OMBSectionA_toED
OMBSectionA_toED.doc
Child Care Survey of Postsecondary Institutions
OMB: 1875-0242
CONTENTS (continued)
Section Page
Request For OMB Clearance Of Data Collection For The Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) Program
Section A
November 9, 2006
Submitted to:
U.S. Department of Education Policy and Program Studies Service 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 6W226 Washington, DC 20202
Project Officer: |
Submitted by:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. 600 Maryland Ave. S.W., Suite 550 Washington, DC 20024-2512 Telephone: (202) 484-9220 Facsimile: (202) 863-1763
Project Director: |
CONTENTS
Section Page
A. JUSTIFICATION 1
1. Circumstances Necessitating Collection Of Information 1
2. How, By Whom, And For What Purpose Information Is To Be Used 6
3. Use Of Automated, Electronic, Mechanical, Or Other Technological Collection Techniques 7
4. Efforts To Avoid Duplication Of Effort 8
5. Sensitivity To Burden On Small Entities 8
6. Consequences To Federal Program Or Policy Activities If The Collection Is Not Conducted Or Is Conducted Less Frequently Than Proposed 9
7. Special Circumstances 9
8. Federal Register Announcement And Consultation 9
9. Payment Or Gift To Respondents 10
10. Confidentiality Of The Data 10
11. Additional Justification For Sensitive Questions 11
12. Estimates Of Hour Burden 11
13. Estimate Of Total Annual Cost Burden To Respondents Or Record-Keepers 12
14. Estimates Of Annualized Cost To The Federal Government 12
15. Reasons For Program Changes Or Adjustments 12
16. Plan For Tabulation And Publication And Schedule For Project 12
17. Approval Not To Display The Expiration Date For OMB Approval 15
18. Exception To The Certification Statement 15
APPENDIX A: LEGISLATION SUPPORTING CCAMPIS STUDY a-1
APPENDIX B: CHILD CARE SURVEY OF POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS b-1
APPENDIX C: SUMMARY TABLE OF SURVEY ITEMS AND QUESTION–BY-QUESTION JUSTIFICATIONS C-1
APPENDIX D: LETTERS TO RESPONDENTS D-1
APPENDIX E: CONFIDENTIALITY PLEDGE E-1
TABLES
Table Page
A-1 Schedule of Activities 15
FIGURES
Figure Page
SUPPORTING JUSTIFICATION FOR OMB CLEARANCE OF DATA COLLECTION FOR
THE CHILD CARE ACCESS MEANS PARENTS IN SCHOOL
(CCAMPIS) PROGRAM
A. JUSTIFICATION
1. Circumstances Necessitating Collection Of Information
This submission is a request for approval of a survey instrument and data collection that will be used to support a study of the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which was authorized under Title IV, Part A, of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 (as amended). As stated in HEA, as amended, the purpose of the CCAMPIS program is to “support the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education through the provision of campus-based child care services.” Authorization to collect the data is provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (P.L. 108-447), which provides funds specifically for data collection and evaluation activities for programs under HEA (see Appendix A for the relevant portion of the legislation).
The main goal of the survey is to collect information needed to characterize and compare child care services provided at both CCAMPIS institutions and other eligible but nonparticipating institutions. Postsecondary institutions are eligible for CCAMPIS grants in a fiscal year if the total amount of all federal Pell Grant funds awarded to students enrolled at the institution in the preceding fiscal year was at least $350,000. Institutions may apply CCAMPIS funds to a variety of activities, including supporting or establishing a campus-based child care program primarily serving the needs of low-income postsecondary students enrolled at the institution; establishing or expanding child care programs for infants and toddlers; offering before- and after-school services for older children; subsidizing the costs of child care services for low-income students; presenting parent education programs; engaging in child care faculty, staff, program, or curriculum development; providing travel for professionals; purchasing supplies or equipment; paying personnel costs; and making minor renovations or repairs.
The survey population encompasses CCAMPIS-eligible Title IV institutions, with student Pell Grant funds totaling $350,000 or more, that offer child care services and assistance to postsecondary students. The services and assistance of primary interest include the direct provision of child care services in on-campus or off-campus centers, child care subsidies, and child care resource and referral services. Data are needed to describe the types and amounts of child care services provided; to compare child care programs at institutions with CCAMPIS grants and eligible institutions without CCAMPIS grants; and to determine institutional perceptions (and the source of data, if any, that supports these perceptions) of whether child care services have contributed to persistence and graduation for postsecondary students.
