Alternative Supporting Statement for Information Collections Designed for
Research, Public Health Surveillance, and Program Evaluation Purposes
Head Start Connects: A Study of Family Support Services
OMB Information Collection Request
0970 – 0538
Supporting Statement
Part A
JULY 2022
Submitted By:
Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
4th Floor, Mary E. Switzer Building
330 C Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
Project Officers: Sarah Blankenship, Amanda Clincy Coleman, and Paula Daneri
Part A
Executive Summary
Type of Request: This Information Collection Request is for a revision. We are requesting 1 year of approval.
Progress to Date: In January 2020, the Head Starts Connect Project received approval under this OMB number to complete case studies that examined how Head Start programs coordinate family support services. Six Head Start programs participated, along with 30 Head Start staff members, 18 parents/guardians, and 7 community service providers. Qualitative coding has been completed, and a final report is expected to be published in 2022.
Timeline: Previous information collection activities focused on the case studies just described, which occurred within the planned timeline. The current revision request pertains to the study’s last phase of information collection, which builds on the original information collection request.
Summary of changes requested: The information collections proposed for the last phase of the Head Start Connects project include: surveys of Head Start directors, family and community partnerships managers, and family support services staff members; and focus groups of Head Start family support services staff members. The purposes of the additional information collection are to build knowledge about how Head Start programs (grantee organizations and/or delegate agencies that provide direct services through center-based Head Start, Early Head Start, AI/AN Early Head Start, AI/AN Head Start, Migrant & Seasonal Early Head Start, and Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs) coordinate family support services for parents/guardians; the characteristics of Head Start programs and staff members involved in family support services coordination; the job characteristics, work activities, and well-being of Head Start family support services staff members; and how Head Start programs can improve coordination of family support services.
We do not intend for this information to be used as the principal basis for public policy decisions.
Time Sensitivity: Because Head Start programs generally follow a school year calendar, and because funding for this data collection will expire in November 2023, we request review and approval as soon as possible so that data collection can take place September 2022 through June 2023.
A1. Necessity for Collection
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks approval for additional data collection of surveys and focus groups as part of the Head Starts Connects Study. The purposes of this final phase1 – Head Start Connects: A Study of Family Support Services – are to build knowledge about how Head Start programs (grantee organizations and/or delegate agencies that provide direct services through center-based Head Start, Early Head Start, AI/AN Early Head Start, AI/AN Head Start, Migrant & Seasonal Early Head Start, and Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs) coordinate family support services for parents/guardians; the characteristics of Head Start programs and staff members involved in family support services coordination; the job characteristics, work activities, and well-being of Head Start family support services staff members; and how Head Start programs can improve coordination of family support services. The data collection will build on information collected previously through case studies at six Head Start sites (OMB # 0970-0538). This research project is sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) through a contract with MDRC and its subcontractors, MEF Associates and NORC at the University of Chicago.
One of the hallmarks of Head Start is its whole-family approach to services. This approach is informed by evidence that families with low incomes often face multiple challenges related to health, safety, and financial stability that can affect their overall well-being. As depicted in the Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework, family well-being is part of the foundation for ensuring that children are safe, healthy and well, learning and developing, engaged in positive relationships with family members, caregivers, and other children, ready for school, and successful in school and life.2 Typical Head Start family well-being support services for parents and guardians include the following: education, employment services, financial capability services, emergency or crisis intervention services, substance abuse treatment, physical health services, and mental health services. Throughout this package, these services will be referred to as “family support services.”
The Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) outline an expectation that programs provide a comprehensive, integrated set of family support services tailored to the individual needs of parents and families in each program. Services should meet the needs and draw on the resources of local communities.3 Reflecting the flexibility that is fundamental to Head Start, the HSPPS do not specifically outline how family support services should be provided or coordinated within a program.
Existing data sources provide broad snapshots of the Head Start family support services provided by individual programs, but lack important detail on programs’ specific, diverse strategies for delivering family support services.4 There is also a lack of available information about common implementation challenges confronted by Head Start programs as they coordinate family support services and on the family support services staff members themselves, including an understanding of their daily job-related activities and well-being.
