Appendix R: FACES and AIAN FACES 2019 fall 2021 special program information packages

APPENDIX R-1

FACES 2019 SPECIAL program INFORMATION PACKAGE

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APPENDIX R-1.a1

OFFICE OF HEAD START MEMORANDUM
(regions I–X): PROGRAMS WITH FALL DATA COLLECTION

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TO: [PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Bernadine Futrell, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Head Start

DATE: [Date]

RE: Program Director Notification

I am writing to let you know your Head Start program has been selected to participate in an important study, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as FACES. It is designed to gather information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start and to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness. The programs, children, and families chosen for previous rounds of FACES have, by participating, provided a tremendous service to all children and families of Head Start. [RETURNING PROGRAMS: Your program participated in the 2019 and 2020 waves of the study. The next wave of the study was initially planned for spring 2022. However, more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, we know that families are still facing health and economic concerns, and Head Start programs are still adjusting operations to determine how best to deliver services. As a result, we have added a special data collection that will take place in the fall of 2021 to help the Office of Head Start (OHS) understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families in light of the pandemic. FACES is conducted by Mathematica.]

[NEW PROGRAMS: The current FACES study was launched in 2019 with a nationally representative sample of approximately 180 different Head Start programs. Your program was randomly selected to be one of the study sites for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 waves of this important study to look at family, child, and teacher well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs that participated in the previous FACES studies—in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2019—found the experience to be positive, without undue intrusion on program operations. The next wave of the study was initially planned for spring 2022. However, more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, we know that families are still facing health and economic concerns, and Head Start programs are still adjusting operations to determine how best to deliver services. As a result, we have added a special data collection that will take place in the fall of 2021 and spring 2022 to help the Office of Head Start (OHS) understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families coming out of the pandemic. FACES is conducted by Mathematica.]

Of the 180 Head Start programs selected for FACES, 60 programs have been selected for a special study that involves the selection of approximately 2,400 3- and 4-year old Head Start children and their families. Your program has been randomly selected as one of the 60 sites to provide information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start. Out of your entire program, only about four teachers will be included in the study. As part of this effort, in fall 2021 and spring 2022, Mathematica will work with teachers, parents, and children. Approximately 40 children in your program will be selected, their parents will be surveyed, and about four teachers will be asked to complete, on their own time, a survey, and forms on the study children. In spring 2022, program directors, center directors, and teachers will be surveyed, and selected classrooms will be observed. Participants will receive a gift or gift card.

All information collected during the course of FACES will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and will not be shared with anyone outside the research team, including your program staff or parents. Programs, Head Start staff, children, and families will never be identified by name in any reports of the study’s findings.

A member of Mathematica’s research staff will call you soon to explain the study in more detail and answer any questions you have. On behalf of OHS, I would like to thank you in advance for agreeing to participate in this extremely important study of our programs. If you have any concerns regarding your program’s participation in the study, please contact the study project officer, Nina Philipsen ((202) 205-8115), at the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

APPENDIX R-1.a2

OFFICE OF HEAD START MEMORANDUM
(regions I–X): PROGRAMS WITH SPRING DATA COLLECTION ONLY

T O: [PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Bernadine Futrell, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Head Start

DATE: [DATE]

RE: Program Director Notification

I am writing to let you know your Head Start program has been selected to participate in an important study, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as FACES. [IF PROGRAM PARTICIPATED IN 2019-2020: Thank you for taking part in FACES during the 2019-2020 program year. We appreciate your program’s participation in FACES at that time. In spring 2022, we are continuing FACES data collection in your program. As you may recall,] FACES is designed to gather information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families Head Start partners with and to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness. The programs, children, and families chosen for previous rounds of FACES have, by participating, provided a tremendous service to all children and families of Head Start. Since 1997, the information collected has taught us a great deal about Head Start classrooms, staff, families, and children. It is very important to the Office of Head Start and the Administration for Children and Families to continue to gather information about the children and families who attend Head Start and about the programs that partner with them.

[NEW PROGRAMS: The current FACES study was launched in 2019 with approximately 180 different Head Start programs. Your program was randomly selected to be one of the study sites for this important effort with implications for the continuation and improvement of Head Start. Programs that participated in the first six rounds of FACES—in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2014—found the experience to be a positive one, without undue intrusion on program operations. FACES is again being conducted by Mathematica, with assistance from Juarez and Associates this spring.]

This spring, program and center directors and teachers will be surveyed. All information collected during the course of FACES will be kept private to the extent permitted by law and will not be shared with anyone outside the research team, including your program staff or parents. Programs and Head Start staff will never be identified by name in any reports of the study’s findings.

A member of Mathematica’s research staff will call you soon to explain the study in more detail and answer any questions you have. On behalf of the Office of Head Start, I would like to thank you in advance for agreeing to participate in this extremely important study of our programs. If you have any concerns regarding your program’s participation in the study, please contact the study project officer, Alysia Blandon (202-205-8386), at the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

APPENDIX R-1.b1

MATHEMATICA PROJECT DIRECTOR MEMORANDUM
(regions i–x): PROGRAMS WITH FALL DATA COLLECTION

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

TO: [PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Lizabeth Malone, Project Director DATE: [DATE]

SUBJECT: Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES)

As indicated by the attached memo from Bernadine Futrell, director of the Office of Head Start (OHS), your program has been selected to participate in an important study—the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, also known as FACES. Mathematica is conducting FACES under contract with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). ACF launched the first FACES study in 1997 to obtain information about the children and families served by Head Start. FACES has collected data from seven nationally representative cohorts in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2019, and information from FACES has been disseminated, through a series of reports, to ACF, OHS, Congress, and the early childhood research community. The information gathered and analyzed through FACES describes the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start. FACES has also been designed to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness. [RETURNING PROGRAMS: You next expected to hear from us regarding the planned spring 2022 data collection focusing on programs and classrooms. However,] ACF understands that more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, families are still facing health and economic concerns, and Head Start programs are still adjusting operations to determine how best to deliver services. To learn how to best support programs and families in light of the pandemic, OHS is interested in updated information on family and teacher well-being, and has added a special wave of data collection to take place in the fall of 2021 and spring 2022. The study is very important because it will help OHS understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mathematica will not judge or report on the performance of individual programs, staff, or children. We are an independent research firm with extensive experience conducting Head Start and other early childhood research. The information provided by participants from your program will be combined with information from all other FACES programs and individuals and summarized in descriptive reports. The names and identities of the participating programs, staff, children, and families will never be shared in any of the reports or other study documents.

Your program was selected to participate in FACES through a random process. Participation is voluntary, but we ask that you strongly consider taking part in this study. The ability of study findings to accurately represent the population of children and families served by Head Start depends on randomly selected programs such as yours participating. We will randomly select approximately two teachers from each of two centers in your program, and then we will randomly select a sample of about 24 children from each center. Working with staff from your program, we will invite the families of these children to participate in FACES. All participating parents and teachers will receive a gift or gift card for participating.

