. What is the name of your [FILL GOVERNMENT]’s CCDF Lead Agency?

(STRING 2000)

<set AGENCY to A2>

ALL

[FILL GOVERNMENT]

A2. According to our records, your [FILL GOVERNMENT]’s CCDF Lead Agency has [IF N = 1 one Administrator ; IF N = 2 two Co-Administrators].

The CCDF [if N = 1 Administrator is: if N= 2 Administrators are]:

[FILL Administrator1Name], [FILL Administrator1Title]

[FILL Administrator2Name], [FILL Administrator 2 Title]

Is this information correct?

 Yes 1

 No 2

IF A2 = 2

A2a. Is there a single Lead CCDF Administrator, or one Lead Administrator and one Co-Administrator?

 One Lead Administrator 1

 One Lead Administrator and one Co-Administrator 2

<Set N to A2a>

IF A2 = 2

[FILL GOVERNMENT] [if N = 1 Administrator: if N = 2 Co-Administrators]

A2b. What is the name of your [GOVERNMENT]’s CCDF [if N = 1 Administrator: if N = 2 Co-Administrators]?

Lead Administrator’s name (STRING 2000)

Lead Administrator’s title (STRING 2000)

[display if C0.4 = 2] Co-Administrator 2]’s name (STRING 2000)

[display if C0.4 = 2] Co-Administrator’s title (STRING 2000)

<set Administrator1Name, Administrator1Title, Administrator2Name and Administrator2Title>

ALL

[FILL Administrator1Name] [FILL Administrator2Name]

A3. Who is completing this survey?

Select one answer.

 [FILL Administrator1Name] 1

 <Display if N = 2> [Fill Administrator2Name] 2

 Another staff person is completing this on behalf of the CCDF Administrator(s) 3

ALL

[if A3< 3 have you; If A3 = 3 has FILL Administrator1Name] [if N = 1 the CCDF Lead Administrator: if N = 2 a CCDF Co-Administrator]

A4. How long [if A3< 3 have you; If A3 = 3 has FILL Administrator1Name] been [if N = 1 the CCDF Lead Administrator: if N = 2 a CCDF Co-Administrator]?

If [if A3< 3 have you; If A3 = 3 has FILL Administrator1Name] has been an Administrator for less than one year, please enter 0.

Years (NUMBER 1-100)

 Don’t know D

ALL

[if A3 < 3; do you: if A3 = 3 does FILL Administrator1Name] [if A3 < 3; you: if A3 = 3 they]

A5. In the past two years, how much time [if A3 < 3; do you: if A3 = 3 does FILL Administrator1Name] spend working on or overseeing data analysis, research or evaluation activities. Include the time spent across all policy and program areas [if A3 < 3; you: if A3 = 3 they] work on. If you are not sure, please provide your best estimate.

[If A3=1 or 2] If you have been in your position at [FILL AGENCY] for less than two years, please answer this question thinking about your work since you started in your position.

Please include both formal and informal use of data as well as any regular analysis you do.

 None (0% of time) 1

 1-5% 2

 6-10% 3

 11-25% 4

 26-50% 5

 More than 50% 6

 Don’t know D

N = 2

[if A3= 1 Fill Administrator2Name; If A3 = 2 FILL Administrator1Name] [if A3 = 1 the CCDF Co-Administrator: if A3 = 2 a CCDF Lead Administrator]

A6. How long has [if A3= 1 Fill Administrator2Name; If A3 = 2 FILL Administrator1Name] been [if A3 = 1 the CCDF Co-Administrator: if A3 = 2 a CCDF Lead Administrator]?

If [if A3< 3 you have; If A3 = 3 FILL Administrator2Name has] been an Administrator for less than one year, please enter 0. If you are not sure, please provide your best estimate.