The Head Start Connects project aims to address these gaps in knowledge. The first phase of this project, case studies of six Head Start programs, provided in-depth, descriptive information about the range of activities programs use for coordinating family support services, detailing the work that is done in partnership with both families and community service providers. The proposed data collection builds on the case studies by using the qualitative information learned to design survey questions that would allow us to not only describe coordination of family support services for a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs but also to capture the day-to-day variation in work activities and well-being of the staff who provide these important services for families. Capturing the latter information is particularly unique for this population and allows for “the examination of reported events and experiences in their natural, spontaneous context, providing information complementary to that obtainable by more traditional designs” like one-time surveys.5 The case studies also showed that while Head Start programs generally do similar coordination activities, there was variation in the timing and way in which they were done. The proposed data collection will also build on that finding by asking family support services staff members to describe their innovative practices in doing service coordination.
There are no legal or administrative requirements that necessitate this collection. ACF is undertaking the collection at the discretion of the agency.
A2. Purpose
Purpose and Use
To address these gaps in understanding and the lack of specific data on the coordination of family support services, the proposed information collection aims to collect information from a nationally-representative sample of Head Start programs (grantee organizations and/or delegate agencies that provide direct services through center-based Head Start, Early Head Start, AI/AN Early Head Start, AI/AN Head Start, Migrant & Seasonal Early Head Start, and Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs) about how such programs coordinate family well-being support services and about the family support service workforce that provides and coordinates these services. Specifically, this information collection will gather information about how Head Start programs coordinate family support services for parents/guardians; the characteristics of Head Start programs and staff members involved in family support services coordination; the job characteristics, work activities, and well-being of Head Start family support services staff members; and how Head Start programs can improve coordination of family support services.
This information aims to inform program improvement and improve training and technical assistance offered by the Office of Head Start. As a result, it may also help improve the experiences of families participating in and staff members working in Head Start programs. This information will be published in products available to practitioners, technical assistance providers, and researchers.
The information collected is meant to contribute to the body of knowledge on ACF programs. It is not intended to be used as the principal basis for a decision by a federal decision-maker, and is not expected to meet the threshold of influential or highly influential scientific information.
Research Questions
This study addresses the following overarching research questions:
What are the characteristics, backgrounds, tenure, and views/experiences of managers and staff who provide Head Start family support services?
What structures and services do Head Start programs have for providing supports to parents and families?
How do Head Start staff, parents, and families work together to identify and utilize appropriate family support services?
What innovations are Head Start programs using to provide and coordinate family support services?
Study Design
Proposed data collection activities include the following.
A brief web-based survey (Instrument 1) of a nationally-representative sample of Head Start program directors (or their designees), to be fielded in Fall 2022, will collect some program information, including contact information for family and community partnerships managers (FCPM) and for family support services staff members (FSS) needed for other data collection components. As described in Section B2, the sample will be nationally representative of “target programs,” defined as delegate agencies and grant recipients that directly operate center-based programs for Head Start, Early Head Start, AI/AN Head Start, AI/AN Early Head Start, Migrant & Seasonal Head Start, or Migrant & Seasonal Early Head Start.
An in-depth, web-based survey of FCPM (Instrument 2) identified by all program directors (or their designee) who respond to Instrument 1 will be fielded in Winter/Spring 2023 and will collect information about the following topics: staffing arrangements for family support services in Head Start programs; how Head Start programs work with families to coordinate family support services; availability of family support services in Head Start programs and in the community; training and professional development opportunities for family support services staff members; FCPM backgrounds, jobs, roles, responsibilities, health and wellbeing; and how FCPM feel about their jobs.
An in-depth, web-based survey (Instrument 3) of a nationally representative sample of FSS will be fielded in Winter/Spring 2023 and will collect information about the following topics: approaches for working with families (communicating with families, communicating and coordinating with other Head Start staff and service providers, learning about families’ strengths and needs, setting goals with families, making and following up on referrals); the needs and strengths of families who FSS work with directly; family participation in family support services; FSS training and professional development; FSS supervision; FSS backgrounds, jobs, roles, responsibilities, and health and well-being; and how FSS feel about their jobs.
FSS respondents to the in-depth survey may choose to complete one or more brief web-based daily snapshot surveys (Instrument 4) fielded in Winter/Spring 2023 about their specific daily work activities and well-being. These brief surveys will be offered six times (three days per week over two separate weeks) to collect details of what day-to-day work and well-being are like for FSS, and whether and how they vary. This fine-grained information is not being collected as part of the surveys described in (3) above.
Focus groups of randomly-selected and purposively-selected FSS (Instrument 5) will be fielded in Winter/Spring 2023 to collect information about innovations and ideas for improving how Head Start programs coordinate family support services.