To obtain data for the study, the Program and Policy Studies Services (PPSS) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR). MPR will ask CCAMPIS and similar non–CCAMPIS institutions to complete a Web-based questionnaire (Appendix B). This clearance request pertains to the Web-based survey instrument to be administered in fall of the 2006–2007 school year. The OMB clearance package provides a question-by-question justification for each item in the survey (Appendix C). We have also included materials that will be sent to the director of the institution’s child care services—an advance letter describing the study (one version for CCAMPIS grantees and one for nongrantees), the initial email request with the sample member’s login identification and password, a follow-up email prompt, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Appendix D). MPR will supplement its survey data analysis with an analysis of secondary data sets, including the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)1 and the National Postsecondary Education Student Aid Survey (NPSAS)2.
Low-Income, Post-Secondary Students with Young Children. The importance of earning a postsecondary degree for success in the labor market is well documented. The difference in earnings between high school and college completers is great, even among young workers. For full-time workers ages 25 to 34, median earnings are 65 to 70 percent higher for those with a bachelor’s degree than for those with a high school diploma only. These differences increase with workers’ ages, as earnings also rise more rapidly among college-educated workers with experience (Murphy and Welch 1992). In addition to the economic benefits of a college education, evidence suggests that individuals who complete college generate positive externalities, such as greater civic orientation, higher likelihood of voting, and the tendency to assume leadership roles in the community (Astin 1993; Bowen and Bok 1998).
Low-income individuals are at greatest risk of failing to complete a college degree because they are less likely to enroll in college, particularly a four-year college. Moreover, those who do enroll are less likely to persist in college. Compared with high-income students, low-income students tend to exhibit more of the risk factors associated with dropping out of college, including (1) poorer academic preparation and performance in high school, (2) full-time or part-time employment while in college, and (3) having dependent children (Adelman 1999; Horn and Premo 1995; Astin 1993). Only 62 percent of low-income students who enrolled in a four-year institution in 1995–1996 had completed their degree or were still enrolled five years later as compared with 80 percent of high-income students.
Low-income students with children face additional obstacles in pursuing and reaching their educational goals. Despite numerous federal, state, and institution-based programs designed to help low-income students overcome the financial and academic barriers to completing a four-year degree, low-income parents face pressures associated with working to support their children and the extra expense of child care while they attend school. Low-income parents, particularly those who receive Pell Grants, likely qualify for subsidized child care through federal and state programs such as Head Start. However, these programs may not be accessible from the parents’ campuses or not available when needed, such as during evening classes or examination periods. In addition, some subsidized child care, such as Child Care Development Block Grants and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is available only for working parents and not for parents enrolled in postsecondary schooling (CLASP 2003). Thus, the federal, state, and institution-based safety net designed to support low-income students may not offer the extra support needed by low-income parents.
The CCAMPIS Program. Recognizing that difficulty in obtaining affordable, high-quality child care continues to prevent many low-income parents from attending college, Congress established the CCAMPIS program in 1999. CCAMPIS was intended to provide funds for campus-based child care services primarily for low-income students with children. The program’s objective was to remove child care as a barrier for low-income students who usually have to juggle the demands of family, school, and work. By providing access to affordable child care, the CCAMPIS program allows students to maximize their educational opportunities, knowing that their children are safe and receiving high-quality care. Thus, students are likely to persist in college and graduate in fewer years, find jobs, and prepare for a promising future.
The study of the CCAMPIS grants program will provide a comprehensive picture of how postsecondary institutions have used their grants to assist students by leveraging institutional and local resources to provide access to child care. Given that provision of child care is an important part of supporting student retention and maximizing chances for success, the proposed study will provide suggestive evidence of whether the CCAMPIS grants are an effective policy tool for improving postsecondary persistence among low-income students.
The proposed study is designed to address the following research questions:
What is the prevalence among Title IV institutions of campus-based child care services? What are the characteristics of institutions offering such services? How frequently do comparable non–CCAMPIS institutions provide child care services for young children of low-income postsecondary students?
What are the characteristics of child care programs offered by both CCAMPIS grantee institutions and nongrantee comparison institutions in terms of:
Types and arrangements of services provided?
Characteristics of child care providers?
Characteristics of postsecondary students who use the services, including the numbers and ages of their children receiving services?
Patterns and levels of use?
Fees paid and subsidies provided for child care services?
Has there been an increase in the number of:
Postsecondary institutions providing campus-based child care services overall among CCAMPIS grantee and comparison institutions?
Low-income students served in CCAMPIS grantee and comparison institutions?
Children of low-income students served by CCAMPIS grantee and comparison institutions?
