SSA - Developing a Learning Agenda on ECE Apprenticeships

Developing a Learning Agenda on Early Care and Education Apprenticeships

Administration for Children and Families Generic for Engagement Efforts

0970 – 0630

Supporting Statement Part A

Justification

August 2024

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

A1. Necessity for the Data Collection

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) proposes to engage individuals with knowledge about and experience with early care and education (ECE) apprenticeships.

Background

ECE apprenticeships combine job-related technical instruction with structured, on-the-job learning experiences to train current and future ECE educators. ECE apprenticeships are designed to help educators retain employment while working toward a credential or degree. Because ECE apprenticeships are designed to lead to increases in pay, skill-development, and postsecondary credentials and/or degrees, they may be a promising strategy to recruit and retain a skilled ECE workforce. Yet, there is limited research and documented information about how ECE apprenticeship programs are developed, implemented, financed, and ultimately about their success. 

To address this gap in the knowledge base, OPRE funded a project to document what is known and not known about ECE apprenticeships in order to develop a learning agenda that will describe gaps in the knowledge base and highlight promising areas for future research for the field. To date, the project has completed an environmental scan of existing materials and resources and conducted interviews with a small number of individuals¹ who lead ECE apprenticeship programs, research the programs, or offer technical assistance to programs.

The project team has summarized findings from these activities and will engage those who participated in interviews and other individuals with knowledge of and a vested interest in ECE apprenticeships in interpretation of the findings and informing priorities for future research. Engagement of individuals representing diverse perspectives will help OPRE ensure the learning agenda is responsive and relevant to the research and information needs of those implementing, funding, and otherwise engaged with ECE apprenticeships.

Legal or Administrative Requirements that Necessitate the Collection

There are no legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. ACF is undertaking the collection at the discretion of the agency.

A2. Purpose of Survey and Data Collection Procedures

Overview of Purpose and Use

The primary purpose of this information collection (IC) is to engage individuals with diverse perspectives (including ECE apprenticeship program implementers, key implementation partners, technical assistance providers, program funders, and researchers) to interpret findings from an environmental scan and expert interviews focused on identifying gaps in the knowledge base on ECE apprenticeships. The project team will ask respondents to provide input on whether the gaps in the knowledge base reflect their experiences, whether there are other gaps that are not included but should be added, and which gaps in the knowledge base are highest priority to address (Instrument 1. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Discussion Guide). The project team will share findings about the gaps in the knowledge in materials distributed to participants before the meeting and through presentations during the meeting. They will also ask respondents to discuss research questions and study designs that can help fill gaps in the knowledge base. To assist in meeting planning, before the meeting the team will ask participants to indicate the topics they would like to discuss during each of two breakout room sessions (Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire).

The intended uses of the information include informing planning for future research and evaluation projects on ECE apprenticeships, including projects conducted by OPRE and the field of researchers studying ECE apprenticeships, ECE workforce development strategies, and apprenticeships generally. Information gathered through this IC will be used to inform findings presented in a project-specific report that includes a learning agenda for ECE apprenticeships as well as other possible dissemination products such as a blog post summarizing the findings or a conference presentation.

This proposed information collection meets the goals and uses of the ACF generic clearance for engagement efforts (0970-0630):

• Gathering information from individuals with diverse experiences and perspectives to inform ACF policies and programs.

• Exploring emerging areas

• Informing planning for new funding

• Informing the implementation of research studies

• Informing the development and dissemination of resources and products developed under ACF studies, regulatory activities, guidance, outreach and/or training activities.

Overview of Information Collections

Information Collection Title	Respondent, Content, Purpose of Collection	Mode and Duration
Instrument 1. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Discussion Guide	Respondents: ECE apprenticeship program implementers, key implementation partners, program funders, technical assistance providers, and researchers Content: Open-ended questions designed to gather input from respondents on gaps in the knowledge base that should be added, could be dropped, and are highest priority for future research and evaluation Purpose: To inform future research and evaluation on early care and education (ECE) apprenticeships	Mode: Web-based meeting Duration: 3 hours
Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire	Respondents: ECE apprenticeship program implementers, key implementation partners, program funders, technical assistance providers, and researchers Content: Close-ended questions about which breakout rooms meeting participants would like to be placed in during the meeting Purpose: To determine how to sort meeting participants into breakout rooms	Mode: Web-based survey Duration: 2 minutes

Processes for Information Collection

Information collected under this IC will be collected during breakout sessions and whole group discussions conducted as part of a convening focused on ECE apprenticeships. The discussions (breakout and whole group) are anticipated to be delivered in a workshop-style and designed as opportunities for respondents to share ideas and experiences. The project team plans to use a semi-structured discussion guide (Instrument 1. ECE Apprenticeships Convening Discussion Guide) to ask questions of respondents and solicit their input. To help the project team prepare for the meeting, they will ask participants to complete a 2-minute survey indicating the break out rooms they would like to participate in during the meeting (Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire).