A member of Mathematica’s FACES study staff will call you in the next two weeks to discuss your program’s willingness to participate in this study and to answer any questions you have. To give you a better sense of what your participation will entail, this memo describes the sampling and data collection activities we would like to complete in both the fall and the spring, and the process we will follow to work with you to schedule and prepare for the spring data collection visit.

Data Collection Activities

In fall 2021 and spring 2022, a parent or guardian of each selected child will be invited to complete a survey on the web or by phone, whichever the parent finds most convenient. We will also ask the child’s classroom teacher or home visitor to complete a survey and report about the child. In spring 2022, you, the center directors, and teachers will be asked to complete a survey on the web. Also in spring 2022, research staff will observe selected classrooms. Each of the observations will take about three hours.

In the box below, we provide an overview of the activities. We have also enclosed a FACES fact sheet with additional information about the study.

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Activities

Teacher reports of children. Teachers will complete a short form about each participating child’s cognitive and social development. These can be completed in about 10 minutes each and are available on the web or on paper.

Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities.

Parent survey. We will invite the parent or guardian of each participating child to complete a 35 minute survey by telephone with a Mathematica interviewer or on the web. This survey will focus on parent and child activities, experiences with community agencies, health care, parents’ feelings and attitudes about themselves and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional Spring 2022 Activities

Classroom observations. Study team members will observe the classrooms of participating children to measure classroom practices and instructional content. Each observation will take about three hours.

Director surveys. Program directors and center directors will be asked to complete surveys via the web or on paper about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, curriculum and classroom activities, and their well-being coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. These surveys are still under development, but are expected to take about 40 minutes.

Next Steps in Planning the Data Collection Activities

Agreement to continue to participate. The FACES liaison, a member of Mathematica’s staff responsible for working with your program, will contact you soon to answer any questions you have about the study and to begin planning the study activities. During that conversation, the liaison will discuss the process for selecting centers to participate in the study. The liaison will also ask you to identify someone from your program to serve as the on-site coordinator (OSC). That person will work with Mathematica’s FACES liaison to help organize the data collection.

The role of an OSC. The OSC will help us put together the information we need to select our sample and schedule our spring 2022 visits to Head Start centers. If the randomly selected centers are not close to each other, we may ask you to identify two coordinators. We suggest that you identify a backup OSC, regardless of the size of your program. The OSC will receive an honorarium of $500 for helping us in fall 2021. If there are two coordinators, each will receive $250. We expect there will be another, smaller honorarium in spring 2022. If you wish, this honorarium can be made directly to the program.

Selecting centers and teachers. As a first step in selecting centers and teachers, we will ask you during our call for the following information:

• The program option(s) you offer (full day, part day, center based, and home based)

• The names and zip codes of each center

• Your best estimate of the number of teachers and home visitors affiliated with each of the centers in your program

• Your best estimate for the number of Head Start children you will serve at each of the centers in your program in fall 2021

The next step in the process involves randomly selecting centers based on the information you provided. An average of two centers per program will be selected. As a courtesy, just before data collection we will send the center director a letter informing him/her of its selection and describing participation in the study.

Approximately two teachers per center will be randomly selected. We will ask the OSC to give us a list of the teachers and the number of children in each. If a center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them.

Selecting children. A multistep process is used to select the children who will participate in the study. This will also require the assistance of the OSC and center staff. After teachers have been selected for the sample, we will ask the OSC to provide a list of all Head Start children in the selected teachers’ classrooms. Approximately 12 children will be randomly selected from the rosters of each teacher and invited to participate in the study.

Obtaining consent. Participation is voluntary, and parents will decide whether or not to give permission for their child to participate. Once children have been chosen for the sample, Mathematica will work with the OSC to gain parental/guardian consent.

We are looking forward to working with your program. Your participation will be important for helping OHS assess how well the system is fostering children’s school readiness and understand the unique needs of programs and families in light of the pandemic. If you have questions about the fall 2021 data collection or the spring 2022 site visit before we call you, please contact [FACES LIAISON] at Mathematica at [PHONE] or [EMAIL].

APPENDIX R-1.b2

MATHEMATICA PROJECT DIRECTOR MEMORANDUM
(regions i–x): PROGRAMS WITH SPRING DATA COLLECTION ONLY

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica.org

TO: [HEAD START PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Lizabeth Malone, Project Director DATE: [DATE]

SUBJECT: Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES)

[NEW PROGRAMS: As indicated by the attached memo from Bernadine Futrell, director of the Office of Head Start, your program has been selected to participate in an important study—the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, also known as FACES.] [RETURNING PROGRAMS: As you may recall, your program was selected to participate in an important study—the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as FACES, during the 2019-2020 program year. At your time of selection, we reviewed the study plans for that year and the future in spring 2022. We appreciate your program’s participation in FACES at that time and look forward to working with you again. This coming spring, we are continuing FACES data collection in your program. As a reminder,] Mathematica is conducting FACES under contract with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). ACF launched the first FACES study in 1997 to obtain information about the children and families Head Start partners with. FACES has collected data from six nationally representative cohorts in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2014, and information from FACES has been disseminated through a series of reports to ACF, OHS, Congress, and the early childhood research community. The information gathered and analyzed through FACES describes the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start. FACES has also been designed to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness.

Mathematica will not judge or report on the performance of individual programs, staff, or children. We are an independent research firm with extensive experience conducting Head Start and other early childhood research. The information provided by participants from your program will be combined with information from all other FACES programs and individuals and summarized in descriptive reports. The names and identities of the participating programs and staff will never be shared in any of the reports or other study documents.

Your program was selected to participate in FACES through a random process. Participation is voluntary, but we ask that you strongly consider taking part in this study. The ability of study findings to accurately represent the population of children and families Head Start partners with depends on randomly selected programs such as yours participating. We will randomly select approximately two teachers from each of two centers in your program.

The FACES liaison, a member of Mathematica’s FACES study staff, will call you soon to discuss your program’s willingness to participate in this study and to answer any questions you have. To give you a better sense of what your participation will entail, this letter describes activities we would like to complete, and the process we will follow to work with you.

In the box below, we provide an overview of the activities that will take place. We have also enclosed a FACES fact sheet with additional information about the study.

Spring 2022 Data Collection Activities

Individual staff surveys. Program directors, center directors, and selected teachers will be asked to complete surveys via the web or on paper about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities.

Next Steps in Planning the Data Collection Activities

Agreement to participate. The FACES liaison will contact you soon to answer any questions you have about the study and to begin planning the data collection activities. During that conversation, they will ask about changes your program may have implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The liaison will also ask you to identify someone from your program to serve as the on-site coordinator (OSC). That person will work with Mathematica’s FACES liaison to help organize the data collection.

The role of an OSC. The OSC will help us put together the information we need to select our sample. We suggest that you identify a backup OSC, regardless of the size of your program. The OSC will receive an honorarium of $250 for helping us. If there are two coordinators, each will receive $125. If you wish, this honorarium can be made directly to the program.