How do child care providers at CCAMPIS grantee and comparison institutions perceive the effects of campus-based child care services on the persistence and graduation of the postsecondary students who use them?
The conceptual framework underlying our proposed study design illustrates how campus-based child care services may improve the educational outcomes of low-income students with children (Figure A-1).
FIGURE A-1
CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
Child Care Needs
Institutional Characteristics
Community Child Care
Resources
CCAMPIS
Grant
New
Child Care Services
Spaces in Centers
Care during Flexible and
Nontraditional Hours
Subsidies
Sick Child Care
Improved
Attendance Lower
Drop-Out Rates
Higher Rates of Degree
Completion
2. How, By Whom, And For What Purpose Information Is To Be Used
The CCAMPIS study’s data collection will give the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) within ED useful information for monitoring the performance of the CCAMPIS program as ED strives to meet the goals set out in HEA. By developing a thorough synthesis of information on how CCAMPIS grantees used their funds and comparing child care services and assistance at grantee and nongrantee institutions, the study will indicate whether and to what extent grantees are better able to provide critical child care services to low-income students. It will also determine if data are available to examine the question of whether these child care services improve postsecondary persistence and graduation for low-income students.
The data will also be useful for policymakers, postsecondary institutions, and child care providers and may serve as a catalyst that induces institutions to offer more child care services for low-income students. The information will support policy decisions about funding child care services at postsecondary institutions. In addition, the data will be a resource that supports additional research on child care services by others interested in improving persistence in and graduation from postsecondary institutions among low-income students with young children. Restricted-use data files from the study—submitted to PPSS and disseminated accordingly—can be used for independent studies by researchers and the policy community.
3. Use Of Automated, Electronic, Mechanical, Or Other Technological Collection Techniques
The data collection plan reflects sensitivity to issues of efficiency, accuracy, and respondent burden. To conduct the survey, we will use a Web-based data collection method. The Web-based survey will be programmed to accept only valid responses and to check for logical consistency across answers. Respondents will thus be able to correct any errors as they complete the survey, minimizing the need for later contacts to obtain missing data or clarify inconsistent data. An added advantage of Web-based data collection is that respondents are able to complete the survey at their convenience. An initial email sent to respondents will contain a URL link to the Web survey, along with a unique user ID and password.
Individuals who choose not to respond to the survey via the Web will be able to request participation through two other modes: (1) by standard mail and (2) by telephone. It is crucial to offer these other modes of response in order to make the survey as convenient as possible, thus increasing the response rate. These two modes of survey data collection will also be used as follow-up methods to secure responses from those who do not complete the Web-based version of the survey. Users who have not completed the survey will receive periodic email reminders encouraging them to do so, and hard-to-reach cases will be sent to our calling department. For respondents with substantive or technical questions, the Web application will provide a link to FAQs and another link to an email address for submitting questions. In addition, the advance letter will contain MPR’s electronic mail address and toll-free telephone number as well as FAQs for respondents who may have questions. These procedures are all designed to minimize the burden on respondents and maximize participation.
4. Efforts To Avoid Duplication Of Effort
The proposed data collection effort will yield unique data for the CCAMPIS program. While CCAMPIS grantees submit performance reports to ED, the reports do not collect the detailed data requested in this study. For example, the performance report asks for the number of Pell Grant recipients using the institution’s child care services, but it does not request the recipients’ demographic data or persistence and graduation information. No comparable data have been collected to allow for a comparison of characteristics of CCAMPIS institutions with similar non–CCAMPIS institutions.
No other survey data collection effort has been conducted or planned to collect similar information. Moreover, the data collection plan reflects careful attention to potential sources of information, particularly with respect to the reliability of the information and the efficiency associated with gathering it. When possible, we will obtain information from secondary data sources. The data collection plan avoids unnecessary collection of information from multiple sources.
5. Sensitivity To Burden On Small Entities
The respondents for the study are postsecondary institutions with at least $350,000 in Pell Grant funds awarded to their students. Burden is minimized for all respondents by requesting only the minimum data required to meet the study objectives and carefully specifying information needs, restricting questions to generally available information, providing tools to assist respondents in collecting the requested information, and deliberately designing the data collection strategy.
