Appendix 8. FAQs for Program and Center Directors

APPENDIX 8

FAQS FOR PROGRAM AND CENTER DIRECTORS

Frequently Asked Questions
for Grantee/Delegate Agency and Center Directors

This document provides answers to some questions you may have about the MSHS Study.

Q. What is the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Study?

A. The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Study is a nationally representative, four-year study that is designed to describe the characteristics and experiences of the children and families who enroll in MSHS as well as MSHS programs and services. This study will provide an up-to-date picture of the development of MSHS children and families, as well as an understanding about MSHS services across the country. What we learn from families and staff will help the MSHS programs to serve children and families better in the future.

Q. Why are grantee/delegate agency directors and center directors being contacted?

A. The MSHS study team is contacting grantee/delegate agency directors and center directors for two types of activities:

Activity 1: The MSHS study team will send a mailed survey to all grantee/delegate agency directors and a select group of about 200 randomly selected center directors.

Activity 2: The MSHS study team will randomly select 53 centers (within 24 randomly selected grantees/delegate agencies) for onsite study activities. This means that sometime between spring 2017 and spring 2018, a small team of study staff will visit your MSHS center for a few days in order to do assessments with children who were randomly selected to be part of the study and whose parents have given permission for them to be in the study. The study team will also conduct interviews with parents, surveys with teachers and assistant teachers, and observe classrooms.

Q. Will the MSHS study team contact all grantee/delegate agency directors?

A. Yes. All grantee/delegate agency directors will be contacted to complete a mailed survey, but only some grantee/delegate agency directors will be contacted about onsite study activities at their centers.

Q. Will the MSHS study team contact all center directors?

A. Only selected center directors will be contacted. Some centers will be contacted about both sets of activities (i.e., a mailed survey and onsite study activities), some will be contacted to complete only one of these activities, and some will not be contacted to complete either of the activities.

Q. When will grantee/delegate agencies and center directors know if they are selected for onsite data collection?

A. The MSHS study team will begin contacting grantee/delegate agencies in spring 2017 to explain any of their centers have been selected for this study. The study team will email grantee/delegate agencies directors and schedule a phone call to answer any questions they may have. After speaking with grantee/delegate agencies, the study team will then email center directors. The study team will also schedule a phone call with center directors to answer questions and to identify an onsite coordinator who will help organize study activities at each center.

Q. Is participation voluntary?

A. Yes, participation is voluntary. We hope all grantee/delegate agency and center directors will participate, because these voices will help create a complete descriptive picture of MSHS. Nevertheless, all participation is voluntary.

Q. Will personal information and survey responses be shared with MSHS staff?

A. No, your personal information will not be shared with MSHS staff. Yes, your survey responses will be shared with ACF and will be stored in a data warehouse for other authorized researchers to access, but only after we remove information that can be used to identify you. Grantees/delegate agencies, staff, and families will never be identified by name in any reports of the study's findings. All information collected during the course of the MSHS Study will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. To protect the privacy of respondents, we have applied for a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. With this Certificate, the study team cannot be forced to disclose information that may identify any study participants, even by a court subpoena, in any federal, state, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings. However, if we learn that someone is in danger, by law we must report this.

Q. Who is conducting the MSHS Study?

A. The MSHS Study is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, the government agency overseeing MSHS. The study is being conducted by Abt Associates and its partners, The Catholic University of America and Westat. Westat is responsible for conducting the study activities at the MSHS grantee/delegate agencies and centers.

Q. Who do I contact if I have questions about the MSHS Study?

A. Please send any questions to the MSHS study team by emailing XXX@XXX, or calling XXX-XXX-XXXX toll free.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: The referenced collection of information is voluntary. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is xxxx-xxxx and it expires XX/XX/XXXX. If you have comments concerning the referenced collection of information, please write to: Abt Associates, 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge MA 02138 Attention: Linda Caswell.