Selecting centers and teachers. As a first step in selecting centers and teachers, we will ask you during our call the confirm the following information:

• The program option(s) you offer (full day, part day, center based, and home based)

• The names and zip codes of your centers

• Your best estimate of the number of teachers in each of the centers in your program

The next step in the process involves randomly selecting centers based on the information you provided. Two centers per program will be selected. As a courtesy, just before data collection we will send the center director a letter describing the study and the center’s participation in it.

Approximately two teachers per center will be randomly selected. We will ask the OSC to give the FACES liaison a list of its teachers. If a center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them.

We are looking forward to working with your program. Your participation will be important for helping the Office of Head Start assess how well the system is fostering children’s school readiness. If you have questions about FACES before we call you, please contact [FACES LIAISON] at [FILL FOR MATHEMATICA OR JUÁREZ & ASSOCIATES] at [PHONE] or [EMAIL].

APPENDIX R-1.c1

FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL FACT SHEET (regions i–x): PROGRAMS WITH FALL DATA COLLECTION

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H
ead Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(FACES)

Since its founding more than five decades ago, Head Start has served as the nation’s premier federally funded early childhood intervention to promote school readiness. Focusing on children—often from families with multiple risks—before they begin formal schooling, Head Start has served as a setting for a wide range of basic prevention and early intervention research.¹ The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), first launched in 1997 as a periodic, longitudinal study of program performance, remains Head Start’s flagship research initiative. FACES is designed to be a reliable source of data for describing the experiences of Head Start children and their families. This national study is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACF has added a special wave of FACES to look at family, child, and teacher well-being in light of the pandemic.

STUDY TEAM

The study is being conducted by Mathematica, a respected, independent research organization whose studies of education initiatives and other programs have been used to inform national policymakers for more than 50 years.

Our study design will ensure high quality and timely FACES data to provide a valuable profile of the Head Start program and its participants, and how programs and participants are faring through the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to translating research findings into formats that policymakers and programs can use.

Selecting Programs

The study will include 60 Head Start programs in fall 2021 and 180 Head Start programs in spring 2022 from around the country. The programs are selected from all eligible Head Start programs listed on the Head Start Program Information Report database.

Selecting Children

We will work closely with staff to randomly select children and families for the study. Random selection ensures that all 3- and 4-year-old children in selected programs will have a chance to be part of the study, and that the findings from the study can be generalized to the full population of children and families served by FACES. We will select a sample of two to four teachers per center and about 12 children per teacher. These children and their families will be invited to participate in the study. Nationwide, approximately 2,400 children from the 60 programs will be included in the study.

Collecting Information

In fall 2021 we will…

• Ask teachers to complete a survey

• Ask teachers to complete a brief form about the cognitive and social-emotional development of each participating child in their classroom

• Invite a parent or guardian of participating children to participate in a survey

In spring 2022 we will…

• Ask teachers to complete a survey

• Ask teachers to complete a brief form about the cognitive and social-emotional development of each participating child in their classroom

• Invite a parent or guardian of participating children to participate in a survey

• Observe each of the study classrooms

• Ask Head Start program and center directors to complete a survey

On-Site Assistance

We will establish a cooperative partnership with an on-site coordinator (OSC) from each Head Start program, identified by the program director. We will work with the OSC to help get consent from families for their children to participate in the study. In spring 2022, Mathematica staff will work with the OSC to schedule spring 2022 program visits, and create a document that details the logistics of our spring program visit.

Privacy

Mathematica is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of respondents and the data entrusted to us. Having conducted the four most recent FACES studies, Mathematica has vast experience implementing stringent security procedures. Study results will be reported only in group form; we will not present data on child performance by teacher, by class, or by program. In this way, the privacy of children and families, teachers, and programs will be carefully guarded. At the beginning of the study we will tell participants about the study and our privacy policies. If a parent signs a form allowing his/her child to participate in the study, he or she will also have the right to remove the child from the study. Mathematica will be responsible for making sure that the study team members understand the necessity of maintaining strict privacy of the information they collect. All staff involved with the study will sign privacy pledges. All staff visiting centers in spring 2022 will have undergone a comprehensive security review and background check.

The privacy of participants will be protected when study findings are shared. At the conclusion of the study, the data collected will be put into files that will be made available to qualified researchers. Researchers will only be granted access to the data if they agree to abide by a set of conditions intended to ensure that the privacy of participating children, families, and programs are protected, and that the data are used in a responsible way.

FINDINGS

A report of study findings will be prepared, with the first one scheduled for the summer or fall of 2022. We will notify you when this report is published via email alerts. You can also visit the website address for Mathematica (http://www.mathematica-mpr.com) or ACF (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces-1997-2022) for more information about these reports.

TO FIND OUT MORE

Contact: Dr. Lizabeth Malone, the project director, at Mathematica, (202) 264-3488, LMalone@Mathematica-Mpr.com. Or you can visit the ACF website.

The referenced collection of information is voluntary. Information will be kept private. 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 the described collection is 0970-0151 and it expires XX/XX/XXXX.

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APPENDIX R-1.c2

FACES 2019 2021 SPECIAL FACT SHEET (regions i–x): PROGRAMS WITH SPRING DATA COLLECTION ONLY

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H
ead Start Family and Child Experiences
Survey (FACES) 2019

Since its founding more than five decades ago, Head Start has served as the nation’s premier federally funded early childhood intervention to promote school readiness. Focusing on children—often from families engendering multiple risks—before they begin formal schooling, Head Start has served as a setting for a wide range of basic prevention and early intervention research.² The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), first launched in 1997 as a periodic, longitudinal study of program performance, remains Head Start’s flagship research initiative. FACES is designed to be a reliable source of data for describing the experiences of Head Start children and their families. The current round of FACES includes data collected during fall 2019 and spring 2020, as well as spring 2022. This national study is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families.

The Research Team

The study is being conducted by Mathematica, an independent research organization whose studies of education initiatives and other programs have been used to inform national policymakers for more than 40 years. Researchers from Juarez and Associates are assisting Mathematica in FACES in spring 2022.

Our study design will ensure high quality and timely FACES data to provide a valuable profile of the Head Start program and its participants. We are committed to translating research findings into formats that policymakers and programs can use.

Selecting Programs

The study includes 180 Head Start programs from around the country. The programs are selected from all eligible Head Start programs listed on the Head Start Program Information Report database.

Collecting Information

Mathematica will collect the data for this study in spring 2022. Head Start staff will be surveyed in all 180 programs.

Privacy

Mathematica is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of respondents and the data entrusted to us. Having conducted many studies involving disadvantaged populations, including the three most recent rounds of FACES, Mathematica has vast experience implementing stringent security procedures. Study results will be reported only in group form. In this way, the privacy of study participants will be carefully guarded. At the beginning of the study, we will tell participants about the study and our privacy policies. Mathematica will be responsible for making sure study staff understand the necessity of maintaining strict privacy of the information they collect. All staff involved with the study will sign privacy pledges.