Years (NUMBER 1-100)

 Don’t know D

Section B: CCDF Lead Agency Structure

Now we’d like you to tell us about the CCDF Lead Agency that administers the CCDF program, which in your [FILL GOVERNMENT] is [FILL AGENCY]. [ifA3 = 3: The following section should be completed with direct input from the] [IF A3 = 3 AND N = 1 FILL CCDF Lead Administrator; IF A3 = 3 AND N = 2 FILL CCDF Co-Administrators]

ALL

FILL AGENCY GOVERNMENT

B1. The questions below will help us better understand the role of your the CCDF Lead Agency in the [FILL GOVERNMENT]’s child care system. Please select one option to indicate your agency’s responsibility for the following activities. (Select NA if your [FILL GOVERNMENT] does not require these activities.)

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	The sole responsibility of our agency	Shared responsibility of our agency and another agency or governing body	Not the responsibility of our agency	N/A
a. Develop goals for the [FILL GOVERNMENT]’s child care system	1 	2 	3 	na 
b. Develop child care research or evaluation activities	1 	2 	3 	na 
c. Develop indicators to measure progress towards child care system goals	1 	2 	3 	na 
d. Determine how data are gathered to measure progress on child care system goals	1 	2 	3 	na 
e. Determine how data can be used to improve child care system operations	1 	2 	3 	na 

ALL

FILL AGENCY GOVERNMENT

B2. Which of the following regularly analyzes the administrative or program data collected for CCDF-related programs/initiatives?

Select all that apply.

 [FILL AGENCY] 1

 Other agencies that administer CCDF Programs 2

 The state budget office 3

 A dedicated state research office 4

 A central data or technology department within the state 5

 Another agency (for example, education, labor, etc.). Please specify 6

Specify (STRING 100)

 A private contractor, university or other research partner
external to the state 7

 Other (SPECIFY) 99

Specify (STRING 500)

B2 = 1

B3. Is there someone within the CCDF Lead Agency who is responsible for overseeing or coordinating research and evaluation related to CCDF policies, programs or services?

 Yes 1

 No 2

 Don’t Know 3

b3 = 1

B3a. Is the lead administrator or co-lead administrator the person who is responsible for overseeing or coordinating research and evaluation related to CCDF policies, programs or services?

 Yes, it is the lead administrator 1

 Yes, it is the co-lead administrator 2

 Yes, it is both the lead and co-lead administrator 3

 No, it is someone else 4

Section C: Agency Use of Existing Research, Standard Reporting, and Research and Evaluation

Agency Use of Research

The following questions focus on how the CCDF Lead Agency uses research to support CCDF programs, policies and services, and CCDF Agency staff research skills and knowledge. [if A3 = 3: These questions should be answered with direct input from the [IF A3 = 3 AND N = 1 FILL Lead Administrator; IF A3 = 3 AND N = 2 FILL Co-Administrators]

ALL

[if A3 = 1 you; If A3 = 2 you or your co-Administrator; if A3 = 3 or missing your Agency Administrator(s)]

C1. Staff can use research from many different places to inform policy and practice. During the past two years, how often have [if A3 = 1 you; If A3 = 2 you or your co-Administrator; if A3 = 3 your Agency Administrator(s)] used the following to support decision making?

[If A3=1 or 2] If you have been in your position at [FILL AGENCY] for less than two years, please answer this question thinking about your work since you started in your position.

				SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Never	Rarely	Sometimes		Frequently	All of the time
a. Research reports or data produced by your own agency	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
b. Research reports or data produced by other agencies, research organizations, or foundations (for example, reports by other states, territories, or tribes; or the Regional Education Laboratories (RELs))	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
c. Academic journal articles, reports or books	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
d. Federal government reports or whitepapers (for example, from the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation)	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
e. Web-based clearinghouses (for example, Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse, or the What Works Clearinghouse )	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
f. Web-based research databases (for example, Child Care & Early Education Research Connections)	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
g. Technical assistance centers (for example, the Child Care State Capacity Building Center, National Center on Tribal Early Childhood Development, or National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability)	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
h. National organizations (for example, Zero to Three, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Women’s Law Center, or the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP))	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
i. Conferences or workshops where research is presented	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
j. Trade publications, newspapers or magazines	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 
k. Wikipedia or other general knowledge websites	0 	1 	2 		3 	4 

ALL

C2. Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statement:

Our agency needs to better use existing research in decision making

Select one answer.

