Attachment J - Additional recruitment materials

ATTACHMENT J

ADDITIONAL RECRUITMENT MATERIALS

[DATE]

Dear [CENTER DIRECTOR]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the project on Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ), an important study that will create an instrument to measure implementation and costs of providing quality services for early care and education (ECE) programs serving children from birth to age 5. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, an independent policy research organization, to conduct the study, which will focus on measuring (1) what a program is doing to support quality and (2) how much the program costs to operate.

This study includes conducting a combination of individual and small group discussions with directors, education managers, and financial managers. Centers will also be asked to complete a cost workbook, a self-administered paper questionnaire for center directors, and brief time-use surveys for staff. The study activities will be conducted from November 2015 to March 2016. We plan to visit your center over the course of one and a half to two days, from [CENTER VISIT DATES]. Included in this mailing is the paper questionnaire that we would like you, as the center director, to complete before the scheduled visit date as part of your center’s participation in this study. It contains questions on center characteristics, community and state contexts, key functions, and implementation activities to support key functions. We expect it will take a total of 3.5 hours to complete, inclusive of consultations with other staff. As a token of our appreciation, we will send a $100 gift card to each participating center.

Once you have completed the center director questionnaire, you can either mail it back to Mathematica in the enclosed business reply envelope or email it by following the instructions on the questionnaire. For more information, please see the enclosed list of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions or concerns about your participation in this study, you can contact [MPR LIAISON NAME] at [MPR LIAISON PHONE] or by email at eceichq@mathematica-mpr.com. We appreciate your time and look forward to working with you during this critical study.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Meagher

Survey Director

The described collection of information is voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 0970-0355 and it expires 03/31/2018.

[DATE]

Dear [FINANCE MANAGER]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ) project, an important study which will create an instrument to measure implementation and costs of providing quality services for early care and education (ECE) programs serving children from birth to age 5. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, an independent policy research organization, to conduct the study, which will focus on measuring (1) what a program is doing to support quality and (2) how much the program costs to operate.

Your program director has chosen you to help us collect information on costs, a critical component of the overall study.

Included in this mailing is a cost workbook that we would like you, as the finance manager, to complete. It contains questions on salaries and benefits by staff category, nonlabor costs, and indirect (overhead) costs. We expect it will take you 6.5 hours total to complete the cost workbook, inclusive of the time spent gathering the necessary documents. The workbook includes definitions and instructions to assist you. Once you have completed this cost workbook, you can either mail it back to Mathematica in the enclosed business reply envelope or email it by following the instructions on the workbook.

This letter and the enclosed ECE-ICHQ fact sheet provide details on the study activities. Should you have any questions, please contact [MPR LIAISON NAME] at [MPR LIAISON PHONE] or by email at eceichq@mathematica-mpr.com.

We appreciate your time and consideration and look forward to receiving the completed cost workbook prior to our on-site visit to your center that is scheduled for [DATE].

Sincerely,

Cassandra Meagher

Survey Director

The described collection of information is voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 0970-0355 and it expires 03/31/2018.

Frequently Asked Questions ON Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ)

• Q: WHAT IS ECE-ICHQ ABOUT?

High quality early care and education should prepare all children with the social, emotional, and cognitive skills to enter school ready to learn, and help close the achievement gap for low-income, disadvantaged children. Programs with particular elements in place should have greater potential to provide high quality ECE. The premise of the ECE-ICHQ study is that centers vary in their investments in and capacities to implement key functions in ways that support quality.

The purpose of the ECE-ICHQ is to produce measures of implementation and costs that can be used with existing observational measures of quality to find out what activities and investments can make a difference for children’s early childhood experiences and outcomes.

• Q: WHO IS CONDUCTING THE PROJECT?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, sponsors the study. The study is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, a respected, independent policy research organization whose studies of education initiatives and other programs have been used to inform national policymakers for more than 40 years.

• Q: HOW WERE CENTERS CHOSEN?

The ECE-ICHQ team is visiting centers in three states across the country. Centers are being chosen within states to reflect a range of characteristics, such as whether or not they serve infants and toddlers, and whether they are based in elementary schools. In this first phase of the study, the study team will conduct on-site visits with 24 centers; each visit will last approximately 1.5 days. We recognize that the first priority of each center is the care of children; our team will be flexible in conducting study activities around staff schedules and the needs of the children. As a token of our appreciation, participating centers will receive a $100 gift card.

• Q: WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THIS SPECIFIC LOCATION WHEN OUR SITE IS PART OF A LARGER ORGANIZATION OR PROGRAM?

Individual physical locations or sites provide the best way to build measures for use across a variety of contexts. An individual, physical location is the basic “unit” that is common across all early care and education providers and programs. Measuring the capacities and resources that exist for any one location supports comparisons of what varies and what can make a difference for children.

• Q: WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF TEACHERS AND OTHER CENTER STAFF?

Teachers and other center staff will be asked to complete a time-use survey that asks how much time they spend on various activities, such as providing care, working with families, or participating in training or workshops. For staff who participate in training or workshops, this time-use survey will also ask for information about the topics that are covered. After completing the survey, ECE-ICHQ researchers will ask center staff about their experiences filling out the survey. Altogether, completing the time-use survey and answering questions afterward will take fewer than 45 minutes.

• Q: WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF CENTER DIRECTORS?

During an initial 45-minute call, directors will be asked about their center’s staffing structure and will discuss the logistics of the site visit. In addition to the time-use survey listed above (“What is being asked of teachers and other center staff?), center directors will be asked to complete a paper questionnaire before the ECE-ICHQ team visits the center. While at the center, members of the study team will discuss topics from this questionnaire in greater depth with the center director.

• Q: WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF FINANCE MANAGERS?

Finance managers will be asked to complete a cost workbook detailing the center’s expenditures, such as those on salaries and benefits, nonlabor costs, and indirect (or overhead) costs. Finance managers will be asked to complete this workbook in advance of the study team’s visit so that members of the ECE-ICHQ team can ask follow-up questions while at the center.

• Q: DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE?

Taking part in ECE-ICHQ is your choice. We hope you will support this important work that will benefit you and many centers in the future by helping to identify investments that support quality care for young children. However, if you decide not to participate, there is no penalty. If you do participate, you may also decline to answer any questions we may ask.

• Q: WILL THE INFORMATION BE KEPT PRIVATE?

The research team follows strict rules to protect privacy. All study staff are trained to protect privacy. No reports will describe any person or center in a way that would allow identification.

• Q: IS THERE A NUMBER TO CALL FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS?

If you have additional questions about ECE-ICHQ, you may contact Gretchen Kirby, Project Director at 202-484-3470 or Cassandra Meagher, Survey Director at 202-250-3599 or by email at eceichq@mathematica-mpr.com.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 0970-0355 and it expires 03/31/2018.