The privacy of participants will be protected when study findings are shared. At the conclu­sion of the study, the data collected will be put into files that will be made available to qualified researchers. Researchers will only be granted access to the data if they agree to abide by a set of conditions intended to ensure that the privacy of participating programs are protected, that the data are used in a responsible way.

To Find Out More

Contact: Dr. Lizabeth Malone, the project director, at Mathematica,
(202) 264-3488, LMalone@Mathematica-Mpr.com. More information about FACES can be found by accessing the Administration for Children and Families FACES website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces-1997-2022

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 the described collection is 0970-0151 and it expires XX/XX/XXXX.

APPENDIX R-1.D1

LETTER TO ON-SITE COORDINATOR
(REGIONS I–X): PROGRAMS WITH FALL DATA COLLECTION

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1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

[DATE]

Dear [OSC]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study. FACES will provide details about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start, as well as important information about the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness. The fall 2021 data collection has been added to the FACES study to look at family, child, and teacher well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is very important because it will help the Office of Head Start understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families coming out of the pandemic.

Your program director has chosen you to help us put together the information we need to select our sample of children. FACES involves collecting data in fall 2021 and spring 2022.

• In fall 2021 each participating child’s parent or guardian will be invited to complete a survey on the web or by phone, whichever the parent finds most convenient. We will also ask the child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and a brief form about the cognitive and social development of each child.

• In spring 2022, we will again invite each participating child’s parent or guardian to complete a survey and the child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and brief form. We will ask the program and center directors to complete a survey. Mathematica staff will also observe selected classrooms. Each of the observations will take about three hours.

Your role is important to the success of the study and will require that you spend some time outside of your regular duties helping us. [IF HONORARIUM TO SITE: In recognition of this effort, at the discretion of your program director, we will distribute $500 for the fall 2021 wave of data collection. We expect to offer another, smaller honorarium for helping us plan our data collection visit.]

This letter and the attached FACES fact sheet provide details and an approximate schedule for the study activities. The following are the core activities for which we will need your help:

Sample Selection Activities

1. Center selection. In fall 2021, two centers will be randomly selected to participate in FACES. If a program has only two centers, both will be included in the study. We will ask you to provide a list of centers to assist with center selection.

2. Teacher selection. Approximately two teachers will be randomly selected in each center. If a center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them. We will ask you to provide a list of all teachers and home visitors affiliated with each selected center to assist with teacher selection.

3. Child selection. After teachers have been chosen, children will be randomly selected for the study. We will ask for a list of the names, dates of birth, and enrollment dates into preschool Head Start for all children assigned to the selected teachers. We will select approximately 12 children per teacher and will invite these children and their families to participate.

4. Parent/guardian consent (permission). Once children have been selected, Mathematica will ask you and the teachers to collect parental consent. Only children whose parents/guardians give consent for their participation will be included in the surveys.

Data Collection Activities

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022

1. Teacher child reports. Teachers will be asked to complete a short form for each selected child in their classroom. Each will take 10 minutes and can be completed on the web or on paper. Teachers are expected to complete the forms on their own time and will receive $10 for each form they complete in the fall. We also expect to offer a similar gift card for each form completed in spring 2022.

2. Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities

3. Parents or guardians survey. We will survey a parent or guardian for each study child in fall 2021 and spring 2022—by web or over the telephone (whichever the parent finds more convenient). The survey will take 35 minutes in both fall and spring. We will offer parents a $30 gift card after they complete the survey in the fall. As with past rounds of FACES data collection, we expect to provide parents with a gift card after they complete the spring survey.

Spring 2022 only

1. Director surveys. The program director and center directors will be asked to complete a survey. These surveys will collect background information and information on professional experience, program practices, and classroom activities.

2. Conduct classroom observations. Mathematica staff will observe selected classrooms to collect information on classroom practices and instructional content. Each observation will take approximately three hours. We will work with you to schedule these visits. The center staff and teachers should make no special preparations for them.

I will call you in the next few days to discuss the study and answer any questions you have. You may also contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL]. We very much appreciate your support and cooperation with this important study, and we welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about FACES can be found by accessing the Administration for Children and Families FACES website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces-1997-2022.

Sincerely,

[FACES Liaison]

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APPENDIX R-1.D2

LETTER TO ON-SITE COORDINATOR
(REGIONS I–X): PROGRAMS WITH SPRING DATA COLLECTION ONLY

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica.org

[DATE]

Dear [OSC]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study. FACES will provide details about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families Head Start partners with. It will also provide information about the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness.

Your program director has chosen you to help put together the information we need to select our sample of teachers. In spring 2022, directors and teachers will be asked to complete a survey on the web or on paper. Your role is important to the success of the study and will require that you spend some time outside of your regular duties helping us. In recognition of this effort, at the discretion of your program director, we will distribute $250 per program.

This letter and the attached FACES fact sheet provide details on the study activities. When we meet, we’ll walk through the activities and ask about changes your program may have implemented as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following are the core activities for which we will need your help and an approximate schedule for each:

Sample Selection Activities (winter 2022)

1. Center selection. Two centers in your program will be randomly selected to participate in FACES. If a program has only two centers, both will be included in the study.

2. Teacher selection. Two teachers will be randomly selected in each center. If a center has only one or two teachers, we will include all teachers. We will ask you to provide a list of all teachers in your center.

Staff survey Data Collection (spring 2022)

The program director, center directors, and selected teachers will be asked to complete a survey. These surveys will collect background information and information on professional experience, program practices, and classroom activities.

I will call you in the next few days to discuss the study and answer any questions you have. You may also contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL]. We very much appreciate your support and cooperation with this important study and welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about FACES can be found by accessing the Administration for Children and Families FACES website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces-1997-2022.

Sincerely,

[FACES Liaison]

APPENDIX R-1.E1

LETTER TO CENTER DIRECTOR
(REGIONS I–X): PROGRAMS WITH FALL DATA COLLECTION

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1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

[DATE]

Dear [Center Director]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study, which will focus on children’s development, family involvement, and program quality to identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of Head Start. The fall 2021 data collection has been added to the FACES study to look at family, child, and teacher well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is very important because it will help the Office of Head Start understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To accomplish these goals, we will be working with an on-site coordinator (OSC) enlisted by the program director. The OSC selected by your program director is [FILL OSC NAME]. The OSC will help coordinate activities between your center and our staff and will facilitate the work of the Mathematica team assigned to collect the data for the study.

FACES involves collecting data during fall 2021 and spring 2022.

• In fall 2021, parents of children in the study will be surveyed. Selected teachers will be asked to complete a survey and brief forms about the social and emotional development of each child.

• In spring 2022, we will again invite parents to complete a survey and teachers to complete a survey and brief form. We will observe the selected classrooms and ask the program director and the center directors to complete surveys.

Sample Selection Activities

1. Teacher selection. Approximately two teachers will be randomly selected in your center. If your center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them. We will ask you to provide a list of all teachers and home visitors affiliated with your center to assist with teacher selection.

