Formative Data Collection (OMB 0970-0356)
Supporting Statement Part A for OMB Approval
Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009)
February 27, 2009
The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2009 Cohort (FACES 2009) is the fifth in a series of national longitudinal cohort studies of the children and families served by Head Start. The design of FACES 2009 and the procedures that are used to select the sample and conduct baseline and three rounds of follow-up data collection are for the most part the same as those used in FACES 2006 (OMB number 0970-0151). ACF requests permission to contact the 60 Head Start programs that will be selected to participate in FACES 2009 for the purpose gathering information that will be used (1) to develop a sampling frame of Head Start centers in each program and (2) to facilitate the selection of the center, class, and child samples for FACES 2009. Permission to contact programs for this limited purpose is requested under ACF’s generic clearance for information gathering (OMB Number 0970-0356). The information collected will be used for internal purposes only and will not be released to the public. A separate package will be submitted requesting clearance for the full FACES 2009 study, including all data collection instruments and procedures, data analyses and the reporting of study findings.
FACES 2009 extends a currently approved data collection program that is scheduled to expire June 30, 2009 (OMB number 0970-0151) to a new sample of Head Start programs, families, and children. FACES 2009, like the four cohorts that preceded it, will collect information from a national probability sample of Head Start children, their parents, teachers, and program officials to ascertain what progress Head Start has made in meeting program performance goals. There are two legislative bases for the FACES data collection: the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-62), requiring that the Office of Head Start move expeditiously toward development and testing of Head Start Performance Measures, and the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-134), outlining requirements on monitoring, research, and standards for Head Start. FACES provides the mechanism for collecting these data on nationally representative samples of children and families served by Head Start, providing the Office of Head Start, other federal government agencies, local programs, and the public with valid and reliable national information. Successive samples provide ongoing descriptive pictures of the stability and change of the population served, staff qualifications, classroom practices and quality, and child and family outcomes.
Head
Start programs will be selected in late winter 2009 from the Head
Start Program Information Report (PIR) database for program year
2007-2008 (the most current PIR available at the time of sampling).
However, no frame of Head Start centers currently exist, so we will
need to ask each program in the sample to provide (1) a list of its
centers along with an estimate of the number of newly enrolled (first
year of Head Start) children expected in fall 2009 and
(2)
other information we will need for sampling. We will also ask the
program for information that will help to prepare for the data
collection in fall 2009 (e.g., hours of operation, name of a person
who will assist MPR staff in selecting the child sample, obtaining
consents from the parents of the sampled children). It is necessary
to collect this information in spring 2009 while program offices are
open in order to stay on schedule for a fall baseline data
collection.
ACF intends to send letters to the program directors of the selected Head Start programs. The letter, signed by the Acting Director of the Office of Head Start, will describe the study goals, present the importance of the study, and introduce the team who will be doing the study on ACF’s behalf. Next, program directors will be sent a letter from the MPR project director with more details about study. The letter will describe what participation entails for programs (such as putting together a list of all the centers in their program and providing basic information about each) and for centers (such as providing lists of classrooms, distributing and collecting consent forms and helping to prepare for on-site data collection). They will also receive a summary of the study that will include an overview of the design and data collection and a brochure describing the study that will be used when notifying families about the study in the fall. Program directors will then receive a phone call from MPR staff to answer any of their questions about the study and to review with them our request for information following a prepared script. Programs will not be asked to enroll families during this initial recruitment and selection phase; we will simply ask the program for information concerning its centers in order to develop sampling frames. Program directors will also be asked to identify a staff member to serve as an on-site coordinator who will work with the study team to identify eligible children (those who are in their first year of Head Start), recruit families, and help schedule interviews and site visits. Finally, we will ask directors a few questions about how services are organized (center-based, home-based, mix; full- vs. half-day program) and the operation of their centers (hours of operation, program year start and end dates) that MPR will use to prepare its staffing plan and data collection schedule for the fall. On-site coordinators will be sent a letter and called to gather or confirm information about centers in their program and to confirm their contact information and availability following a prepared script. Copies of all letters and scripts are included in the appendix.