 Strongly disagree 1

 Somewhat disagree 2

 Somewhat agree 3

 Strongly agree 4

 Not applicable, our agency does not need to use research for decision making NA

ALL

FILL AGENCY GOVERNMENT

C3. Agencies use different methods to track progress over time. Which of the following comparisons does your agency do to track progress?

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Yes, we are doing this now	No we do not do this, but we would like to	No, we are not doing this and do not feel like we need to
a. Current data are compared to past data to examine changes over time	1 	2 	3 
b. Data are compared to targets set by the agency to see if program goals were met	1 	2 	3 
c. Data from different regions, programs or organizations within our [GOVERNMENT] are compared to each other	1 	2 	3 
d. Our data are compared to that of other states, territories, or tribes or national statistics	1 	2 	3 
e. Other (Specify):	1 	2 	3 
(STRING 500)

C4. In the past two years, has your agency done research for any of the following reasons?

	No, my agency has not done research for this reason	Yes, my agency done research for this reason
Program and Policy Development
a. Identify the needs of the children and families the agency serves	0 	1 
b. Identify the needs of child care providers the agency serves	0 	1 
c. Identify weaknesses/strengths in the child care system	0 	1 
d. Identify strategies for improving the child care system	0 	1 
Program and Policy Evaluation
e. Explore a new program or policy	0 	1 
f. Examine an existing program or policy	0 	1 
g. Identify needed changes in service delivery or program elements	0 	1 
Resource Allocation
h. Make decisions about allocating resources (funds and/or people) to a program or policy	0 	1 
i. Make a decision about whether to eliminate a program or policy	0 	1 
j. Plan and design professional development for agency staff	0 	1 

ALL

C5. In the past two years, how often has [AGENCY] done the following?

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Never	Once	Twice	Three or more times	I don’t know
a. Collaborated with people outside of our agency on research?	1 	2 	3 	4 	d 
b. Collected data as part of a research study (for example, did a survey, focus group or interviews)?	1 	2 	3 	4 	d 
c. Contracted with an external researcher to help our agency answer research questions	1 	2 	3 	4 	d 
d. Produced a publicly available research report, publication or conference presentation	1 	2 	3 	4 	d 
e. Shared results of research on our website or on social media (for example, Facebook, Twitter)	1 	2 	3 	4 	d 
ALL

C6. How much do you agree or disagree that the Agency’s CCDF policy and program staff (staff who make decisions about CCDF policies, programs, or services) have the knowledge and skills to:

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Strongly disagree	Somewhat disagree	Somewhat agree	Strongly agree
a. Find research to inform policy or program development	1 	2 	3 	4 
b. Assess the quality of research	1 	2 	3 	4 
c. Conduct research	1 	2 	3 	4 
d. Translate research findings into meaningful action	1 	2 	3 	4 
e. Understand what skills a research team needs to lead research or evaluations	1 	2 	3 	4 

Section D: Agency Research Capacity and Barriers to Conducting Research

The following questions are about how your agency’s research capacity, access to data, and how people in your agency think about research and any potential barriers [FILL AGENCY] faces when conducting research. This section should be completed by the person in your agency who knows the most about the research activities done within your agency.

ALL

D1. Does [AGENCY] have an in-house research unit, that is research staff dedicated to research and evaluation of CCDF policies, programs, or services?

Select one answer.