As described in Section B1, a stratified random sample of Head Start target programs will be drawn prior to fielding the main surveys. This will allow for collection of nationally-representative information about Head Start programs and FSS. The focus groups are not intended to be representative of Head Start target programs.
Approval is requested for five data collection protocols, detailed in Table A2.1.
Table A2.1 Data Collection Protocols
Instruments |
Respondent, Content, Purpose of Collection |
Mode and Duration |
Instrument 1: Survey of Head Start Directors |
Respondents: Head Start directors (or their designees)
Content: Questions about program options, benefits, and shared staff across target programs (delegate agencies and grant recipients that directly operate center-based programs for Head Start, Early Head Start, AI/AN Head Start, AI/AN Early Head Start, Migrant & Seasonal Head Start, or Migrant & Seasonal Early Head Start); contact information for FCPM and for FSS.
Purpose: To capture program information and contact information for select Head Start staff so that they can be sampled and contacted for further data collection activities. |
Mode: Online
Duration: 30 minutes |
Instrument 2: Survey of Head Start Family and Community Partnerships Managers |
Respondents: FCPM
Content: Questions about staffing arrangements for family support services in Head Start programs; how Head Start programs work with families to coordinate family support services; availability of family support services in Head Start programs and in the community; training and professional development opportunities for FSS; FCPM backgrounds, jobs, roles, responsibilities, health and well-being; and how FCPM feel about their jobs.
Purpose: To describe the structures and services that Head Start programs have for providing supports to parents and families and to understand the characteristics, experiences, job characteristics, and well-being of FCPM. |
Mode: Online
Duration: 45 minutes |
Instrument 3: Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members |
Respondents: FSS
Content: Questions about approaches for working with families (communicating with families, communicating and coordinating with other Head Start staff and service providers, learning about families’ strengths and needs, setting goals with families, making and following up on referrals); the needs and strengths of families who FSS work with directly; family participation in family support services; FSS’ training and professional development; FSS’ supervision; FSS’ backgrounds, jobs, roles, responsibilities, and health and well-being.
Purpose: To describe how family support services are provided and coordinated in Head Start programs; and to understand the characteristics, experiences, job characteristics, and well-being of FSS. |
Mode: Online
Duration: 45 minutes |
Instrument 4: Daily Snapshot Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members |
Respondents: FSS
Content: Questions about daily work activities and well-being.
Purpose: To collect details of what day-to-day work and well-being are like for FSS, and whether and how those vary across a week. |
Mode: Online
Duration: 6 minutes per survey; fielded 3 days per week for two weeks (total amount of time thus may range from 6 to 36 minutes) |
Instrument 5: Focus Groups of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members
|
Respondents: FSS
Content: Questions about innovations and ideas for improving how Head Start programs coordinate and individualize family support services.
Purpose: To inform program improvement and technical assistance around how Head Start programs coordinate and individualize family support services. |
Mode: Phone/ Video
Duration: 1.25 hours |
Other Data Sources and Uses of Information
To increase efficiency and reduce burden on sampled programs, three sources of administrative data will be used to create the sample frame and determine which Head Start programs are sampled for the study: (1) the Head Start Program Information Report (PIR), ACF’s source for administrative data on the Head Start program;6 (2) Grantee and delegate locations and contacts (downloaded from the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES); and (3) a list from the Office of Head Start with Agency ID for current grantees, the old grant number associated with that account, and the current grant number.
Further, to construct weights and for use in analyses, survey data will be supplemented by information about target programs obtained from the PIR such as:
Program Information (e.g., enrollment year start/end date; center-based options; family income eligibility; percent of families receiving public assistance; number of foster and homeless children; transportation options).
Child and Family Services (e.g., total number of families; number of two parent and single parent families; number of families receiving TANF, SSI, WIC, and SNAP benefits (at enrollment and end of enrollment year); number of parents in training/school; number of families in need of and receiving services for emergency/crisis intervention, housing assistance, mental health services, English as a second language (ESL) training, adult education, job training, substance abuse prevention, child abuse and neglect services, domestic violence services, child support assistance, health education, assistance to families of incarcerated individuals, parenting education, relationship/marriage education, asset building services; number of family partnership agreements).
A3. Use of Information Technology to Reduce Burden
Our data collection approach aims to obtain information efficiently while minimizing respondent burden.
