Appendix A: Key Informant Outreach and Invitation Language

Appendix A. Interview Outreach and Invitation Language

Subject: Seeking your input: federal study of supporting the early care and education workforce

Dear [NAME],

I’m writing to ask your help for a new federally funded study aimed at Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce.

[NOTE – sender to insert text depending upon the purpose of the interview from the following paragraph:] We would like to interview you to learn more about strategies that are currently underway in the United States to build, retain, and advance the early care and education (ECE) workforce. We would like to learn about existing data sources that may contain information about the ECE workforce, and the strategies and factors that can shape the employment dynamics of the ECE workforce (e.g., recruitment, advancement, and retention). In particular, we are interested in discussing {strategy/data source name/description} with you.

The Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce project is funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration of Children and Families (ACF), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project is being carried out by MDRC in partnership with MEF Associates, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Butler Institute, Erikson Institute, and Decision Information Resources, Inc. Broadly, the goals of the project are to increase understanding of what drives workforce turnover in the ECE field and to inform efforts to improve the recruitment, advancement, and retention of the ECE workforce.

If you participate in a voluntary interview, the information you provide would contribute to internal ACF and publicly available reports related to this project.

We hope to schedule a one-hour interview with you in the coming weeks to discuss these issues. Please let us know by {DATE} if you are able to share your expertise with our team.

The call can be scheduled at your convenience, but we have listed a few available times for you to consider below:

Available Time Slots for 1-hour Interview:

1. [Option 1]

2. [Option 2]

3. [Option 3]

If none of these times work for you, just let us know. We are happy to provide more options. Additionally, if you believe there is someone in your organization who is more appropriate for this request, please let us know. Thank you in advance for considering this request. Your knowledge and experience will be an invaluable resource to this important project as we move forward.

Sincerely,

[Project Contact Person Name]

[Project Contact Person Organization]