 Yes, we have an in-house research unit 1

 No, we do not have an in-house research unit but we contract research out to external partners 2

 No, we do not have an in-house research unit and we do not contract out to research partners 3

All

FILL AGENCY

D2. Does your agency have access to the following types of data related to:

			SELECT ONE PER ROW
	No	Yes, we have full access		Yes, but our access is limited	I don’t know
a. Available child care slots in licensed programs?	0 	1 		2 	d 
b. CCDF subsidy eligibility?	0 	1 		2 	d 
c. CCDF subsidy payments?	0 	1 		2 	d 
d. Child care licensing?	0 	1 		2 	d 
e. The child care workforce and professional development?	0 	1 		2 	d 
f. The state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)?	0 	1 		2 	d 
g. Early Intervention or Special Education?	0 	1 		2 	d 
h. State pre-kindergarten?	0 	1 		2 	d 
i. State- or federal-funded Head Start?	0 	1 		2 	d 
j. Child, family, or household demographic characteristics (For example, race/ethnicity, household size)?	0 	1 		2 	d 

All

D3. In my agency:

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
a. Research is seen as a useful source of information	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
b. We are provided access to training in using research to develop policies and programs	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
c. We are encouraged to use research in policy or program development	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
d. We are provided access to research resources (for example, subscriptions to journals, a library, relevant software)	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
e. We are encouraged to generate new research to inform policy or program development	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
f. It is expected that if you make a claim at a meeting, you will be able to provide research evidence to back it up	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
g. It is expected that policies/programs will be evaluated	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
h. We are comfortable translating findings from data into meaningful actions.	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
i. We are encouraged to interact and collaborate with external researchers	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
j. We know who to ask for support if we need help collecting, analyzing or reporting data	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 

ALL

D4. To what extent do each of the following barriers limit your agency’s ability to do research?

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Not at all a problem	Minor problem	Moderate problem	Serious problem
a. Staff time	1 	2 	3 	4 
b. Staff skills	1 	2 	3 	4 
c. Buy-in from staff and other key stakeholders on the importance of research and evaluation	1 	2 	3 	4 
d. Lack of external research partners	1 	2 	3 	4 
e. Difficulty managing relationships with external research partners	1 	2 	3 	4 
f. Lack of documentation about data that are available and how it can be used	1 	2 	3 	4 
g. Access to specific types of data	1 	2 	3 	4 
h. Lack of access to linked data	1 	2 	3 	4 
i. Availability of technology and data tools	1 	2 	3 	4 
j. Communication challenges between research and policy staff	1 	2 	3 	4 
k. Lack of support from research and evaluation staff from departments within the lead agency	1 	2 	3 	4 
l. Lack of support from research and evaluation staff from other agencies.	1 	2 	3 	4 
m. Other (specify)	1 	2 	3 	4 
(STRING (NUM))

ALL

D5. Within your agency, how adequate are the financial resources needed to accomplish each of the following items?

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Very inadequate	Somewhat inadequate	Adequate	More than adequate
a. Support data systems and data management	1 	2 	3 	4 
b. Get and use existing research	1 	2 	3 	4 
c. Do research and evaluations	1 	2 	3 	4 

ALL

D6. The ability to do research often depends on funding. In the past five years, that is since 2016, has your agency submitted any proposals to the federal government, foundations or other agencies for funding to help you do research or evaluations?

 No, we have not submitted any proposals 0

 Yes, we submitted one or two proposals 1

 Yes, we submitted between three to five proposals 2

 Yes, we submitted more than five proposals 3

 Don’t know D

D6 > 0

D7. Did your agency receive the funding you sought through these proposals?

 Yes, we received all the funding we sought 1

 Yes, we received some of the funding we sought 2

 No, we did not receive any funding. 3

D6 = 0

D8. Why didn’t your agency seek out federal or foundation funds to support research and evaluation?