For Instruments 1-3 (surveys of directors, FCPM, and FSS), all sample members will be invited to participate in a web survey but will have the option of completing the interview via phone with a trained interviewer if preferable to them. The web survey will be programmed in Voxco, NORC’s default web survey platform due to its simple user-friendly graphical interface. Through Voxco, respondents can access the surveys via the Internet using a range of devices (i.e., smartphones, tablets, and computers). During questionnaire design and programming, the research team will test that the questionnaire format renders optimally on mobile devices in addition to traditional computer screens. Voxco can also support telephone administration in instances when a respondent does not have access to the Internet or finds completing with an interviewer less onerous. Further, respondents can begin the survey, save responses, and go back later to complete the remaining items. The system allows mode integration between Web and Telephone interviewing so that respondents can begin the survey in one mode and finish in another with no loss of data if they choose to do so.
The landing page for the survey will be visually appealing and organized to easily facilitate identification and entering unique survey PINs. Photos, introductory text, and appropriate colors will be used with participants in mind.
NORC will offer a “Help Desk,” which provides technical assistance for respondents through a toll-free number and an actively monitored email account, which will be short and include the project’s abbreviation (e.g., HSConnects@norc.org), to help prevent respondents from accidentally mistyping the address and getting an undeliverable email response. The toll-free number and email address will be included on the landing page and throughout the survey so that respondents can reach out for assistance at any point during participation.
For Instruments 4 (daily snapshot survey of FSS) and Instrument 5 (focus groups of FSS), invitations to participate will be sent by e-mail. Instrument 4, the daily snapshot survey, will be programmed in Qualtrics, and respondents can access the survey via the Internet using a range of devices (i.e., smartphones, tablets, and computers). Focus groups will be audio-recorded, with participant permission. Invited participants will be informed ahead of time that focus groups will be audio-recorded, and will be reminded of this before the focus group begins. Notes will be taken electronically by a trained research assistant.
A4. Use of Existing Data: Efforts to reduce duplication, minimize burden, and increase utility and government efficiency
This information collection request is for gathering nationally representative data that are not available from existing data sources. Review of previous Head Start studies has not identified in-depth descriptions or analyses of programs’ processes and practices for coordinating family support services or in-depth information on the job characteristics, work activities, and well-being of family support services staff; or on how Head Start programs can improve coordination of family support services. As such, this information request does not duplicate other known efforts. Use of existing Head Start PIR data, when appropriate, will improve the completeness of this collection while minimizing burden on participants.
A5. Impact on Small Businesses
Approximately 50 percent of respondents are expected to be employed in small organizations, usually small- to mid-size, non-profit early childhood development and education or child care centers or umbrella organizations. Burden will be reduced for all participants, including employees of small organizations, because the web surveys will allow for respondents to participate at a time of their choosing. They will also be able to save and complete a survey at a later time. Focus groups will also be scheduled at different times to be convenient for a variety of respondents across different time zones.
A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Collection
This is a one-time data collection.
A7. Now subsumed under 2(b) above and 10 (below)
A8. Consultation
Federal Register Notice and Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), ACF published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of this information collection activity. This notice was published on February 4, 2022, Volume 87, Number 24, page 6567-6568, and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. During the notice and comment period, no substantive comments were received.
An expert panel and stakeholders provided foundational guidance to inform the design, sampling strategy, recruitment plan, and data collection protocols. Members of the expert panel are listed in Table A8.1. Stakeholders consulted included staff from Office of Head Start Regional Offices, representatives from Head Start national and regional associations, and representatives from national networks and training and technical assistance providers.
Table A.8.1 Head Start Connects Expert Panel |
|||
Name |
Position & Affiliation |
Areas of Expertise |
Sample Projects |
Rupa Datta |
Vice President and Distinguished Senior Fellow, NORC |
Multi-method, multi-mode complex research designs, cross-disciplinary approaches and analytic methods, education and employment policies and programs |
|
Lizabeth Malone |
Principal Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research |
Early childhood development, study design, measurement development, data collection, descriptive analysis and reporting |
|
A9. Tokens of Appreciation
We do not propose offering tokens of appreciation. We do propose to offer Honoria for Head Start staff providing their professional expertise. See section A13.
A10. Privacy: Procedures to protect privacy of information, while maximizing data sharing
Personally Identifiable Information
Personally identifiable information will be collected, such as contact information (e.g., name, phone numbers, e-mail address) for directors, FCPM, and FSS. The collection of personal identifiers is necessary for sending invitations and participant tracking for follow-up surveys. The contractor has developed a Data Security Plan that summarizes the data security technologies, protocols, and protections that the team will use to protect sensitive or personal information collected for the study.
Information will not be maintained in a paper or electronic system from which data are actually or directly retrieved by an individuals’ personal identifier.
