B Data Collection Plan_final

Attachment B

Revised Data Collection Plan for Field Test

The data collection procedures have been revised based on experiences from the pilot test, and these changes were mainly made to the parent recruitment procedures. The following table highlights the changes made for the field test:

Revised procedures for the Field Test	Procedures used in the Pilot Test
Westat will mail a prenotice letter (please see attachment K) to each selected child care program in the district to inform them about the study and let them know to expect a phone call shortly requesting their participation.	No prenotice letters sent to directors; initial contact to programs made by phone
Two recruiters for each of the six cities, one field supervisor. Westat staff will conduct weekly calls with the field supervisor.	Two recruiters for each of the two cities, no field supervisor. Westat staff conducted weekly calls with recruiters.
No screeners will be used; screener questions will be incorporated into the surveys instead. Based on experiences from the pilot test, screening out parents from participation in the survey was not necessary, and this extra step made the recruitment process more complex and challenging.	Screeners used for directors, providers, and parents
Only one type of survey for all parents about the provider/teacher of their child. No Family Service Worker survey will be used in the field test.	Two types of surveys for parents of children in Head Start programs - one about teachers and one about Family Service Workers.
All parent surveys will be printed at the start of data collection and distributed to parents by the recruiter during the program site visits.	Surveys were printed and mailed to parents as requested by the recruiters.
Provider and parent surveys will contain an attached debit card that will be loaded with funds upon Westat’s receipt of the completed survey.	Providers and parents were mailed a check from Westat upon receipt of their completed surveys.
In-person recruiter training will be conducted at the Westat conference center. Westat and Child Trends staff will participate.	WebEx-based initial training for recruiters, conducted by Westat staff
Recruiters will bring and set up an information table in the morning and afternoon during parent drop-off and pick-up times, with the pre-labeled parent surveys available for parents to either fill out on site or pick up and mail back to Westat. Recruiters will bring two sign-in sheets to the programs, one for each participating provider, to record the name and phone number of the parent associated with each parent survey ID. Upon leaving the program, recruiters will enter the parent information associated with each survey ID into Westat’s secure field management system (FMS). When the survey is returned to Westat, the debit card attached to that survey ID will be loaded with an incentive payment, and the survey will show up in the system as having been returned. This will help recruiters in following up with parents who picked up a survey but did not yet return it. Once the data collection period is complete, recruiters will return all sign-in sheets and documents containing personally identifying information (PII) to Westat, where they will be securely shredded and destroyed.	Recruiters ask directors to display flyers and brochures for the parents to see, and parents call the recruiter if they are interested in participating.

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