2. Child selection. After teachers have been chosen, children will be randomly selected for the study. We will ask for a list of names, dates of birth, enrollment dates into preschool Head Start, funding source(s), and type of instruction for all children assigned to the selected teachers. We will invite these children and their families to participate.

3. Parent/guardian consent (permission). Once children have been selected, Mathematica will work with the OSC and the teachers to gain parental consent for the children to participate in the study. Only children whose parents/guardians give consent for participation will be included in the study.

Data Collection Activities

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022

1. Teacher child reports. Teachers will be asked to complete a short form for each selected child in their classroom. Each will take 10 minutes and can be completed on the web or on paper. Teachers are expected to complete the forms on their own time and will receive $10 for each form they complete in the fall. We also expect to offer a similar gift card for each form completed in spring 2022.

2. Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities

3. Parents or guardians survey. We will survey a parent or guardian for each study child in fall 2021 and spring 2022—via the web or over the telephone (whichever the parent finds more convenient). The survey will take 35 minutes in both fall and spring. We will offer parents a $30 gift card after they complete the survey in the fall. As with past rounds of FACES data collection, we expect to provide parents with a gift card after they complete the spring survey.

Spring 2022 only

1. Director surveys. The program director and center directors. These surveys will collect background information as well as information on professional experience, program practices, and classroom activities.

2. Conduct classroom observations. Mathematica staff will observe selected classrooms to collect information on classroom practices and instructional content. Each observation will take approximately three hours. We will work with the OSC to schedule these visits. The center staff and teachers should make no special preparations for them.

You may contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL] if you have questions about the study or your center’s participation. We very much appreciate your support and cooperation with this important study, and welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about FACES can be found by accessing the Administration of Children and Families FACES website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces-1997-2022.

Sincerely,

[FACES liaison]

APPENDIX R-1.E2

LETTER TO CENTER DIRECTOR
(REGIONS I–X): PROGRAMS WITH SPRING DATA COLLECTION ONLY

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica.org

[DATE]

Dear [Center Director]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study, which will focus on children’s development, family involvement, and program quality to identify strategies for improving the effectiveness of Head Start.

To accomplish these goals, we will be working with an on-site coordinator (OSC) enlisted by the program director. The OSC selected by your program director is [FILL OSC NAME]. The OSC will help coordinate activities between your center and our staff and will facilitate the work to collect the data for the study.

In spring 2022, directors and teachers will be asked to complete a survey on the web or on paper. These surveys will collect background information as well as information on professional experience, program practices, and classroom activities. Two teachers will be randomly selected in your center. If your center has only one or two teachers, we will include all teachers. We will ask you to provide a list of all teachers in your center.

You may contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL] if you have questions about the study or your center’s participation. We very much appreciate your support and cooperation with this important study, and welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about FACES can be found by accessing the Administration of Children and Families FACES website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/faces.

Sincerely,

[FACES liaison]

APPENDIX R-2

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL PROGRAM INFORMATION PACKAGE

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APPENDIX R-2.A

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL OFFICE OF HEAD START PROGRAM DIRECTOR NOTIFICATION

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TO: [REGION XI PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Bernadine Futrell, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Head Start

DATE: [Date]

RE: Program Director Notification

I am writing to let you know that your Head Start program has been selected to continue to participate in an important study, the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as AIAN FACES. AIAN FACES gathers in-depth descriptive information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Head Start programs in Region XI and to observe the relationships among family and program characteristics, classroom quality, and school readiness. AIAN FACES was planned to take place only in 2019-2020. However, the Office of Head Start is interested in learning about how Head Start families are faring in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we have added special data collection activities for fall 2021 and spring 2022 to focus on family and teacher well-being. The study will help OHS understand the unique needs of Head Start programs and families in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An intensive and collaborative planning process involving Region XI AIAN Head Start directors; OHS leadership; the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; and child development researchers from the Tribal Early Childhood Research Center started in 2012 for the first study and has been under way since 2018 for the current study. This process has informed the design of this study, keeping the needs and interest of Region XI AIAN programs at the forefront. The AIAN FACES Workgroup has worked to ensure that the study is responsive to the unique characteristics of Region XI and that Native voices are at the forefront in deciding how the study will be designed and carried out, and in determining how the information from the study will be shared. The AIAN FACES Workgroup will continue to guide the study for 2021-2022 as it moves from design to implementation, and later to analysis and reporting.

In fall 2021, a representative sample of approximately 800 3- and 4-year-old Head Start children and their families in Region XI will be asked to participate in AIAN FACES. Your program has been asked to continue with the study to provide information about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families served by Region XI AIAN Head Start. Should your program choose to participate and should your tribe approve this study, [IF 2+ CENTERS OR 1 CENTER, 4+ CLASS: four to six/IF 1 CENTER, <4 CLASS: two] randomly selected teachers from your program will be included in the study. Approximately [IF 2+ CENTERS OR 1 CENTER, 4+ CLASS: 40 to 60/IF 1 CENTER, <4 CLASS: 20] children in your program will be randomly selected to participate in the study. Even if your program participates, individual parent and child involvement is voluntary. The parents of participating children will be surveyed, and their teachers will be asked to complete, on their own time, a survey and forms on the study children. Additionally, in spring 2022, program directors and center directors will be surveyed. Participants will receive a gift card. Unlike in 2019-2020, there will be no in-person study activities (no direct child assessments or classroom observations).

All information collected during the course of AIAN FACES will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. Data that identifies study participants will not be shared with anyone outside the study team, including federal and local program staff or parents. Programs, communities, Head Start staff, children, and families will never be identified by name in any reports of the study’s findings.

Your AIAN FACES study liaison and Workgroup partner will call you soon to explain the continuation of the study in more detail and answer any questions you have. Should your program be interested in continuing with the study, they will also work with you to identify the steps necessary to secure the continued approval of your tribal leadership.

On behalf of the OHS, I would like to thank you in advance for your consideration to continue participating in this extremely important study of our Region XI AIAN programs. If you have any concerns regarding your program’s continued participation in the study, please contact the study project officer, Meryl Barofsky (202-401-5541), at the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

APPENDIX R-2.B

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL MATHEMATICA PROGRAM DIRECTOR NOTIFICATION

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1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

TO: [REGION XI PROGRAM DIRECTOR NAME]

FROM: Lizabeth Malone, Project Director DATE: [DATE]

SUBJECT: American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES)

As noted in the attached memo from Bernadine Futrell, director of the Office of Head Start (OHS) indicates, your program is one of the 22 Region XI programs being asked to continue participating in the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2019 (AIAN FACES 2019). As you likely recall, AIAN FACES is a national study of the children and families in Region XI. The first round of AIAN FACES was conducted in 2015 as the first step in what will be an ongoing effort to give Region XI the same kind of rich descriptive information that has been available to Regions I–X for the last 24 years.

