Fall 2021 special telephone script and recruitment information collection for on-site coordinators, Regions I–X

Attachment 25

Fall 2021 Special Telephone Script and Recruitment Information Collection for On-Site Coordinators, Regions I–X

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Fall 2021 Special Telephone Script and Recruitment Information Collection for on-site coordinators, Regions I – X

Introduction

My name is ___________________________. I am calling from [Mathematica /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. The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring the study. 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].

[FOR RETURNING PROGRAMS:] Your program participated in FACES in the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020. When we last communicated with you last spring, we planned to return in the spring of 2022 to conduct classroom observations and staff surveys. We still plan to conduct that data collection; however, the Office of Head Start is also interested in learning about how low-income families are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we have added a fall 2021 data collection to focus on family and teacher well-being. This data collection this fall will be completely remote; study staff will not visit your program. Surveys will be conducted on the web or by telephone. At this time, we are still planning for an in-person data collection in spring 2022.

[NEW PROGRAMS]: FACES data collection took place in fall 2019 and spring 2020. Your program has been selected to round out our sample of programs for the next wave of data collection scheduled for fall 2021 and spring 2022. The Office of Head Start is interested in learning about how Head Start families are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this interest, the fall 2021 data collection will focus on family and teacher well-being. The data collection this fall will be completely remote; study staff will not visit your program. Surveys will be conducted on the web or by telephone. At this time, we are planning for an in-person data collection in spring 2022.

Is this a good time to talk? I want to answer any questions you may have about the fall or spring data collection and discuss logistics and your role as the on-site coordinator so we can begin planning the upcoming data collection activities. In addition, I want to explain more about how we will select the centers and study participants for the study. This call should take no more than an hour. IF ASKED FOR TYPICAL DURATION, SAY AT LEAST 45 MINUTES BUT UP TO 60 MINUTES].

[ALLOW TIME FOR QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES, OR DEFER QUESTIONS 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 0970-0151, and it expires on xx/xx/xxxx.

Study Purpose and Basic Activities

I want to briefly review some of the details about the purpose and design of FACES that we included in the letter. I also want to review some of the data collection activities that will take place in fall 2021 and spring 2022. 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.

• The Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start will use the information to determine the characteristics and experiences of, and outcomes for, children and families whom Head Start serves. we will also use the information that emerges from FACES to identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of the program.

Data Collection

The FACES study team will collect data from your program on two occasions: fall 2021 and spring 2022.

• First I’ll describe what will happen this fall.

• In fall 2021, all data collection will be conducted remotely.

• [RETURNING PROGRAMS: As in 2019 and 2020,] in each selected center, we will select two teachers for participation. Then, we will select approximately 12 children per teacher and will invite their families to participate.

• We will ask each selected teacher to complete a brief questionnaire about the social and emotional development of each FACES child. This questionnaire, known as the teacher-child report or TCR, will be available both on the web and on paper. Teachers will be offered a $10 gift card for each questionnaire they complete. We will also ask teachers to complete a brief survey about their well-being in the context of the pandemic.

• We will also conduct a survey of parents of children participating in the study. As with past rounds of FACES data collection, we will offer parents a $30 gift card after they complete the survey.

• In spring 2022, we will repeat the parent surveys and TCRs, but we will also add in an in-person component.

• A small team of field staff 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 and other center staff to limit any disruption that might be caused by our visit.

• We will observe the two selected classrooms and ask the program director, the center directors, and the selected teachers to complete surveys.

I’d now like to say a few words about privacy. All information collected during the course of FACES will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. We will not share the information we collect with anyone outside the study team, including your program staff or parents. We will never identify programs, Head Start staff, children, or families by name in any data files or reports of the study’s findings. However, we may be required by law to report information regarding child abuse or neglect. The study will obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health to assure participants that the information will be kept private to the fullest extent the law permits.

We also take safety very seriously. To ensure the safety of our field staff and participants, Mathematica hiring policy requires all newly hired and rehired field staff to pass a criminal background check. Sterling Testing Systems will conduct the background checks, which will 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.sterlingtestingsystems.com/. We can provide you documentation of field staff clearances if you request them.

