Supporting Statement Part B

4

Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey

Supporting Statement Part B

May 2009

Statistical Methods (used for collection of information employing statistical methods)

This section provides supporting statements for each of the five points outlined in Part B of the OMB guidelines, in order to collect information for the Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey.

B1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

The respondent universe is all Head Start/Early Head Start grantees which currently is 1,604. The Office of Head Start is undertaking this survey with some foreknowledge of the diversity among programs in addressing preparedness for large-scale emergencies. Based on anecdotal information, we expect that in some instances, programs have robust Emergency Preparedness plans as part of larger systems such as schools. Some programs have developed plans based upon direct experience of large-scale emergencies, while other programs have not done so. At this time, it is unclear what attributes of programs (size, location, demographics, interactions with community systems, etc.) will emerge as significant determinants of program preparedness. It also is useful to be able to identify variation among subgroups within each of the 12 Head Start regions. Therefore, the universe of Head Start/Early Head Start grantees will be asked to complete the Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey.

B2. Procedures for Collection of Information

The Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey will be conducted using the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) which is a web-based application (see A3 for more information). Head Start/Early Head Start grantees will be notified of the presence of the survey on HSES once there is receipt of OMB clearance. The survey will remain on the HSES for three months. With mandatory data collection the HSES has virtually 100 percent response rates. The survey will be distributed on the HSES system and grantees will be notified of the presence of the survey through postings on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, and an Information Memorandum will be sent to every Head Start/Early Head Start Director. A reminder and link to the survey will become the home page for the HSES while the survey is in the field.

Sampling for the Head Start/Early Head Start Emergency Preparedness Survey will not be used because it is unclear which attributes of programs will emerge as determinants of program preparedness (see B1 for further discussion).

B3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

The Enterprise system will assist the Office of Head Start both with response rates and with tracking who has not yet responded to the survey. Grantees routinely enter data into the Enterprise system, and grantees access the system frequently (at least once a month). Reminders will be customized to those that have not completed the survey and can be both emailed and posted in the system to alert individual grantees. The reduction of burden through the use of the Enterprise system will assist with obtaining complete surveys. The Enterprise System is capable of modifying the response sets and skip patterns based on grantees responses which will make the survey more customized and potentially shorter, which should assist with response rates. Finally, the Head Start/Early Head Start grantees are typically highly invested in procedure and policy issues both within their own grants and those that are of interest to the Office of Head Start; thus we fully expect that grantees will be interested in contributing to the development of the report to Congress.

The Enterprise system has the capacity to alert users when items have been missed. This functionality will cut down on the number of missing data points throughout the survey. However, even with these alerts some respondents may choose not to answer an item and in this case the data point will be considered to be missing data and no imputation will be made.

B4. Tests of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

As discussed in Section A12, the survey was pre-tested with eight Head Start Fellows who serve as program administrative staff in their home grantees and the burden was estimated from these tests.

B5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The data for this survey is being collected by the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) that is directed by Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc. (SMDI), on behalf of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Office of Head Start (OHS) with assistance from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) both within the Administration for Children and Families is responsible for the study design and data collection. With HHS oversight, a contractor who has not yet been named will assist the OHS and OPRE with data analysis and report preparation. Key input to the statistical aspects of the data analysis was received from the following individuals:

Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Head Start

Barry Marx, Paul Blatt

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Laura Hoard, Mary Bruce Webb

The OHS project officer, Barry Marx, has overseen the design process and can be contacted at:

Barry Marx, MD, FAAP

Senior Medical Advisor

Office of Head Start

1250 Maryland Ave SW

Portals 8th Floor, Rm/Suite 8401

Washington, DC 20024

(202) 205-8629

barry.marx@acf.hhs.gov