6. Consequences To Federal Program Or Policy Activities If The Collection Is Not Conducted Or Is Conducted Less Frequently Than Proposed
Absent a survey of CCAMPIS and eligible non–CCAMPIS institutions, policymakers will know little about whether the CCAMPIS program is an appropriate policy response to the problem of postsecondary retention among low-income parents. Without the study, federal resources would be allocated and program decisions made without the benefit of data describing and documenting differences in the child care services provided for low-income parents by CCAMPIS and non–CCAMPIS grantees. In addition, if the data are not collected, policymakers, higher education leaders, and college administrators will be unable to determine whether the safety net provided by the CCAMPIS program should be cast more broadly across the postsecondary sector.
Data collection for the study will use a point-in-time survey whereby information on CCAMPIS and non–CCAMPIS institutions nationwide will be collected only once.
7. Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances.
8. Federal Register Announcement And Consultation
a. Federal Register Announcement
The 60-day comment period notice was published on June 23, 2006, and ended August 22, 2006. No public comments were received. The Regulatory Information Management Services (RIMS) has not received comments to date. The current OMB clearance package is responsive to comments received from the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. The Federal Register announcement covered the first phase of data collection. Another Federal Register announcement will be submitted before the second phase of data collection begins.
b. Consultations Outside The Agency
None.
c. Unresolved Issues
None.
9. Payment Or Gift To Respondents
Respondents are directors of child care programs at postsecondary institutions selected for participation in the study. They will not be offered any financial incentives or gifts.
10. Confidentiality Of The Data
The data collection efforts that are the focus of this clearance package will be conducted in accordance with all relevant federal regulations and requirements, including the federal common rule or Department final regulations on protection of human research subjects. The questions in the survey focus on the characteristics of child care programs and postsecondary students using child care services—both CCAMPIS and non–CCAMPIS recipients.
Mathematica Policy Research, the contractor conducting the survey, will take appropriate measures, including those specific to Web-based materials, such as establishing firewalls and passwords, to ensure complete confidentiality. Data will be presented in aggregate statistical form only, and the following statement will be included in the advance letters sent to respondents:
Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific institution or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your institution to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.
Upon hiring, all MPR employees are required to sign a confidentiality pledge stating that they will protect the privacy rights of survey respondents (Appendix E). Moreover, access to identifying information is limited to those whose project roles demand it and only for the period of time in which they need it. In addition, MPR will employ physical safeguards, such as use of locked files and cabinets and shredders for discarded materials, to protect the data and prevent unauthorized access.
11. Additional Justification For Sensitive Questions
The questionnaire will include no questions of a highly sensitive nature. The questions focus on information about types of campus-based child care programs offered, the numbers and characteristics of postsecondary students using various services (undergraduate or graduate level, low-income status, age, gender), characteristics of the children in child care (age, special needs), the types of programs available (before- or after-school programs, hours of operation, age ranges of children served), the usage level by postsecondary students and their children, fees paid and subsidies provided, and postsecondary students’ persistence and graduation rates.
12. Estimates Of Hour Burden
The total reporting burden associated with completing the survey for the first phase of data collection (which encompasses approximately 10 percent of the full sample) is about 140 hours for 70 respondents. Individual institutions’ burden will vary depending on whether an institution uses on- or off-campus centers or both. Burden will also vary by CCAMPIS grantee status. Since CCAMPIS grantees report the number of Pell Grant recipients using child care services on their CCAMPIS performance reports, they will already have identified these students. They may be able to provide the demographic data and the persistence and graduation data without requesting it from another institutional office. Nongrantees will likely need to create a list of postsecondary students using the institution’s child care services and may need assistance from another institutional office to obtain demographic, persistence, and graduation data. We estimate that the burden will average about one hour for CCAMPIS grantee institutions and three hours for nongrantee institutions. This burden estimate is based on a survey pretest.
13. Estimate Of Total Annual Cost Burden To Respondents Or Record-Keepers
None.
14. Estimates Of Annualized Cost To The Federal Government
The estimated cost to the federal government for the CCAMPIS study is $429,536 over a two-year period. Thus, the average annual cost of the institutional survey and analysis is $214,768. Costs include the analysis of grantees’ performance report data, the analysis of secondary data sets, and the study design and instrument development for a survey of low-income postsecondary students with children. The student survey, which will not be implemented as part of the current study, will collect information from students about their child care needs, their levels and patterns of child care use, and their educational outcomes.
15. Reasons For Program Changes Or Adjustments
This is a new project.
16. Plan For Tabulation And Publication And Schedule For Project
The data analysis will be guided by a conceptual framework (Figure A-1) that illustrates how campus-based child care services may improve the educational outcomes of low-income students with children. The analysis will be based largely on descriptive and quantitative analyses of data obtained through the survey of child care program directors, IPEDS, NPSAS, and other secondary data sources. Through analyses of the survey data, we will determine whether the CCAMPIS grants appear to allow institutions to provide more comprehensive child care support tailored to the specific needs of low-income parents. The analyses will include detailed subgroup analyses to determine how the provision of child care services varies across different types of institutions by, for example, size, urbanicity, and percentage of low-income parents enrolled.