A3. Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden

The meeting will be conducted virtually using a platform such as Zoom. Respondents will be invited to participate in the meeting via email. During the meeting, Mural, a visual work platform, will be used by respondents to gather input.

A4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

The information that will be collected during this IC does not exist elsewhere. The IC is designed to gather diverse perspectives on priorities for future research and evaluation; this topic has not been explored in prior IC.

A5. Involvement of Small Organizations

Some respondents may work for small businesses. We will minimize burden on these entities by scheduling the meeting at a time convenient for respondents using a virtual format.

A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection

This is a one-time data collection.

A7. Special Circumstances

There are no special circumstances for the proposed data collection efforts.

A8. Federal Register Notice and Consultation

Federal Register Notice and Comments

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), ACF published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of this information collection request for a new umbrella generic clearance. The notice was published on December 11, 2023, (88 FR 85890), and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. ACF did not receive any comments on the first notice. A second notice was published, allowing a thirty-day period for public comment (89 FR 12352), in conjunction with submission of the request to OMB. ACF did not receive any comments on the second notice.

Consultation with Outside Experts

The project team consulted experts to gather information from them about ECE apprenticeship programs, outcomes of importance, data sources available about program implementation and outcomes that may be able to support research and evaluation, existing research or efforts underway to build the evidence base on ECE apprenticeship programs, and questions they would like future research to address. The research team engaged the experts listed in Table A along with staff from ACF’s Office of Early Childhood Development and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship.  

 

Table A. Experts and Stakeholders the Project Team Engaged 

Name	Affiliation
Shayne Spaulding	Urban Institute
Zach Boren	Urban Institute

A9. Tokens of Appreciation for Respondents

Tokens of appreciation are not being offered to respondents for this IC.

A10. Privacy of Respondents

Information collected will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Respondents will be informed of all planned uses of data, that their participation is voluntary, and that their information will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Contact information may be collected in order to inform respondents when public-facing products resulting from the information provided are available.

Information will not be maintained in a paper or electronic system from which data are actually or directly retrieved by an individuals’ personal identifier.

A11. Sensitive Questions

There are no questions about sensitive topics.

A12. Estimation of Information Collection Burden

Burden Estimates

The project team will invite up to 35 non-federal respondents to participate in one 2.5-hour meeting, plus 30 minutes for prep time before the meeting to read through meeting materials. They will also ask meeting participants to respond to Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire (this instrument takes 2 minutes to complete on average). This is a one-time data collection. The project team will select participants, in collaboration with ACF, based on their role as ECE apprenticeship program implementers, key implementation partners, program funders, and researchers.

Cost Estimates

The research team based our cost estimate on the average salary of individuals in locales around the country who fit into the potential respondents described above. Therefore, an estimated hourly wage of $49 per hour is used, based on May 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data for the following occupation labor categories: Social Scientists and Related Workers (19-3099; $49.14), Management Occupations (11-0000; $66.23), and Education and Training (25-0000; $31.92). Total annualized cost was calculated as the product of annual burden hours and average hourly wage. To account for fringe benefits and overhead the rate was multiplied by two which is $ 98.00.

Instrument	Total Number of Respondents	Total Number of Responses Per Respondent	Average Burden Hours Per Response	Total Burden Hours	Average Hourly Wage	Total Annual Cost
Instrument 1. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Discussion Guide	35	1	3.0	105	$98	$10,290
Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire	35	1	0.03	1.05	$98	$102.90
Totals:	35	1	3.03	106.05	$98	$10,392.90

A13. Cost Burden to Respondents or Record Keepers

There are no additional costs to respondents.

A14. Estimate of Cost to the Federal Government

The total cost to the Federal government for the data collection activities under this current request will be $7,213. This estimate of costs comes from the project team’s budgeted estimates to conduct the meeting and summarize information provided.

A15. Change in Burden

This is for an individual information collection under the umbrella generic clearance for ACF engagement activities (0970-0630).

A16. Plan and Time Schedule for Information Collection, Tabulation and Publication

The information gathered under this generic IC will be used to inform public-facing products such as a project-specific brief or report, blog post, and/or conference presentations.

The meeting will take place approximately 1-2 months after OMB approval. The team will then leverage the engagements to inform public-facing products. We anticipate public-facing products will be published approximately 8-10 months after OMB approval, and any future conference presentations will also be 8-10 months after OMB approval.

Activity	Description	Estimated Timeframe (after OMB approval)
Meeting	Convene meeting	Months 1-2
Dissemination	Publish public-facing products such as a project-specific report, blog post, and/or conference presentation	Months 8-10

A17. Reasons Not to Display OMB Expiration Date

All instruments will display the expiration date for OMB approval.

A18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.

Attachments

Instrument 1. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Discussion Guide

Instrument 2. Breakout Room Session Questionnaire

Appendix A. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Invitation Email

Appendix B. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Calendar Event

Appendix C. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Reminder and Advance Materials

Appendix D. ECE Apprenticeships Meeting Thank You Email

1 Through these initial efforts, the same information was not requested from more than nine individuals and therefore was not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

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