Notification Letters

State Education Agency Title I, Part D Coordinator Notification
and Request for Subgrantee Coordinator Information

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State Education Agency Coordinator]:

I am writing to inform you about our upcoming Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new evaluation of how these programs are implemented at the state and local levels. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the purposes of the study and to ask for your help in this endeavor.

The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). The study will include the following data collection in the fall of 2016:

• Surveys with all Title I, Part D coordinators from state education agencies and state agencies receiving Title I, Part D funds, and a nationally representative sample of local education agency coordinators and their local juvenile justice and child welfare facility partners.

• Case studies in five states, which include administrative document review and interviews with state agencies, school districts, juvenile detention and correctional institutions, and child welfare facilities about how they are implementing their grants and subgrants and how they are meeting the needs of the students served.

This evaluation is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB clearance number XXXX-XXXX). Participation in this evaluation study is voluntary, however your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. However, we can learn about the implementation of Title I, Part D programs only from those individuals who are most intimately involved with them.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about your participation in the study. However, at this time, your help is needed to build a list of Title I, Part D state and local subgrantee coordinators in each state. Please visit [https:www.xxx.xxx] to enter the name and contact information for the coordinators who oversee the Title I, Part D program within the state agencies, local education agencies, and local juvenile justice and child welfare facilities/programs to whom you provide subgrants by no later than [insert due date]. You may also call 800-xxx-xxxx to discuss an alternative way for you to provide the contact information if necessary. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 30 minutes. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202-403-6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Notification — State and Local Education Agency Coordinators Survey Sample

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State/Local Coordinator]:

I am writing to notify you that your agency has been selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new study of how these programs are implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). Participation of state and local coordinators in this evaluation study is voluntary.

The study will include the following data collection in the fall of 2016:

• Surveys with all Title I, Part D state coordinators from state education agencies and state agencies and a nationally representative sample of local education agency coordinators and their local juvenile justice and child welfare facility partners.

• Case studies in five states, which include administrative document review and interviews with state agencies, school districts, juvenile detention and correctional institutions, and child welfare facilities about how they are implementing their grants and subgrants and how they are meeting the needs of students served.

Your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. The study will administer surveys to a sample of state and local coordinators throughout the nation. This greatly increases the importance of your response because it represents many other agency coordinators.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about the data collection at your agency. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service and has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per survey response. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202-403-6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Notification — State Agency and Local Facility Program Coordinators Survey Sample

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State/Local Coordinator]:

I am writing to notify you that your agency has been selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new study of how these programs are implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). Participation of state and local coordinators in this evaluation study is voluntary.

The study will include the following data collection in the fall of 2016:

• Surveys with all Title I, Part D state coordinators from state education agencies and state agencies and a nationally representative sample of local education agency coordinators and their local juvenile justice and child welfare facility partners.

• Case studies in five states, which include administrative document review and interviews with state agencies, school districts, juvenile detention and correctional institutions, and child welfare facilities about how they are implementing their grants and subgrants and how they are meeting the needs of students served.

Your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. The study will administer surveys to a sample of state and local coordinators throughout the nation. This greatly increases the importance of your response because it represents many other agency coordinators.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about the data collection at your agency. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service and has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per survey response. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202-403-6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Notification— State Education Agency — Case Study Sample

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State Education Agency Coordinator]:

I am writing to notify you that your agency has been selected as one of five state education agencies to participate in case studies for the U.S. Department of Education’s Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new study of how these programs are implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). Participation of state and local coordinators in this evaluation study is voluntary.

As part of the case study, researchers will conduct on-site interviews with state-level staff and staff from six local sites in your state, for a total of approximately 30 state and local staff. In addition to this, the study team will request administrative documents to review, including planning documents, written plans for institutionwide Part D projects, and tracking systems or forms. Data collection is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016.

Your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. However, we can learn about the implementation of Title I, Part D programs only from those individuals who are most intimately involved with them.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about the data collection at your agency. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service and has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to take up to 6 hours for participation in the case studies. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202–403–6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Notification— Local Education Agency — Case Study Sample

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State Education Agency Coordinator]:

I am writing to notify you that your agency has been selected as one of the six local sites in your state to participate in case studies for the U.S. Department of Education’s Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new study of how these programs are implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). Participation of state and local coordinators in this evaluation study is voluntary.

As part of the case study, researchers will conduct on-site interviews with staff from six local sites in your state. In addition to this, the study team will request administrative documents to review, including planning documents, written plans for institutionwide Part D projects, and tracking systems or forms. Data collection is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016.

Your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. However, we can learn about the implementation of Title I, Part D programs only from those individuals who are most intimately involved with them.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about the data collection at your agency. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service and has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to take up to 3 hours for participation in the case studies. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202–403–6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service

Notification— Local Facility/Program — Case Study Sample

[Date]

[Name]

[Position]

[Street Address]

[City, state, zip]

Dear [State Education Agency Coordinator]:

I am writing to notify you that your agency has been selected as one of the six local sites in your state to participate in case studies for the U.S. Department of Education’s Evaluation of the ESSA Title I, Part D Neglected or Delinquent Programs, an important new study of how these programs are implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine how state agencies, school districts, and juvenile justice and child welfare facilities implement education and transition programs for youth who are neglected or delinquent (N or D). Participation of state and local coordinators in this evaluation study is voluntary.

As part of the case study, researchers will conduct on-site interviews with staff from six local sites in your state. In addition to this, the study team will request administrative documents to review, including planning documents, written plans for institutionwide Part D projects, and tracking systems or forms. Data collection is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016.

Your participation is critical to enable this study to provide policymakers with accurate and complete information about implementation of this important federal grant. We recognize that participation in this study will demand time and energy. However, we can learn about the implementation of Title I, Part D programs only from those individuals who are most intimately involved with them.

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 individual. We will not provide information that identifies you to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

The U.S. Department of Education has contracted with American Institutes for Research (AIR) to undertake this study. A member of the study team will contact you in the next few weeks to provide further information about the data collection at your agency. This study is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service and has been approved by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such a collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to take up to 3 hours for participation in the case studies. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.

Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss this study, please feel free to contact the U.S. Department of Education project officer, Michael Fong, at 202-401-2342 or michael.fong@ed.gov. You may also contact the AIR project director, Jennifer Loeffler-Cobia, at 202–403–6668 or jloefflercobia@air.org.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and truly appreciate your willingness to provide the time needed for the success of this important national study.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger

Director, Policy and Program Studies Service