CHECK ALL THAT APPLY

 We are not interested in conducting any more research and evaluation. 1

 We have sufficient funding to conduct the research and evaluation of interest to us 2

 We did not have sufficient staff resources to respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) 3

 [FOR TRIBAL AGENCIES ONLY] We did not have the buy-in we needed from tribal leadership 4

 Other (SPECIFY) 99

Specify (STRING (500))

Section E: Interest in Capacity Building

This section of the survey concerns your agency’s interest in possible supports for building your agency’s capacity for research and evaluation. [if A3 = 3: The following section should be completed with direct input from the] [IF A3 = 3 AND N = 1 FILL CCDF Lead Administrator; IF A3 = 3 AND N = 2 FILL CCDF Co-Administrators] and the person in your agency who knows the most about the research activities done within your agency.

if GOVERNMENT = STATE or TERRITORY

E1. Is your agency interested in collaborating with Tribal agencies to conduct CCDF research?

 Yes 1

 No 0

 I’m not sure d

if GOVERNMENT = TRIBE OR E1 = 1 or D

E2. For which of the following topics is your agency most interested in getting consultation or support to build your research capacity? Please indicate for each topic if it is a high, medium, or low priority for your agency.

			SELECT ONE PER ROW
	High priority	Medium priority		Low priority	My agency is already working on this	I’m not sure what this means
Collecting data on language revitalization and cultural resilience strategies	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Developing a process for review and approval of research proposals by a tribal institutional review board	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Communicating and messaging research needs to tribal leadership	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Navigating state and tribal relationships	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Data sovereignty or strategies for using research and data for nation building and self-determination.	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 

ALL

Fill [other] if government = tribe OR E1 = 1

E3. For what [other] topics is your agency most interested in getting consultation or support to build your research capacity? Please indicate for each topic if it is a high, medium, or low priority for your agency.

			SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Low priority	Medium priority		High priority	My agency is already working on this	I’m not sure what this means
Using Research
a. Conducting literature reviews	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
b. Assessing the strength of evidence	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
c. Converting research to practice (for example: implementing research findings in programs)	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Preparing for Research and Evaluation
d. Finding and applying for research funding	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
e. Developing targeted research questions	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
f. Determining how to use data your agency already has and what additional data to collect	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
g. Planning evaluations	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Conducting Research and Evaluation
h. Documentation about data that are available and how it can be used	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
i. Creating data sharing agreements	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
j. Linking data records	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
k. Collaborating with external researchers	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Disseminating Research Findings
l. Implementing data visualization (e.g. representing data in graphs or figures)	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
m. Sharing and messaging findings with stakeholders	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
Other
n. Other areas for support (specify)	1 	2 		3 	4 	5 
(STRING (NUM))

ALL

E4. How useful do you think each of the following types of supports would be for staff in your agency?

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Extremely useful	Very useful	Moderately useful	Slightly useful	Not useful
a. Online webinars or workshops	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
b. Briefs or other written documents	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
c. Peer learning with other CCDF agencies	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
d. One-on-one consultation on a specific project	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
e. Demonstrations of analytic approaches, software or data analysis programs
f. Other modes of support (specify)	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 
(STRING 100)

Section F: COVID-19

This final set of questions is about data and resources that would help your agency respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

F1. What data or information would have helped your agency better respond to the needs of child care providers or families during the COVID-19 pandemic or to use for planning for recovery?

F2. What resources or support would help your agency assess and plan for recovery needs?

Section G: Debriefing

Thank you so much for completing this survey. We appreciate your taking the time despite all your other duties and will use your input as we develop research and evaluation supports for you and other CCDF Lead Agencies.

ACF is committed to building the research and evaluation capacity of CCDF Lead Agencies and their partners to conduct high-quality, rigorous, and policy-relevant research on early care and education. To this end, ACF created the Child Care Research and Evaluation Capacity Building Center in 2019. The Center develops resources to support CCDF Lead Agencies in building their research and evaluation capacities.

The results from the survey you completed will be used to set priorities for the Center. To stay up-to-date on the Center’s efforts visit OPRE and the Urban Institute’s websites:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/project/child-care-research-and-evaluation-capacity-building-center-child-care-ecb-center

https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/center-labor-human-services-and-population/projects/building-child-care-research-capacity

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