Appendix S: AIAN FACES 2019 special agreement of collaboration and participation

APPENDIX S

AIAN FACES 2019 SPECIAL FALL 2021 AGREEMENT OF COLLABORATION AND PARTICIPATION

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American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(AIAN FACES) Fall 2021 Special Data Collection

Agreement of Collaboration and Participation

The continuing success of this important study of children and families served by Region XI Head Start programs depends on a close collaboration between each of the 22 unique Region XI programs and the study’s data collection contractor, Mathematica. The roles and responsibilities of each of the parties must be clearly stated and understood. The Agreement of Collaboration and Participation is designed to achieve this goal by specifying what Mathematica and each participating Region XI program agrees to as part of this collaborative effort.

Mathematica agrees to:	Region XI Head Start Program agrees to:
Respect program participants, including but not limited to Head Start program staff, community leaders and members, children, and their families. Mathematica AIAN FACES staff will receive training on the unique features of tribal programs, communities, and culture. Mathematica will involve appropriate program and tribal community members at each phase of the study. The goal is to create a partnership that benefits both parties and, most importantly, the children and families of Region XI.	Work with AIAN FACES study staff to achieve the goals of the study. Provide assistance as needed to plan for and complete all data collection activities. Provide guidance to AIAN FACES study staff in how to work effectively and respectfully with members of the tribal community, including its leaders, program staff, children, and families.
Protect the privacy of all study participants, Region XI programs, and tribal communities. All study staff will sign confidentiality agreements. Study staff trainings will include the importance of protecting the privacy of every participant, program, and tribal community and the consequences of breaching the agreement, including dismissal from the study. Follow a need-to-know policy when sharing information about study participants with staff at Mathematica and program staff. Mathematica will only report on data at the national Region XI level. No findings will be reported for individual programs or communities.	Protect the privacy of all study participants, the program, and the tribal community. Protect the identities of the children and families participating in the study. Follow a need-to-know policy when sharing information about study participants with other program staff. Will not share information about study participants with anyone outside of the program, with the exception of AIAN FACES study staff. Recognize that individual, program, and community-level data or findings will not be shared.
Work with Region XI Head Start program staff to obtain tribal approval for the program’s continued participation in the study. Work with the program to identify the required steps for tribal review and continuation of approval. Mathematica study directors and members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup will present the study and the fall 2021 data collection at the request of tribal authorities and will provide an informational fact sheet for sharing with the community.	Work with AIAN FACES study staff to obtain tribal approval for the program’s continued participation in the study. Identify the tribal review and approval process for continuing participation and assist in presenting the study to tribal officials responsible for review and approval of the program’s participation. Share information about the study and its goals with members of the tribal community.
Work in tandem with the on-site coordinator (OSC), designated by the program director, in order to meet project goals. Mathematica will assign an AIAN FACES liaison, a member of its professional staff, to work with each of the 22 Region XI programs participating in the study. Whenever possible this will be the same liaison as in 2019-2020. AIAN FACES liaison will be the program’s primary contact with Mathematica. AIAN FACES liaison will work with the OSC to select the teachers and children who will be asked to participate in the study.	Designate an on-site coordinator (OSC), who will work with the AIAN FACES liaison in order to meet study goals. The OSC will be Mathematica’s primary contact with the program.
For programs with more than three centers, select three centers randomly to participate. Many Region XI programs have only one center, and that center will be asked to participate. If the program has three or fewer centers, all will be selected.	Provide a list of centers within the program, if applicable. The designated OSC will provide this information to the AIAN FACES liaison.
Work with the OSC in fall 2021 prior to the start of data collection to prepare for upcoming data collection activities. AIAN FACES liaisons will work with the OSC to randomly select the teacher and child samples. They will provide guidance on distributing and collecting parent consents and answering parent questions about the study.	Work with the AIAN FACES liaison to prepare for the upcoming data collection activities.
Randomly select teachers for the study; typically, two teachers will be selected in each center. The actual number of teachers will vary depending on the size of the program and whether the program has one or more centers.	Provide AIAN FACES study staff a list of all Head Start teachers in the center for random selection into the study.
Within selected teachers’ classrooms, randomly select Head Start children for participation, ensuring that all children have an equal chance of being selected to participate. Be available via email and telephone to answer any questions children’s parents/guardians may have, including explaining the study and describing what participation involves.	Provide a list of Head Start children for random selection into the AIAN FACES study. Random selection into the study does not require participation: Signed parent/guardian written consent is required for each child to participate in the study. Distribute consent forms for the parents/guardians of the children selected to participate in the study. OSC will be point of contact to answer any questions children’s parents/guardians may have, including explaining the study and describing what participation involves.