The burden on program directors and on-site coordinators is minimal and the use of information technologies to reduce burden for this one-time contact would not be cost effective.
There is no existing frame that can be used to sample Head Start centers. Each successive FACES cohort has developed the center frame after the program sample is selected based on the information gathered from those programs.
No small businesses are impacted by the data collection in this project.
Baseline data collection for FACES 2009 is scheduled for fall 2009. To adhere to this schedule, programs must be sampled and contacted in spring 2009 in order to develop the center sampling frame.
There are no special circumstances requiring deviation from these guidelines.
The first Federal Register notice for ACF’s generic clearance for information gathering was published in the Federal Register, Volume 73, page 19072 on April 4, 2008.
The second Federal Register notice was published in the Federal Register, Volume 73, page 34753 on June 18, 2008.
Program directors and on-site coordinators are not paid for providing the information that is sought.
Program directors and on-site coordinators are asked a small set of questions about the centers in their Head Start programs. Program directors provide the names and addresses of each center in their program as well as each center’s hours of operation and estimates of its fall enrollment of newly entering children and dual language learner children. On-site coordinators are asked to confirm the name and address of each center that is chosen to participate in FACES 2009, to provide the name and contact information for the center’s director, and to identify the center’s hours of operation. The same procedures that were used in FACES 2006 (OMB number 0970-0151) will be used to ensure the privacy of the information provided by program directors and on-site coordinators.
There are no sensitive questions.
Program directors and on-site coordinators will review materials and speak with a study team member about the centers in their Head Start program. These persons will not incur any expense other than the time spent answering the few questions.
The estimated annual burden for program directors and on-site coordinators is listed in Table A.1. The total annual burden for this information gathering activity is expected to be 165 hours.
TABLE A.1
ESTIMATED annual RESPONSE burden AND ANNUAL COST
Instrument |
Number of Respondents |
Number of Responses per Respondent |
Average Burden Hours per Response |
Total Burden Hours |
Average Hourly Wage |
Total Annual Cost |
Information package for program directors |
60 |
1 |
0.5 |
30 |
$25.30 |
$759 |
Telephone script for program directors |
60 |
1 |
1.0 |
60 |
$25.30 |
$1,518 |
Letter and brochure for on-site coordinators |
60 |
1 |
0.25 |
15 |
$25.30 |
$380 |
Telephone script for
|
60 |
1 |
1.0 |
60 |
$25.30 |
$1,518 |
Estimated Total |
|
|
|
165 |
|
$4,175 |
Estimates of Annualized Costs. To compute the total estimated annual cost, the total burden hours were multiplied by the average hourly wage for Head Start staff, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2008 (see Table A.1). For program directors and on-site coordinators, we used the mean salary for full-time employees over age 25 with a bachelor’s degree ($23.50 per hour).
Not applicable.
The total cost to the federal government of contacting and gathering information from 60 Head Start program directors and 60 on-site coordinators under the terms of the FACES 2009 contract is estimated to be $16,349 including direct and indirect costs and fees. This $16,349 is also the annual cost since the collection will only occur one time in spring 2009.
The approach to contacting and gathering the information needed to develop a center sampling frame and to prepare for the fall 2009 baseline data collection is the same approach that was used successfully in FACES 2006 (OMB Number 0970-0151).
There are no plans for tabulating and publishing the information gathered from program directors and on-site coordinators. The information that is collected will be used for internal use only.
All contacts with program directors and on-site coordinators for the purpose of collecting basic information on Head Start centers will occur in spring 2009. Program directors will be mailed letters in mid-March and called by a member of the study team beginning in late March through early April. Mailings and calls to on-site coordinators will occur on a rolling basis as these persons are identified during conversations with program directors. All calls with program directors and on-site coordinators should be complete by May 2009.
The OMB number and expiration date will be displayed at the top of the first page of the program director and on-site coordinator scripts. We will offer to read the OMB number and expiration date at the start of the call.
No exceptions are necessary for this data collection.
| File Type | application/msword |
| Author | jwest |
| Last Modified By | hartman_a |
| File Modified | 2009-04-28 |
| File Created | 2009-04-28 |