Your program participated in the second round, originally planned only for 2019-2020. ACF understands that more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, families are still facing health and economic concerns, and Head Start programs are still adjusting operations to determine how best to deliver services. To learn how to best support programs and families in light of the pandemic, the Office of Head Start is interested in updated information on family and staff well-being, and has added a special wave of data collection to take place in the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022. The information collected this year is especially important because it will help OHS understand the unique needs of Region XI Head Start programs and families coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data collection will begin in fall 2021. Mathematica is continuing to conduct the study under contract with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and in collaboration with members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup, which consists of Region XI Head Start directors, researchers from the Tribal Early Childhood Research Center, and federal officials. This collaboration has ensured that the design of the study is responsive to the needs of Region XI AIAN Head Start, and that Native voices have been at the forefront of decisions about how to carry out AIAN FACES and share findings from the study.

As before, results of this study will not be used to judge or report on the performance of individual programs, staff, or children. Mathematica will combine the information that participants from your program provide with information from all other participating Region XI AIAN programs and individuals, and we will summarize it in general, descriptive reports. We will never share in reports or other study documents the names and identities of the participating Region XI AIAN Head Start programs, communities, program staff, children, or families.

Your program was selected to participate in AIAN FACES through a random process, and is being asked to continue with the study. Your participation remains voluntary, but we ask that you strongly consider continuing with the study. The ability of study findings to accurately represent the population of children and families who Region XI serves depends on the 22 study programs from 2019-2020 participating. We will randomly select up to three centers per participating program. If your program only has one center, we will ask that center to participate. Within each center, Mathematica will randomly select [IF 2+CENTER or 1 CENTER,<4 CLASS: two/IF 1 CENTER, 4+CLASS: four] teachers to participate, and then we will randomly select 13 children from each teacher. Mathematica will work with staff from your program to invite the families of the selected children to participate in AIAN FACES. All participating parents and teachers will receive a gift card for participating in the study.

Your AIAN FACES study liaison and Workgroup partner will call you very soon to discuss your willingness to participate in this study and to answer any questions you have. During this call, we would also like to discuss the process for gaining continued approval from your tribe for your program to participate in the study. To give you a better sense of what your continued participation will entail, we describe in this letter the activities we would like to complete during our data collection, and the process we will follow to work with you prepare for the data collection activities.

Data collection activities

If your program chooses to continue participating, in fall 2021 and spring 2022, we will ask each participating child’s parent or guardian to complete a survey on the web or by phone, whichever the parent prefers. We will also ask each selected child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and report about him or her. In spring 2022, we will ask you, and the center [IF 2+ CENTER: directors/IF 1 CENTER: director], to complete a survey on the web.

In the box below, we provide an overview of the activities that will take place and an estimate of how much time we will need to complete each. We have enclosed an updated AIAN FACES fact sheet with additional information about the study, and an updated Agreement of Collaboration and Participation, which describes what your program and Mathematica agree to do to ensure the study’s success.

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 activities

Teacher reports of children. Teachers will complete a short form about each participating child’s cognitive and social development. The form for each child will take about 10 minutes to complete. The form will be available on the web or on paper.

Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities.

Parent survey. We will invite the parent or guardian of each participating child to complete a 35-minute survey by telephone with a Mathematica interviewer or on the web. The focus of this survey will be parent and child activities, resources and supports, health care, and parents’/guardians’ feelings and attitudes about themselves.

Additional spring 2022 activities

Director surveys. We will ask the program directors and center directors to complete surveys—via the web or on paper—about their employment and educational background, program goals, and staff well-being. These surveys are still under development, but are expected to take about 40 minutes.

Next steps in planning data collection activities

Agreement to continue participating and tribal review and approval. Your AIAN FACES liaison will contact you soon to answer your questions, discuss your program’s willingness to continue to participate in the study, and the process for any additional tribal review and approval. The liaison will also review the process for selecting centers to participate in the study. If your program chooses to continue participating, the liaison will also ask you to identify someone from your program to serve as an on-site coordinator (OSC). That person will work with the AIAN FACES liaison to secure continued tribal approval.

The role of an OSC. The OSC will help the Mathematica study team put together the information needed for any additional tribal review and approval of the study and will assist the team through the process. When tribal approval is confirmed, the OSC will work with the AIAN FACES liaison to randomly select centers, teachers, and children for participation. If the randomly selected centers are not close to each other, we might ask the OSC to identify two coordinators. We suggest that you identify a back-up OSC, regardless of the size of your program. The OSC will receive an honorarium of $500 for helping us in fall 2021. If there are two coordinators, each will receive $250. We expect there will be another, smaller honorarium in spring 2022. If you wish, this gesture of appreciation can be made directly to the program.

Selecting centers and teachers. Once your program has agreed to take part in the study and tribal approval is in place, we will ask you for the following information:

• The program option(s) you offer (full day, part day, center based, and home based)

• The names and zip codes of each center

• Your best estimate of the number of teachers and home visitors affiliated with each center in your program

• Your best estimate for the number of Head Start children you will serve at each center in your program in fall 2021

Based on the information you provide, we will randomly select centers to participate. We will select an average of two centers per program, although the number will vary by program size. Just before we are to begin data collection, we will send the center director a letter informing him or her of its selection and describing participation in the study.

After we have selected the centers, we will randomly select approximately [IF 2+CENTER or 1 CENTER,<4 CLASS: two/IF 1 CENTER, 4+CLASS: four] teachers per center. We will ask the OSC to give us a list of the teachers and the number of children in each so we can select the teachers.

Selecting children. A multistep process is used to select the children who will participate in the study, and this will also require the assistance of the OSC and center staff. After we have selected teachers for the sample, we will ask the OSC to provide a list of all Head Start children in the selected teachers. We will randomly select approximately 13 children from the rosters of each teacher and invite them to participate in the study.

Obtaining consent. Participation is voluntary, and parents will decide whether or not to participate. Once we have selected children for the sample, we will work with the OSC to gain parental/guardian consent.

We welcome the opportunity to continue working with your program. Your participation is vital for helping OHS and Region XI assess how best to continue meeting child and family needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have questions before we call you, please contact [FACES liaison] at Mathematica at [PHONE] or [EMAIL].

APPENDIX R-2.C

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL FACT SHEET

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A
merican Indian and Alaska Native
Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(AIAN FACES)

Since its founding more than five decades ago, Head Start has served as the nation’s premier federally funded early childhood intervention to promote school readiness. Although we have a wealth of information about Head Start children and families in Regions I–X, historically we’ve had little national data about those who attend Head Start programs in Region XI. Starting in 2015, the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES) began to collect the same type of rich descriptive information on children’s skills and the experiences of families attending Head Start in Region XI to help inform policies and practices.

The 2019 round of the AIAN FACES continued to fill this information gap so that the unique needs and learning experiences of children and families in Region XI AIAN Head Start programs can be better understood. Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACF has added a special wave of AIAN FACES to look at family, child, and staff well-being in light of the pandemic.

THE STUDY TEAM

The study is being conducted by Mathematica, a respected, independent research organization whose studies of educa­tion initiatives and other programs have been used to inform national policymakers for more than 50 years. Collaborating with Mathematica on the study design and its execution are mem­bers of the AIAN FACES Workgroup. This group comprises Region XI Head Start directors, researchers who work with Native communities and programs, and federal officials with respon­sibility for serving the children and families in Region XI.