The CCAMPIS study will address research questions pertaining to the following:
Prevalence and characteristics of postsecondary institutions that offer campus-based child care services
Characteristics of campus-based child care programs and students/children who use them, in CCAMPIS and non–CCAMPIS institutions
Change over time in prevalence and characteristics of postsecondary institutions that offer campus-based child care services
Perceived effectiveness of campus-based child care services
Analysis plans are described more fully below.
a. Tabulation Plans
Descriptive Analyses and Comparisons. Descriptive analyses will address the research questions on the characteristics of postsecondary institutions offering child care services to low-income students and the characteristics of child care programs at those institutions. The analyses will also respond to research questions on the prevalence over time of such programs, low-income student parents served, and children served. Weighted means and distributions will be estimated for individual variables as appropriate.
Group Comparisons. We will compare data between CCAMPIS and matched non–CCAMPIS institutions to obtain suggestive evidence of the effectiveness of the CCAMPIS grants in enhancing campus-based child care services and (to the extent data are available) in promoting greater persistence and degree completion. Several factors may influence differences in educational outcomes between CCAMPIS and similar non–CCAMPIS institutions, services, and students. Some of the differences in other factors will be minimized through the Propensity Score Matching conducted in selecting the sample of non–CCAMPIS institutions. Multivariate analyses that control for other differences among the institutions and their students that may influence services and outcomes also will be estimated to isolate, to the extent possible, the role of CCAMPIS. The group comparisons will focus on weighted comparisons between CCAMPIS grantee and similar nongrantee institutions (an example of a comparison item is the general availability of child care for students on campus).
We will make statistical comparisons between CCAMPIS and matched non–CCAMPIS institutions, services, and students by using t-tests when comparing means of specific characteristics and by using chi-squared tests when comparing differences in the distribution of characteristics.
Subgroup Analyses. We will conduct descriptive analyses to examine the characteristics of key subgroups of CCAMPIS and similar non–CCAMPIS institutions offering campus-based child care services. We will compare data from the subgroups to explore whether CCAMPIS grants appear to be more effective with certain types of institutions. We will examine subgroups with the following characteristics, among others:
Institutional location (rural, suburban, or urban location; geographic region)
Type of institution (less than two-year, two-year, and four-year institutions)
Institutional control (public, private)
Institution size (number of students enrolled, annual number of graduates, or number of faculty members)
Levels of expenditure (educational and general expenditures per student)
Students’ demographic characteristics (racial/ethnic composition, gender, whether low-income, marital status, parental status)
b. Publication Plans
The final report is scheduled to be completed in August 2007, following the completion of data collection and analysis. The report will describe the extent and nature of child care services offered by Title IV institutions (both CCAMPIS and non–CCAMPIS grantees) and will present the study findings. Findings will include a description of services available, students’ use of services, perceived and measured impacts for students and subgroups, and the quality of child care services at CCAMPIS and comparable non–CCAMPIS institutions.
c. Schedule
Table A-1 shows the overall schedule for the Web-based survey, including the beginning and ending dates for data collection and the deliverable dates.
TABLE A-1
Schedule of Activities
Activity |
Schedule |
Study design |
October 2005–January 2006 |
Sample selection |
February 2006–October 2006 |
Preparation of Web-based application |
February 2006–September 2006 |
Pilot data collection |
October 2006–December 2006 |
Full implementation data collection |
February 2007 – April 2007 |
Data analysis |
May 2007–July 2007 |
Report |
June 2007–December 2007 |
17. Approval Not To Display The Expiration Date For OMB Approval
Approval not to display the expiration date for OMB approval is not requested.
18. Exception To The Certification Statement
No exceptions to the certification statement are being sought.
1 IPEDS is a single, comprehensive database designed to encompass all institutions and educational organizations whose primary purpose is to provide postsecondary education. It contains institution-level data in areas such as enrollment, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances.
2 NPSAS provides data on the costs of postsecondary education, the distribution of financial aid, the characteristics of aided and non-aided students and their families, and the number and ages of students’ dependent children.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | MEMORANDUM |
| Author | Donna Smith |
| Last Modified By | Kirsten Barrett |
| File Modified | 2006-11-09 |
| File Created | 2006-11-08 |
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