Appendix 2—Environmental Policy Scan Sampling Memo

Appendix 2—Environmental Policy Scan Sampling Memo

The F4EQ project’s environmental policy scan intends to document and analyze policies within Head Start and state-level funding sources. While we anticipate variations within policies across states, we expect that there are some similarities in state structures that are likely correlated with funding and implementation policies. These include the following state characteristics:

• Head Start region

• Presence and reach of state-funded pre-K

• Presence and reach of state-funded Head Start

• Presence of Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) grants

• Whether other state early care and education (ECE) programs are housed in the same agency as the Head Start Collaboration Office

• Centralized versus local governance structures

• State size and urbanicity based on state population

We documented these characteristics for each state and then structured a purposeful sampling approach based on each of the characteristics. Table 1 shows the characteristics in order of prioritization and our selection approach within each characteristic. We used this structure to heuristically rank and select states. We then selected 20-states in which to conduct the policy scan, as shown in Table 2.

Table 1: State Characteristics and Sampling Priorities

State Characteristic	Sampling Priority or Approach
Head Start Region	Two states per region
Presence of State-funded Pre-K	States without State-funded Pre-K were excluded
Presence of State-funded Head Start	Selection of one state with State-funded Head Start and one state without per region
Presence of Early Head Start- Child Care Partnership Grant	Prioritized states with EHS-CCP
Governance Structures	Select mix of governance structures based on state-level location of ECE offices (whether they are housed in the same agency as the Head Start Collaboration Office) and whether state has centralized or local governance structure
Reach of State-funded Pre-K	Prioritized states with higher reach (i.e., higher proportions of children are funded by state-funded pre-K)
State Size and Urbanicity	Within above priority characteristics, maximized mix of size and urbanicity (ensuring inclusion of states that are largely rural)

Table 2: Preliminary Selection of States for Environmental Policy Scan

Head Start Region	Selected State 1	Selected State 2	Selected State 3
1	Massachusetts	Maine	-
2	New York	-	-
3	Pennsylvania	West Virginia	-
4	Alabama	Georgia	North Carolina
5	Wisconsin	Illinois	-
6	Oklahoma	Louisiana	-
7	Iowa	Kansas	-
8	Colorado	Utah	-
9	Nevada	Arizona	-
10	Oregon	Washington	-

Our sampling approach and final selection allowed us to maximize variation in characteristics we expect are correlated with state structures for braiding funding. We included several states with potentially more sophisticated policies that support braiding (e.g., Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Colorado, Oregon, Washington), while including states that may have less progressive braiding policies (e.g., Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Utah). Some states have centralized governance structures (e.g., Maine, New York, Pennsylvania), as well as structures that have more local implementation (e.g., North Carolina). Additionally, we have a variety of states by size and rurality.

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