SELECTING PROGRAMS

The AIAN FACES study will include the 22 programs that participated during the 2019-20 program year if they agree to continue their participation. The 22 programs were randomly selected from all eligible Region XI Head Start programs listed on the Head Start Program Information Report database for program year 2016-2017, to represent Region XI in size and geographic location.

Experienced AIAN FACES study staff, who will be trained specifically on working with Native communities, will re-contact the selected programs and work with program directors and the officials in each community responsible for providing continued tribal approval for the study to be carried out. Members of the AIAN FACES Workgroup will partici­pate in these conversations.

SELECTING CHILDREN

Nationwide, approximately 800 children from the 22 Region XI AIAN Head Start programs will be included in the study.

Once a program has agreed to continue to participate, and once continued tribal approval for the project has been obtained, Mathematica will work closely with staff at the 22 programs to randomly select children and families for the study. Random selection ensures that all 3- and 4-year-old children will have a chance to be part of the study, and that the findings from the study can be generalized to the full population of children and families served by Region XI. Region XI serves both AIAN and non-AIAN children and families, and both groups will be included in the study. Mathematica will select a sample of two to four teachers per center and about 13 children per teacher. These children and their families will be invited to participate in the study. Nationwide, approximately 800 children from the 22 Region XI programs will be included in the study.

B ENEFITS OF AIAN FACES

Source: Head Start Program Information Report, 2019-2020

The Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start will use the information to determine the characteristics and experiences of, and outcomes for, children and families who Region XI Head Start serves. The data will be used to inform decisions regard­ing education and health practices and resources that will improve the quality of services offered in these programs. Policy changes that might result from this study will help Region XI AIAN Head Start children and families in the future. In particular, new study activities have been added for fall 2021 and spring 2022 to look at child, family, and teacher well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Head Start could use this information to tailor the supports it provides to programs to best meet child and family needs coming out of the pandemic.

IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIP

The key to the continued success of the AIAN FACES study will be study staff and the participating communities working together toward the study goals.

AIAN FACES staff will work closely with participating programs and communities during every step of the process. To this end we expect that there could be additional tribal review and approval of the study. We also expect the creation of strong relationships between AIAN FACES study staff and participants at the Head Start programs. AIAN FACES liaisons and study staff will be trained by cultural mentors on respectful and culturally appropriate conduct, and about the unique characteristics of Region XI programs.

COLLECTING INFORMATION

In fall 2021 we will…

• Ask teachers to complete a survey

• Ask teachers to complete a brief form about the cognitive and social-emotional development of each selected child in their classroom

• Invite a parent or guardian of participating children to participate in a survey by web or telephone

In spring 2022 we will…

• Ask teachers to complete a survey

• Ask teachers to complete a brief form about the cognitive and social-emotional development of each selected child in their classroom

• Invite a parent or guardian of selected children to participate in a survey by web or telephone

• Ask Head Start program and center directors to complete a survey

ON-SITE ASSISTANCE

We will establish a cooperative partnership with an on-site coordinator (OSC) from each Head Start program, identified by the program director. We will work with the OSC to help get consent from families for their children to participate in the study. The OSC is typically a staff member at the program such as an education coordinator or assistant director who will help us with the study logistics.

PRIVACY

Mathematica is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of respondents and the data entrusted to us. Having conducted the first round of AIAN FACES and the four most recent rounds of FACES conducted in Regions I–X, Mathematica has substantial experience implementing stringent security procedures. Study results will be reported only in group form for all of Region XI; we will not present data on children by teacher, by class, by program or by community. In this way, the privacy of children and families, teachers, programs, and Native communities will be carefully guarded. At the beginning of the study, we will tell participants about the study and our privacy policies. If a parent signs a form allowing his/her child to be included in the study, he or she will also have the right to remove the child from the study if he or she chooses to do so. Mathematica senior project staff will be responsible for making sure that the study team under­stands the necessity of maintaining strict privacy of the information they collect. All staff involved with the study will sign privacy pledges.

The privacy of participants will be protected when study findings or data files are shared with qualified users. At the conclu­sion of the study, we intend to prepare files con­taining the data that are collected, which will then be made available to qualified researchers. Names or other direct identifiers of any participating communities, programs, staff, children, or parents will not be included on the file. While identifiers are removed, the data file contains many characteristics of programs, staff, and families; therefore, as additional protection, researchers will only be granted access to the data if they agree to abide by a set of conditions that are intended to ensure that the privacy of children, families, programs, and communities are protected, that the data are used in a responsible way, and that findings are reported accurately and take into account the unique characteristics of Native com­munities. To be granted access to the data, researchers must submit a plan for how they will analyze the data and who they will engage in the interpretation of the findings from the analysis, show evidence demonstrating prior experience conducting research with Native programs and communities, and have undergone Institutional Review Board review. The researcher must also agree to submit drafts of manuscripts and presentations for review by the AIAN FACES Data Committee prior to publication or presentation, and to strongly consider feedback from the committee. In addition, researchers will need to review a document outlining best practices for AIAN FACES data use, submit a data security plan, sign a data use agreement, and obtain a signed confidentiality pledge from all members of the researcher’s team.

findings

A report of study findings will be prepared, with the first one scheduled for the summer or fall of 2022. We will notify you when this report is published via email alerts. You can also visit the website address for Mathematica (http://www.mathematica-mpr.com) or ACF (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/research/project/american-indian-and-alaska-native-head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces) or Google “OPRE AIAN FACES ” for more information about these reports.

TO FIND OUT MORE

Contact: Dr. Sara Bernstein, the study director, at Mathematica, (202) 554-7530, SBernstein@Mathematica-Mpr.com. Or you can visit the ACF website.

The referenced collection of information is voluntary. Information will be kept private. 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 the described collection is 0970-0151 and it expires XX/XX/XXXX.

APPENDIX R-2.D

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL ON-SITE COORDINATOR LETTER

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

[DATE]

Dear [OSC]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us conduct the continuation of the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as AIAN FACES. The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study.

AIAN FACES will provide details about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families who Region XI AIAN Head Start programs serve. A fall 2021 and spring 2022 data collection has been added to look at family, child, and staff well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information collected this year is especially important because it will help the Office of Head Start understand the unique needs of Region XI Head Start programs and families coming out of the pandemic.

Your program director has chosen you to help us put together the information we need to select a sample of children in your program. AIAN FACES will collect data in fall 2021 and in spring 2022.

• In fall 2021, each participating child’s parent or guardian will be invited to complete a survey on the web or by phone, whichever the parent prefers. We will also ask each child’s teacher to complete a survey and a brief form about the social and emotional development of each child.

• In spring 2022, we will again invite each participating child’s parent or guardian to complete a survey and the child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and brief form. We will also ask the program and center directors to complete a survey on the web (or on paper if they prefer).

