CSPECE Qualitative Narrative Reporting Supplement

Attachment 4f. CSPECE Qualitative Narrative Form

Form Approved

OMB No. 0923-0057

Exp. Date 07/31/2020

ATSDR estimates the average public reporting burden for this collection of information as one hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data/information sources, gathering and maintaining the data/information needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 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. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0923-0057).

Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE)

Qualitative Narrative Reporting Supplement CDC RFA-TS20-2001

As part of the APPLETREE Annual Performance Reports (APRs), state partners must complete reporting requirements specific to CSPECE. There are two parts to complete:

1. Narrative questions, contained in this document

2. Quantitative metrics, contained in Excel workbook “CSPECE Quantitative Reporting Form.xlsx”

Both parts should be completed based on progress on CSPECE activities.

The CSPECE narrative questions should be included as an appendix in the APR.

The CSPECE Excel workbook should be sent as an additional attachment with the APR. This does not replace other specific performance measures and evaluation projects outlined in the EPMP, and many times can help meet the specifications of the CSPECE section of the EPMP. In cases in which the CSPECE narrative questions and excel reporting reflect performance measures and evaluation projects specified in the EPMP, states do not have to duplicate reporting in multiple places and can reference results provided in this CSPECE Supplement.

Detailed instructions can be found in the document “CSPECE Reporting Forms Guidance.” Summarized instructions are below:

Narrative:

Purpose: The narrative questions are designed to guide you through activities you should complete as part of starting a new program, and later on as you enhance and expand your program. It also helps provide ATSDR with descriptive details of your state’s landscape, program plan, program implementation, and results that cannot be captured through numbers.

The specific questions each state completes will vary based on their progress on CSP. Working with your ATSDR Technical Project Team and using this guidance document, identify which questions you should complete for each reporting period. At a minimum, reporting should be submitted to align with the completion of activities specified in the NOFO. Refer to the last page of this document for a guidance timeline table that may be helpful in identifying what to complete for each reporting period.

Excel:

Purpose: The Excel workbook was designed to supplement the narrative and provide a template for the reporting questions that could be listed or enumerated, which helps provide ATSDR an aggregate picture of your program.  For some of the questions that are “describe,” in the narrative, the Excel worksheet quantifies or categorizes details. 

Narrative Questions

Phase One: Define the Landscape for Safe Siting

Directions: Complete the questions in this section as you define the Safe Siting landscape in your state.

1. How do early care and education (ECE) licensing programs work within your state?

Quantifying ECE programs and populations

• Provide the total number of licensed ECE programs in the state, including:

  • Number of family/home based facilities and total number of children in those facilities.

  • Number of out of home facilities and the total number of children in those facilities.

• Provide the number of new ECE licenses that are applied for and granted annually. Averages or estimates can be provided.

  • Number of new licenses for family/home based facilities.

  • Number of new licenses for out of home facilities.

ECE licensing process and policies

• Describe the process for how ECE programs are licensed in your state (tip: a flowchart of the process may help), including:

  • The entities within your state that are involved in leading and supporting the licensing of ECE programs.

  • The costs associated with licensing an ECE facility.

• Describe how licensing policies are developed and applied in the state, including information about periodic reviews of the overarching policies.

• Describe guidance documents (if any) that are used to develop health or environmental licensing policies.

ECE licensing as it relates to environmental health

• Describe how ECE facilities are currently evaluated for environmental health issues, including what environmental health issues inspectors of ECE facilities look for, any environmental health items on inspection checklists, site-related contamination, safe drinking water, and how identified problems handled.

• Describe any environmental health training inspectors of ECE facilities receive.

• Describe how zoning in municipalities could affect site-related contamination at ECE facilities, including if any major municipalities in the state have zoning requirements for ECE facilities.

2. Who are the stakeholders of early care and education (ECE) licensing programs within your state, and how are they/how could they be involved in ECE licensing?

• Describe the agencies/stakeholders involved with ECE licensing.

• Describe which non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have engaged with health issues in ECE licensing, and identify any NGOs with an environmental health mission that might be interested in future engagement.

• Describe public health programs that engage with ECE licensing in the state.

• Describe how the development of a CSPECE program will use input and guidance from stakeholders.

3. How have you built/will you build nongovernmental partnerships with ECE decision makers within your state?

• Describe how you conduct partnership engagement.