As we stated in the letter, the information we collect is not for accountability or monitoring purposes. We want to assure you that information will be reported in aggregate form with information aggregated from all of the 180 Head Start programs that participate in the study. Federal staff will not receive information about specific programs, only for the entire group of programs together. 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]:

• CONTACT INFORMATION. Please confirm the following information: On-site coordinator’s full name, address, phone/fax, email address; center directors’ names, physical and mailing addresses, phone numbers, and emails for their centers.

• OPERATING SCHEDULE. For the purposes of planning our data collection, please tell me: What days of the week do you operate the children’s classrooms, either on-site or virtually? Is it five days a week, four, or some other schedule? Does it vary by center? [NOTE: SOME PROGRAMS DO NOT HOLD CLASSES ON MONDAYS OR FRIDAYS].

• What is the start and end date for each center for the 2021–2022 program year? [RECORD THIS INFORMATION IN THE CENTER NOTES FIELD]

[IF AN HONORARIUM IS ALOWED FOR ON-SITE COORDINATOR(S). ] In recognition of this effort, at the discretion of your program director, we will distribute [IF ONE OSC: $500/ IF 2 OSCs: $250] for the fall 2021 wave of data collection. We expect to offer another, smaller honorarium for helping us plan our data collection visit. The honorarium for this help will be in the form of a check.

We assume that most of your work can be completed outside regular work hours and therefore will not interfere with your normal duties. You will be responsible for:

• Working with me to identify eligible teachers and children to be sampled for the study.

• Helping us obtain parental consent and track the receipt of consent forms.

• In the spring, helping coordinate the visit to each center and scheduling the classroom observations.

Finally, I would like to explain to you the method we are using to choose the teachers and children we will ask to participate in the study.

• [IF RETURNING] Unlike in the fall of 2019, [ALL] this fall we will conduct the teacher and child sampling remotely. We will need to collect a lot of information from you about classrooms, teachers, center staff, and families. Since it is a lot of information and some of it is private, we ask you to use a secure file sharing website called Box to share this information with us. Will you have access to a computer and internet so that you can share this information with us securely? If necessary, this information could be provided over the phone.

• TEACHER SELECTION. We will randomly select approximately two teachers in each center. If a center has only one or two teachers, we will include all of them. I will ask for a list of all teachers and home visitors associated with each center. If you have children receiving services but no instruction, we will need to know that as well.

• CHILD SELECTION. After we have chosen teachers for the sample, we will randomly select children to participate in the study. I will ask for a list of the names, dates of birth, enrollment date into preschool Head Start, whether the child participated in Early Head Start, funding source(s), and mode of instruction received for all children assigned to the selected teacher or home visitor caseloads. We will select approximately 12 children per selected teacher or home visitor and will invite these children and their families to participate in the study. The nonselected children may be used as backups if the parental consent rates fall short of targets.

Consent Gathering

Once we select the teachers and children for the study, we will need to distribute consent materials to families.

• How do you currently communicate with families?

• How do you share forms and other hardcopy materials with families?

• We will generate a packet of information, including a consent form, for each selected family. What do you think it the best way for us to get these materials to the families?

• We want to make sure parents are able to ask questions and talk about FACES with a study team member. If we were to set up a virtual information session to explain the study to selected families, would you be able to share the link with the families? If families in your program do not have access to the internet, we’d be happy to conduct this information session over the phone. This would allow time with parents and allow us to directly answer any questions they may have. About what percentage of your families have access to the internet?

Communication with Teachers

We will have a packet of information to share with the selected teachers. We will also ask those teachers to complete a questionnaire about each FACES child in their class or classes, as well as one brief survey in the fall. Teachers will be able to complete both surveys either on paper or via the web.

• Are the teachers at your program working remotely? If so, how frequently (if ever) do they visit their center?

• What is the best way for us to communicate with teachers?

• Do the teachers at your program have program email addresses?

• Are you able to provide teacher email addresses to us so that we can communicate with them directly?

Now that we have laid the groundwork for the tasks ahead, please 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 want to find out about your availability so we can 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 do come up, please feel free to contact me at [LIAISON PHONE] or [EMAIL].

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