Assurances of Privacy
Information collected will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Respondents will be informed of all planned uses of data, that their responses will not be shared with their program, that their participation is voluntary, and that their information will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Focus groups will be audio-recorded and participants will be informed of this ahead of time and reminded of this before the focus group begins. As specified in the contract, the Contractor will comply with all Federal and Departmental regulations for private information.
Informed consent from participants will be obtained online prior to completing the survey, or for the focus group verbally, to ensure that they understand the nature of the research being conducted, that their participation is voluntary, and their rights as study respondents. Draft informed consent forms can be found in Appendix B. The study has been reviewed by MDRC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and approved. NORC’s IRB has delegated review and entered into a reliance agreement with MDRC’s IRB; MEF Associates has also entered into a reliance agreement with MDRC’s IRB. Respondents who have questions about the consent statement or other aspects of the study will be instructed to call the MDRC project director, and, if appropriate, the appropriate IRB chairperson.
Due to the sensitive nature of this research (see A.11 for more information), the evaluation will obtain a Certificate of Confidentiality. The Certificate of Confidentiality helps to assure participants that their information will be kept private to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Data Security and Monitoring
As specified in the contract, the Contractor shall protect respondent privacy to the extent permitted by law and will comply with all Federal and Departmental regulations for private information. In accordance with contractual requirements, the Contractor developed a Data Security Plan that assesses the data security technologies, protocols, and protections that will be used to protect respondents’ PII and their sensitive information. The Contractor shall ensure that all of its employees, subcontractors (at all tiers), and employees of each subcontractor, who perform work under this contract/subcontract, are trained on data privacy issues and comply with the data security requirements as specified in the Data Security Plan.
A11. Sensitive Information 7
The surveys ask about FCPM and/or FSS demographic characteristics, experiences, and mental and economic well-being, which may be considered sensitive by respondents. Other questions ask about the needs of and services received by families that participate in Head Start programs (i.e., parents/guardians) and how staff work with families. Disclosure of needs and services related to emergency/crisis intervention, financial capability services, housing assistance, food assistance, mental health, substance abuse prevention, child abuse and neglect services, and domestic violence services, even though survey questions do not ask about specific parents or guardians, may be considered sensitive by respondents. It is necessary to ask these specific questions because the aim of this study is to understand not only how Head Start programs coordinate family support services but also the characteristics, circumstances, experiences, and perceptions of staff members doing this coordination work in the programs. The information collected can inform managing, supervising, training, and technical assistance to support staff in these programs, who in turn support and coordinate well-being services for families.
IRB approval for this study has been received.
A12. Burden
Explanation of Burden Estimates
This information collection request covers a period of one year.
The estimated annual burden for respondents is shown in Table A12.1. We estimated burden for the surveys by considering the number and type of items and by including some time for respondents to review the consent form. For the focus group protocol, we estimated burden by considering the number and type of questions and by including some time to allow for respondents to ask questions. The numbers of respondents listed in Table A12.1 are higher than the sample sizes shown in section B2 to allow for higher-than-expected response rates and to ensure that burden is not underestimated.
Estimated Annualized Cost to Respondents
The estimated annual cost for respondents is shown in Exhibit A12.1. The source for the mean hourly wage information for each respondent type is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021.
For directors and managers, the mean hourly wage of $25.87 was used, based on the wage for education and childcare administrators in preschool and child care centers and programs (11-9031 Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare; https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes119031.htm).
For family support services staff members, the mean hourly wage of $25.94 was used, based on the wage for counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists (21-0000 Community and Social Service Occupations; https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes210000.htm).
Table A12.1 Annual Burden and Cost Estimates
Instrument
|
No. of Respondents (total over request period) |
No. of Responses per Respondent (total over request period) |
Avg. Burden per Response (in hours) |
Total Burden (in hours) |
Average Hourly Wage Rate |
Total Annual Respondent Cost |
Survey of Head Start Directors (Instrument 1) |
470 |
1 |
0.5 |
235 |
$25.87 |
$6,079.45 |
Survey of Head Start Family and Community Partnerships Managers (Instrument 2) |
423 |
1 |
0.75 |
317 |
$25.87 |
$8,200.79 |
Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 3) |
1,692 |
1 |
0.75 |
1,269 |
$25.94 |
$32,917.86 |
Daily Snapshot Survey of Head Start Family support services staff members (Instrument 4) |
1,692 |
6 |
0.1 |
1,015 |
$25.94 |
$26,329.10 |
Focus Groups of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 5) |
60 |
1 |
1.25 |
75 |
$25.94 |
$1,945.50 |
Total |
|
|
|
2,911 |
|
$75,472.70 |
A13. Costs
The information collection will ask Head Start staff to provide their professional expertise for this study. To recognize their time and professional expertise, we propose honoraria for all professional staff – Head Start directors, family and community partnerships managers, and family support services staff members – who participate in the planned information collection activities. These honoraria are intended to recognize staff efforts to support a timely and high-quality data collection. Proposed honoraria are shown in Exhibit A.13.1 below. The honoraria will be provided in the form of a gift code or giftcard/check to accommodate respondents’ preferences of receiving the honorarium by email or mail.
