SSB - BASE GenIC_Formative Generic Research_0970-0356

Alternative Supporting Statement for Information Collections Designed for

Research, Public Health Surveillance, and Program Evaluation Purposes

Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education (BASE) Workforce

Formative Data Collections for ACF Research

0970 - 0356

Supporting Statement

Part B

JUNE 2021

Submitted By:

Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

Administration for Children and Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

4^th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building

330 C Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

Project Officers:

Ann Rivera

Part B

B1. Objectives

Study Objectives

The information collection proposed as part of the Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce project (BASE project), consisting of up to 60 one-time interviews with key informants, will support the environmental scan of existing strategies to build, advance, and retain the early childhood education (ECE) workforce and existing data sources to better understand these. The information collection has the following objectives:

1. To contribute to Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) understanding of support strategies for ECE workers currently underway in the United States;

2. To gather information that is not publicly available about the range of strategies to build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce and data sources to understand the workforce;

3. To identify existing data sources that have relevant information for workforce employment dynamics and the strategies and factors that shape these dynamics; and

4. To inform a conceptual framework and theory of change of drivers of ECE workforce turnover.

Generalizability of Results

This study is intended to present descriptive information about strategies to build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce and data sources available to understand this workforce. This information collection is not intended to promote statistical generalization within or beyond the target population.

Appropriateness of Study Design and Methods for Planned Uses

We will not use the data to make statistical inferences or generalize findings beyond the study sample. However, the information gathered from the nonrepresentative sample will provide descriptive information on strategies that support building, advancing, and retaining ECE workers that will guide the understanding of the landscape of strategies currently available and inform the development of future ACF research activities. We will include the limitation that the sample is not representative in any written products associated with the study.

As noted in Supporting Statement A, this information is not intended to be used as the principal basis for public policy decisions and is not expected to meet the threshold of influential or highly influential scientific information.  

B2. Methods and Design

Target Population

The target population includes representatives of state or local agencies and institutions implementing strategies to strengthen the ECE workforce (e.g., social scientists, postsecondary educators, service providers). Key informants will have knowledge of ECE contexts, workers, and strategies that build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce. In speaking with key informants who interact with ECE workers and ECE systems in different ways, ACF will develop a better understanding of the range of strategies underway to build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce and the data sources available to investigate these.

Respondent Recruitment

We will conduct tailored, semi-structured interviews with up to 60 participants, selected for their knowledge of ECE contexts, workers, and strategies that build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce. Respondent recruitment for key informants will be purposive. A list of potential key informants will be developed based on the project team’s initial scan of ECE workforce strategies. Other ACF staff, and consulted experts and stakeholders will also offer the OPRE and contractor project team suggestions for strategies and corresponding knowledgeable key informants. We may also incorporate some snowball sampling, asking key informants if they have recommendations about other individuals we might interview to increase our understanding of a strategy or strategies. We will not interview more than 60 key informants in total.

B3. Design of Data Collection Instruments

Development of Data Collection Instrument

The Key Informant Interview (KII) Protocol (Instrument 1) was developed by the project team to address the project’s research questions. We first identified key information needed for a fuller understanding of strategies that build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce (e.g., core components of the intended strategy model, funding sources, intended outcomes, size and scale, staging, implementing agency(ies), years of implementation, target population/ECE setting(s) targeted, location), and the data sources that are available to describe the ECE workforce, their employment behaviors, and the factors that shape these behaviors. The protocol has been designed so that the interviewer can tailor each interview to the data source or data sources, and/or focal strategy or strategies and to the experience and insights of the key informant.

In order to avoid measurement error (e.g., leading, or unclear questions), we revised the interview protocol based on feedback from the project’s advisors, consulted experts, and ACF staff.

B4. Collection of Data and Quality Control

Members of the research team will contact potential participants and facilitate the semi-structured one-on-one or group discussions on the phone or video conferencing platform (e.g., Zoom). We expect that recruitment will be an iterative process. Members of the project team, including at least one senior member of the team, will contact potential key informants individually by e-mail, explaining the purpose of the project, describing the nature of the discussion, and inviting their participation (see Appendix A for e-mail template). If the key informant agrees to participate, a member of the project team will schedule a call at a time that is convenient to the participant.

If an invited individual is unable to participate, the research team will ask whether another representative of the individual’s organization might be appropriate and available for a discussion and will invite suggested key informants as needed. If no alternative is given, the research team will contact an alternative informant that we expect can discuss selected strategy/ies or data source(s).

A senior member of the research team will facilitate each interview according to the KII Protocol (Instrument 1), tailoring the conversation according to participants’ backgrounds and expertise. Each interview will last no more than 60 minutes. A member of the research team will take detailed written notes on each call.

B5. Response Rates and Potential Nonresponse Bias

Respondent Selection

The interviews are not designed to produce statistically generalizable findings and participation is wholly at the respondent’s discretion. Response rates will not be calculated or reported.

NonResponse

As participants will not be randomly sampled and findings are not intended to be representative, non-response bias will not be calculated. We will qualitatively assess non-responses to monitor gaps in the types of organizations, roles and sources represented in our data and to tailor our recruitment efforts, interview questions and probes as needed to improve the data collected and reduce burden on respondents. The organizational roles, sectors, and geography of respondents will be documented and reported in written materials associated with the data collection.

B6. Production of Estimates and Projections

The data will not be used to generate population estimates, either for internal use or dissemination.

B7. Data Handling and Analysis

Data Handling

Key informant interviews are open-ended, and each discussion will be tailored to the respondent’s experience with the ECE workforce strategy(ies) or data source(s) of interest. We will select key informants with deep knowledge of the ECE workforce strategy(ies) or data source(s) of interest to assure the accuracy of information collected.

Data Analysis

Notes from the interviews will be cleaned for readability and spelling/grammatical errors, and a summary will be drafted to highlight the key takeaways and themes from the interview. Key information (e.g., core components of the strategy, funding sources, intended outcomes, size and scale, staging, implementing agency(ies), years of implementation, target population/ECE setting(s) targeted, location) will be extracted from the interview notes and entered into a database of information about strategies compiled by the project team. Identified data sources and information about them will be entered into a separate database of data sources identified for potential future data analysis.

Data Use

The data and all reports based on it will be for use by the study team, including the contractors and OPRE. Selected findings may be shared publicly to demonstrate the range of strategies currently underway to build, retain, and advance the ECE workforce and to support the design of future research activities. Any limitations to the data, including generalizability, will be included in publicly shared information. No personally identifying information will be shared.

B8. Contact Person(s)

Project Director

Cynthia Miller

Senior Fellow, Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities

MDRC

[email protected]

Principal Investigator

JoAnn Hsueh

Director, Family Well-Being and Children’s Development

MDRC

[email protected]

Key Informant Interview Task Lead

Kate Stepleton

Senior Research Associate

MEF Associates

[email protected]

Attachments

Instrument 1: Key Informant Interview Protocol

Appendix A: Interview Outreach and Invitation Language

Appendix B: BASE Project Description

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