• Describe the challenges encountered building partnerships.

• Describe the primary motivations for partners to engage.

Phase Two: Plan your CSPECE Pilot Program

Directions: Complete the questions in this section as you plan your CSPECE program in your state.

1. How will your Choose Safe Places program operate?

• Describe your program scope. (i.e., Is it voluntary or mandatory or a mix of both? What type of ECEs does it target? What is the geography? What, if any, are the targeted environmental hazards?)

  • Describe the justification for your scope.

• Develop a flowchart that describes how the program will operate.

• Describe the likely strengths and limitations of the proposed program.

2. What partnerships or coalitions will your Choose Safe Places program support?

• Describe the expected roles and responsibilities of each partner.

• Describe how the program receives input and guidance from stakeholders.

• Describe how the program will communicate to stakeholders.

3. What training will your Choose Safe Places program receive and conduct?

• Describe the training topics you propose to conduct.

• Describe who will develop and deliver needed trainings for your program staff, partners, and other stakeholders (provide the source, availability, and timeline for delivery).

4. What data and processes will your Choose Safe Places program use to identify and respond to proposed ECE sites that have potential harmful environmental exposures?

• Describe the proposed process of referrals to your program.

• Describe the data sources that will be used to screen proposed ECE sites for harmful environmental exposures, including drinking water (may refer to excel lists).

• Describe any additional data sources and processes that will be used if screening suggests an increased likelihood of harmful environmental exposures (may refer to excel lists).

• Describe your proposed response activities for potentially problematic sites.

• Describe how you intend to track the number of referrals and ECE sites screened.

• Describe the potential challenges, limitations, and gaps you foresee with data collection.

5. How will you evaluate your Choose Safe Places program?

(If you have covered this in the EPMP you prepared for your program, you do not need to list this information again. Please note if this is covered in your EPMP for our reference.)

• What evaluation questions do you have for your pilot program?

• Describe your proposed process and outcome measures.

• Describe what a successful program will look like for your state.

Phase Three: Implement and Evaluate your CSPECE Pilot Program

Directions: Complete the questions in this section as you reflect on how CSPECE implementation went in your state.

Note: Continuous program evaluation and performance measurement should occur throughout the pilot, however any comprehensive evaluation not yet completed can be reported in the final March 2023 report.

1. How did your Choose Safe Places pilot program operate?

• Provide an updated flowchart for the operation of the pilot program.

• Describe the status of your program operations, including if your program is ready to be fully implemented and changes will you make as the program continues.

2. What partnerships did your Choose Safe Places pilot program support?

• Describe the roles and responsibilities of each partner.

• Describe how the program received input and guidance from the stakeholders.

• Describe how the program communicated to stakeholders.

• Describe if/how the program supported or engaged a coalition of stakeholders.

3. What trainings did your Choose Safe Places pilot program receive and conduct?

• Describe the type of training topics received and conducted.

• Describe who developed and delivered needed trainings for your program staff, partners, and other stakeholders (provide the source, availability, and timeline for delivery).

4. What data and processes did your Choose Safe Places program use to identify and respond to proposed ECE sites that had potential harmful environmental exposures?

• Describe the process of referrals to your program.

• Describe the process for screening proposed ECE sites.

• Describe the process for responding to potentially problematic sites.

• Describe what data was used to screen sites and what data, if any, was used if screening suggested an increased likelihood of harmful environmental exposures.

• Describe how you tracked the number of sites screened and the number of referrals to your CSPECE pilot program.

• Describe the challenges, limitations, and gaps you experienced with data collection.

5. How did you evaluate your Choose Safe Places pilot program?

• Describe the data you collected (provide descriptive summary of data).

• Provide an explanation of how you defined your own metrics you’ve created to evaluate your program.

• Describe the pilot program’s accomplishments (including success stories).

• Provide the results of process and outcome performance metrics.

• Describe the pilot program’s challenges and limitations

• Comprehensive evaluation (must be reported no later than March 2023): Report results, interpretation and conclusions, and next steps for evaluation projects specified in your EPMP.

  • (Examples: Was the program implemented as intended? Did the referral process work as planned? What proportion of the target audience was served? Was the referral process effective? To what extent did the pilot program achieve expected outcomes? Were partnerships effective? What facilitated success? How can the program be improved? Does the program have unintended effects?)