Table A13.1. Proposed Honoraria for Respondents
Research Activity |
Length |
Honorarium Amount |
Timing |
Survey of Head Start Directors (Instrument 1) |
30 minutes |
$25 |
Fall 2022 |
Survey of Head Start Family and Community Partnerships Managers (Instrument 2) |
45 minutes |
$25 |
Winter/Spring 2023 |
Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 3) |
45 minutes |
$25 |
Winter/Spring 2023 |
Daily Snapshot Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 4) |
6 minutes/ survey |
Up to $40 if all 6 surveys completed ($5 per survey with a bonus $5 if all 3 surveys completed in a week) |
Winter /Spring 2023 |
Focus Groups of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 5) |
75 minutes |
$25 |
Winter/Spring 2023 |
A14. Estimated Annualized Costs to the Federal Government
The total cost for the data collection activities under this current request will be $2.7 million. These costs include instrument development, OMB clearance, program and respondent recruitment, data collection, data processing and analysis, publications and dissemination. See Exhibit A14.1 for details regarding these estimated costs.
Exhibit A14.1 Estimated Costs to the Federal Government
Cost Category |
Estimated Costs |
Field Work |
$2.15M |
Analysis |
$475K |
Publications/Dissemination |
$75K |
Total costs over the request period |
$2.7M |
A15. Reasons for changes in burden
This is a request for revision and reflects additional information collection, described in sections A2 and A12.
A16. Timeline
Exhibit A16.1 provides the anticipated time schedule for this information request.
Exhibit A16.1 Anticipated Timeline
Activity |
Anticipated Duration after OMB approval |
Head Start director recruitment and survey data collection (Instrument 1) |
4 months |
Sample family and community partnerships managers |
1 month |
Survey of Head Start Family and Community Partnerships Managers data collection (Instrument 2) |
3 months |
Sample Head Start family support services staff members |
1 month |
Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members data collection (Instrument 3) |
4 months |
Daily Snapshot Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members data collection (Instrument 4) |
4 months |
Recruitment of Head Start family support services staff members for focus groups |
1 month |
Focus Groups of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members (Instrument 5) |
4 months |
Reports/briefs |
36 months |
A17. Exceptions
No exceptions are necessary for this information collection.
Attachments
Appendix A: Draft Recruitment materials
Appendix B: Draft Informed Consent Forms
Instrument 1: Survey of Head Start Directors
Instrument 2: Survey of Head Start Family and Community Partnerships Managers
Instrument 3: Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members
Instrument 4: Daily Snapshot Survey of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members
Instrument 5: Focus Groups of Head Start Family Support Services Staff Members
1 The Head Start (HS) Connects Study: Individualizing and Connecting Families to Family Support Services information collection (OMB # 0970-0538) was approved in January 2020 and data collection for that phase is complete.
2 https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/school-readiness/article/family-well-being
4 For example, the Office of Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) provides information on the number of families who receive at least one family service and the number of families who receive specific types of services, but does not provide further details about how these services are selected and delivered and who facilitates this work. See 2021 PIR National Snapshot Report – HS Programs (hhs.gov).
5 Bolger N., Davis A., & Rafaeli E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616. 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145030
6 The Head Start PIR is approved under OMB# 0970-0427.
7 Examples of sensitive topics include (but not limited to): social security number; sex behavior and attitudes; illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior; critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close relationships, e.g., family, pupil-teacher, employee-supervisor; mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to respondents; religion and indicators of religion; community activities which indicate political affiliation and attitudes; legally recognized privileged and analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians and ministers; records describing how an individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment; receipt of economic assistance from the government (e.g., unemployment or WIC or SNAP); immigration/citizenship status.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Daneri, Paula (ACF) (CTR) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2022-09-18 |