You are important to the success of the study, and participating will require that you spend some time outside of your regular duties helping us. In recognition of this, if your program director agrees, you will receive an honorarium in the amount of $500 for the fall 2021 round of data collection. We expect to offer another, smaller honorarium for helping us in spring 2022.

This letter and the attached AIAN FACES fact sheet provide details about the study activities. The following are the core activities for which we will need your help and an approximate schedule for each:

Sample selection activities

1. Center selection. In fall 2021, we will randomly select centers to participate in AIAN FACES. We will select an average of two centers per program, although the number will vary by program size. If a program has only one center, we will include that center.

2. Teacher selection. [IF 2+ CENTER PROGRAM or 1-CENTER, < 4 CLASSES: We will randomly select about two teachers in each center. If your center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them. /IF 1-CENTER, 4+CLASSES: We will randomly select about four teachers in your center.] We will ask you for a list of all teachers in each center to assist with teacher selection.

3. Child selection. After teachers have been chosen, we will randomly select children for the study. We will ask for a list of the names, dates of birth, and enrollment dates into preschool Head Start for all children in the selected teachers. We will select approximately 13 children per teacher and will invite those children and their families to participate.

4. Parent/guardian consent (permission). Once we have selected the children, Mathematica will work with you and the teachers to gain parental consent. Only children whose parents or guardians give consent for their participation will be included in the surveys.

Data collection activities

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022

1. Teacher child reports. We will ask teachers to complete a short form for each selected child in their classroom. Each form will take 10 minutes and can be completed on the web or on paper. Teachers will complete the forms on their own time and will receive $10 for each form they complete in the fall. We also expect to offer a similar gift card for each form completed in spring 2022.

2. Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take about 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities.

3. Parents or guardians survey. We will survey a parent or guardian for each study child in fall 2021 and spring 2022—by web or over the phone (whichever the parent prefers). We will offer parents a $30 gift card after they complete the survey in the fall. As with past rounds of FACES data collection, we expect to provide parents with a gift card after they complete the spring survey.

Spring 2022 only

1. Director surveys. We will ask the program director and center [IF 2+ CENTERS: directors/IF 1 CENTER: director] to complete a survey. These surveys will collect background information and information on professional experience, program practices, classroom activities, and staff well-being.

I will call you in a few days to discuss the study and answer any questions you have. You may also contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL]. We very much appreciate your support and willingness to help with this important study, and we welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about AIAN FACES is on the Administration for Children and Families AIAN FACES website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/research/project/american-indian-and-alaska-native-head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces, or Google “OPRE AIAN FACES ”.

Sincerely,

[AIAN FACES Liaison]

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

APPENDIX R-2.E

AIAN FACES 2019 FALL 2021 SPECIAL CENTER DIRECTOR LETTER

This page has been left blank for double-sided copying.

1100 1st Street, NE, 12th Floor

Washington, DC 20002-4221

Telephone (202) 484-9220

Fax (202) 863-1763

www.mathematica-mpr.com

[DATE]

Dear [Center Director]:

Thank you for agreeing to help us continue to conduct the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, known as AIAN FACES. The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracted with Mathematica, an independent research organization, to conduct the study. AIAN FACES provides details about the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of children and families who Region XI AIAN Head Start programs serve. A fall 2021 and spring 2022 data collection has been added to look at family, child, and staff well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is very important because it will help the Office of Head Start understand the unique needs of Region XI Head Start programs and families coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To accomplish these goals, we will be working with an on-site coordinator (OSC) enlisted by the program director. The OSC selected by your program director is [FILL OSC NAME]. The OSC will help coordinate activities between your center and our staff.

AIAN FACES will collect data at two points in time: fall 2021 and spring 2022.

• In fall 2021, each participating child’s parent or guardian will be invited to complete a survey on the web or by phone, whichever the parent prefers. We will also ask each child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and a brief form about his or her social and emotional development.

• In spring 2022, we will again invite each participating child’s parent or guardian to complete a survey and each child’s classroom teacher to complete a survey and brief form. We will also ask the program and center directors to complete a survey on the web (or on paper if they prefer).

Sample selection activities

1. Teacher selection. [IF 2+ CENTER PROGRAM or 1-CENTER, < 4 CLASSES: Approximately two teachers will be randomly selected in your center. If your center has two or fewer teachers, we will include all of them. /IF 1-CENTER, 4+CLASSES: Approximately four teachers will be randomly selected in your center.] We will ask you for a list of all teachers in your center to assist with teacher selection.

2. Child selection. After teachers have been chosen, we will randomly select children for the study. We will ask for a list of the names, dates of birth, and enrollment dates into preschool Head Start for all children in the selected teachers. We will select approximately 13 children per teacher and will invite those children and their families to participate.

3. Parent/guardian consent (permission). Once we have selected the children, Mathematica will work with the OSC and the teachers to gain parental consent. Only children whose parents or guardians give consent for their participation will be included in the surveys.

Data Collection Activities

Fall 2021 and Spring 2022

1. Teacher child reports. We will ask teachers to complete a short form for each selected child in their classroom. Each form will take 10 minutes and can be completed on the web or on paper. Teachers will complete the forms on their own time and will receive $10 for each form they complete in the fall. We also expect to offer a similar gift card for each form completed in spring 2022.

2. Teacher survey. Teachers will also complete a survey. The fall 2021 survey will take 10 minutes and ask about their well-being in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spring 2022 survey will take 35 minutes and will be about their employment and educational background, program goals and philosophy, and curriculum and classroom activities

3. Parents or guardians survey. We will survey a parent or guardian for each study child in fall 2021 and spring 2022—by web or over the phone (whichever the parent prefers). We will offer parents a $30 gift card after they complete the survey in the fall. As with past rounds of FACES data collection, we expect to provide parents with a gift card after they complete the spring survey.

Spring 2022 only

Director surveys. We will ask the program director and center [IF 2+ CENTERS: directors/IF 1 CENTER: director] to complete a survey. These surveys will collect background information and information on professional experience, program practices, classroom activities, and staff well-being.

You may contact me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx] or [EMAIL] if you have questions about the study or your center’s participation. We very much appreciate your support and willingness to help with this important study, and welcome any input you would like to provide. More information about AIAN FACES can be found by accessing the Administration of Children and Families AIAN FACES website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/research/project/american-indian-and-alaska-native-head-start-family-and-child-experiences-survey-faces, or Google “OPRE AIAN FACES ”.

Sincerely,

[AIAN FACES liaison]

1 J. M. Love, L. B. Tarullo, H. Raikes, and R. Chazan-Cohen, “Head Start: What Do We Know About Its Effectiveness? What Do We Need to Know?” in Handbook of Early Childhood Development, ed. K. McCartney and D. Phillips, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006.

2 J. M. Love, L. B. Tarullo, H. Raikes, and R. Chazan-Cohen, “Head Start: What Do We Know About Its Effectiveness? What Do We Need to Know?” in Handbook of Early Childhood Development, ed. K. McCartney and D. Phillips, Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006.