Email for CF Focus Group

Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Cross-System

Evaluation Project

Appendix C: Email Invitation for Focus Groups on Draft Conceptual Framework

To: National Center Leaders and Evaluators

Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Coordinators, Regional Head Start

T/TA State System Specialists, Child Care State Capacity Building Center

Subject: Invitation to Discuss Conceptual Framework of ACF’s Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) System

[GREETING]

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, is designing a utilization-focused evaluation for the specific purpose of documenting, assessing, and enhancing ACF’s Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance (EC T/TA) This evaluation is designed to assist with the continuous quality improvement efforts of the EC T/TA System by providing information and resources that can help enhance T/TA practices, resources, and materials. A key component to the success of the evaluation is gathering insights from a wide range of stakeholders—in particular ACF program staff from the Offices of Head Start and Child Care, outside experts, and those who have direct involvement with the EC T/TA System, including national and regional T/TA providers.

We are eager to hear from you, and we hope you will participate in a focus group that will help inform the evaluation design. During the focus group, we will present a preliminary version of a conceptual framework of ACF’s Early Childhood T/TA System. Drawing together information from multiple sources, including existing documents, research literature, and conversations with various T/TA stakeholders, the conceptual framework describes how ACF’s Early Childhood T/TA System works and the various components of the system, including the national and regional providers and partners, T/TA resources, delivery strategies, and intended outcomes. Then, we will facilitate a discussion to gather your feedback about the accuracy, inclusiveness, and completeness of the proposed conceptual framework. Your comments will be critical for finalizing the conceptual framework of the T/TA system and informing the evaluation design.

The 90-minute [webinar/ focus group] will be held on [date] at [time] [online or at the XXX Institute]. Please let us know by [date] if you are willing/able to participate. If so, we will send you details about joining the webinar [or about the precise location].

Please know that your participation is voluntary. The information collected through this effort will be used for internal purposes to design the cross-system evaluation study and to develop resources to support evaluation activities among T/TA system stakeholders. We will protect individually identifiable information and will summarize responses when we share findings internally with T/TA stakeholders, ACF Federal Staff, and a Technical Expert Panel.

We hope to hear from you soon and to learn more about your T/TA services and evaluation interests. As always, please let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you.

Carrie E. Markovitz and Marc W. Hernandez

Co-Principal Investigators of the Early Childhood T/TA Cross-System Evaluation Project

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