Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Title: Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development Project.

OMB No.: New collection.

Description: The Head Start Bureau (Migrant Head Start Branch) within the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requesting comments on a pilot study that will be used to guide the development of appropriate and effective research designs for studying Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs. This study is being conducted under contract with Westat, Inc. (with Aguirre International as its subcontractor) (#282-98-0015, Task Order #44) to collect information that will guide the development of appropriate and effective research designs that could be used in an eventual national evaluation of MSHS. Such an evaluation would serve to bridge the evaluation gap between MSHS and other Head Start programs. MSHS has been excluded from previous Congressionally-mandated evaluations of Head Start due in large part to the difficulty of applying standard research designs to MSHS' highly transient population.

The Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development Project Pilot Study will involve visits to six sites (three in the Fall and three in the Spring) where data collections will take place. Data collections will include interviews with program administrators, coordinators, teachers, parents, and other child care providers. There will also be some use of observational measures of classrooms and brief direct (one-to-one) assessments or parent and teacher reports for children ages 0-5, the full age spectrum served by the MSHS program. Data collection will take place during two time periods: Fall (October-November) 2003 and Summer (June-August) 2004.

The pilot study data will not be used to evaluate program performance or child outcomes, but to test the feasibility of different evaluation designs that could be used during an eventual national evaluation of MSHS programs. A primary issue to be tested is whether, or under what conditions, it is possible to assess program factors and child and family outcomes in different program sites among children and families who routinely migrate through multiple sites in a relatively unpredictable manner throughout a given growing season. Another issue to test is whether standardized measures of children's competencies, and parent/teacher reports of these competencies, are appropriate for this largely Spanish-speaking sample, many of whom speak unique non-Spanish/non-English languages, and whose cultural backgrounds are also unique. This pilot study is also designed to determine how children and families can be tracked across these multiple sites, and determine the kinds and intensities of MSHS program services they obtain, including such aspects as children's curriculum and care, parent services, and coordination with community resources and services.

Respondents: Parents, Children, MSHS Teachers, MSHS Program Staff.

Annual Burden Estimates: Estimated Response Burden for Respondents to the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Research Design Development Project.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Copies of the proposed collection may be obtained by writing to the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Administration, Office of Information Services, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. E-mail address: rsargis@cf.hhs.gov.

OMB Comment:

OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of information between 30 and 60 days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, a comment is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent directly to the following: Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Desk Officer for ACF, E-mail address: lauren_wittenberg@omb.eop.gov.