Communicate that participation is completely voluntary and inform participants of their rights as a participant. Parents must consent to participate in the study, including consent for teachers to report on their child Participants may withdraw from the study at any time. Program eligibility, services, and benefits are not in any way affected by study participation.	Answer parents’ questions about the study and what participation involves for both children and parents.
Conduct the following data collection activities in fall 2021: Invite the parents of AIAN FACES children to participate in a survey by web or phone. Invite teachers to complete a teacher survey and reports on AIAN FACES children by web or on paper.	Work with AIAN FACES study staff to arrange logistics for data collection activities, including: Distribute information packets for selected teachers Monitoring the completion of surveys by parents and teachers.
Confirm enrollment status for AIAN FACES children prior to spring 2022 data collection to account for children changing teachers and children leaving the program. Children who change teachers in the same center will be eligible for the spring data collection. Children who leave the program will no longer be a part of the study sample.	Provide an update on child enrollment of selected children between fall 2021 and spring 2022. Provide an update on AIAN FACES children’s teacher assignment and teacher. Identify children who have left the program and the reasons for leaving, if known.
Conduct the following data collection activities in spring 2022: Invite the parents of selected children to participate in a survey by web or phone. Invite teachers to complete a teacher survey and reports on AIAN FACES children by web or paper. Invite program and center directors to complete surveys by web or on paper.	Work with AIAN FACES study staff to arrange logistics for data collection activities, including: Monitoring the completion of surveys by parents and program staff. Assisting AIAN FACES study staff monitoring survey participation and obtaining completed surveys for the program director, center director, teachers, and parents.
Provide gifts or gift cards for AIAN FACES teachers and parents participating in fall 2021 and spring 2022. Teachers will be asked to complete a 10-minute report for selected and participating children outside of school hours. They will receive a $10 gift card for each form they complete. Parents will be offered a $30 gift card for completing the parent survey.	Program will inform AIAN FACES study staff of any restrictions on teachers receiving gift cards.
Share the findings from the AIAN FACES study with the 22 participating programs. All initial analyses of the data will be conducted by professional research staff at Mathematica who will work with members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup to design analyses that answer the questions of greatest importance to Region XI and AIAN communities. Reports will be written by Mathematica staff with input from members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup. All findings will be reported for Region XI as a whole. No findings will be reported at the individual program or tribal community level. Findings will focus primarily on descriptions of children and families in Region XI programs and their experiences in those programs. Copies of all reports, briefs, and presentations of findings will be shared with participating programs.	Assist in disseminating copies of reports, briefs, and presentations of findings to program staff, families, and communities. Programs will ensure that the findings are shared with the participants in the most appropriate manner; e.g., hard copy handouts, email, events offered to share in a group setting. Reports generated by Mathematica with input from Administration for Children and Families and AIAN FACES Workgroup will not be reviewed or approved by all 22 participating communities. Communities agree that these reports can be shared without their review and approval. Reports will be posted on the ACF and OPRE websites to facilitate access by programs, tribal communities, and others. Identify the desire for and assist with scheduling presentations from Mathematica staff and/or AIAN FACES Workgroup members.
Work with the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, and members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup to ensure that future analyses of the AIAN FACES data are done accurately and recognize the uniqueness of tribal communities and peoples. Conduct data training seminars on how to accurately and ethically analyze and report on Region XI children and families. Create a restricted-use data set that will be available to qualified researchers. All personally identifiable information will be stripped from this data set, including names and tribal affiliations of all study participants, and the identity of study programs and participating tribal communities. Access to these data will only be granted to individuals from institutes of higher education and research organizations. Tribal communities may have access to the data through partnerships with these individuals and organizations. Individuals requesting access will be required to submit an analysis plan for how they will use the data, provide evidence that their plan has been reviewed by an Institutional Review Board, review and acknowledge best practices for uses of the AIAN FACES data on tribal programs and peoples, and sign a confidentiality pledge agreeing to protect the privacy of the study participants.	Recognize that the Administration for Children and Families is the steward of AIAN FACES data with guidance from the AIAN FACES Workgroup and AIAN FACES Data Committee, which include tribal early childhood researchers, tribal Head Start directors, and other tribal community representatives. Recognize that the Administration for Children and Families will grant access to AIAN FACES data for qualified researchers to conduct secondary analyses of the data. Recognize that Mathematica, the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, and the AIAN FACES Workgroup have developed procedures for ensuring that data from the study are used accurately, ethically, and to the benefit of Region XI children and families. Recognize that individual program or tribal community review or approval of products (e.g. reports, presentations) will not be obtained; the AIAN FACES Workgroup and the AIAN FACES Data Committee will provide guidance on AIAN FACES data products (e.g. reports, presentations). Recognize that no data will be returned to individual tribal programs or communities.