Phase Four: Post-Pilot CSPECE Program Operation and Evaluation

Directions: Complete the questions in this section as you reflect on how post-pilot CSPECE operation and evaluation went in your state annually.

Complete every reporting period post-pilot

1. Provide updates on performance measures and evaluation projects.

   1. Include an annual update on results for each CSPECE-related evaluation question in your EPMP. Updates can be reported in this narrative supplement and do not need to be reported twice.

   2. Provide an explanation of how you defined any of your own metrics you’ve created to evaluate your program.

   3. Provide a qualitative description of any policy, systems, or environment outcomes indicated in your Excel reporting.

   4. Provide any additional relevant details not already included in the Excel reporting document.

   5. Provide any relevant success stories.

2. Describe what strategies you have explored over the past year to enhance or expand your pilot program, and your findings.

   1. What strategy or strategies did you explore? (Examples: Starting a certificate program, integrating into the state’s Quality Rating Improvement System, expanding facility types, considering existing facilities, beginning a new program evaluation project, etc.).

   2. What did you learn about the current landscape of this strategy in your state?

   3. What did you learn about the feasibility of adding this strategy to your state’s CSPECE program?

      1. If it is feasible to add, what are your next steps?

3. Describe the progress on your sustainability plan. Specifically, describe your state’s progress on the following activities that can support sustainability:

   1. Defining sustainability for a CSPECE program in your state.

   2. Creating long-term plans for CSPECE.

   3. Identifying the core elements of the program that must be maintained or delivered with integrity to promote anticipated outcomes.

   4. Organizing and leveraging local and state assets and resources.

   5. Building knowledge, skills, and abilities of partners and/or stakeholders.

   6. Maintaining, strengthening, and increasing long-term buy in of partnerships.

   7. Identifying and/or implementing practices, systems, policy, or environment changes to support a sustained CSPECE program.

   8. Identifying how your own agency fits into the sustainability of the CSPECE program.

   9. Any other activities your state has identified to support sustainability.

Guidance Timeline Table for Reporting:

Phase:	Description of Phase:	Activity Implementation Timeline:	Completion of Activities and Report Due*:
Phase 1: Define the Landscape for Safe Siting	Phase 1 is characterized primarily through assessing the licensing, policy, partnership, and data landscape in the state. Phase 1 is the initial assessment period. Though there may still be some processes you are figuring out and will continue to assess as your CSP program grows, these isolated efforts are a normal part of program evolution and do not define Phase 1.	March 2020-December 2020	December 2020
Phase 2: Develop a CSPECE program plan	Phase 2 is characterized primarily through the planning and development of a CSPECE pilot program plan. This stage includes determining your pilot goals, the general operation of your pilot, the specific activities your program intends to conduct along with the details of those activities, and how you will evaluate your pilot.	January 2021-December 2021	December 2021
Phase 3: Pilot and Evaluate CSPECE program	Phase 3 is characterized primarily through two overarching activities: Implementation of a pilot program. A pilot program is a small-scale and/or short-term trial of a program to learn about how a fully operationalized program might work.	January 2022-December 2022 (Pilot Delivery)	December 2022
	Comprehensive evaluation of your pilot program. This stage includes collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting results, and making conclusions and recommendations for full-scale implementation.	January 2023-March 2023 (Comprehensive Evaluation)	March 2023
Phase 4: Full program operation and continuous program evaluation	Phase 4 is characterized primarily through maintenance of a fully operationalized program and continuous evaluation of that program. This stage includes implementing a fully operationalized program built from lessons learned from the Phase 3 pilot. This stage also includes maintenance and ongoing program improvement built from consistent program evaluation.	Varies by states	Yearly reports due December of each year; final comprehensive report due in March 2023

*Dates indicate the month and year that report is due. The exact date will be provided by CDC as deadline approaches.

Note: The above are the minimum requirements for reporting based on expected implementation of activities. If you are ahead of the activity timeline, please complete all applicable questions for which you have completed activities at the earliest reporting period. For example: You have already defined the landscape and developed a plan by November 2020, therefore you should provide answers to all questions from “Phase 1: Define the Landscape for Safe Siting” and “Phase 2: Develop a CSPECE program plan” on your December 2020 report.