[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 245 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66276-66314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-31009]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration on Children and Families


Local Research Partnerships for Early Head Start Programs: 
Availability of Funds and Request for Applications

AGENCY: Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and 
Families (ACYF), Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

ACTION: Availability of funds and request for applications to conduct 
research in Early Head Start programs.

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SUMMARY: The Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and 
Families has recently awarded grants to provide comprehensive services 
to families with infants and toddlers. A cross-site evaluation of a 
subsample of the total 68 Early Head Start programs will be performed 
by Mathematica Policy Research Institute which was designated as the 
National Early Head Start Evaluation contractor. Additional site-
specific research will be conducted by research partners who reside in 
or near the same subset of Early Head Start programs and will attempt 
to determine the interrelationships of child, family, program and 
community variables and program outcomes (local research). This 
announcement describes the requirements to be met by applicants seeking 
to conduct the local research.

DATES: The closing time and date for receipt of applications is 5 p.m. 
(Eastern Time Zone) February 20, 1996. Applications received after 5 
p.m. will be classified as late.

ADDRESSES: Mail applications to: Early Head Start Local Research, 
Department of Health and Human Services, ACF/Division of Discretionary 
Grants, 6th floor, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Washington, DC 20447, 
Mail Stop 6c-462, Attn: Application for Early Head Start Local 
Research. 

[[Page 66277]]

    Hand Delivered, Courier or Overnight Delivery applications are 
accepted during the normal working hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, on or prior to the established closing date at: Program 
Announcement: ACYF/HS, Administration for Children and Families, 
Division of Discretionary Grants, ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor Loading Dock, 
Aerospace Center, 901 D Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The ACYF Operations Center, Technical 
Assistance Team (1-800-351-2293), is available to answer questions 
regarding application requirements and to refer you to the appropriate 
contact person in ACYF for programmatic questions.
    In order to determine the number of expert reviewers that will be 
necessary, if you are going to submit an application, please send a 
post card with or call in the following information: the name, address, 
and telephone and fax number of the contact person and the name of the 
organization four weeks prior to the submission deadline date to: 
Administration on Children, Youth and Families Operations Center, 
Ellsworth Associates, Inc., 3030 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 240, Arlington, 
VA 22201, (1-800-351-2293).
    If you decide to submit after the notification date, you may still 
submit a proposal.

Part I. General Information

A. Table of Contents

    This announcement is divided into four parts, plus appendices:
    Part I provides information on the purpose of the local research 
effort and a discussion of issues particularly relevant to the local 
research under this announcement.

A. Table of Contents
B. Definitions
C. Purpose
D. Background
E. Local Research Studies

    Part II contains key information such as eligible applicants, 
project periods, special conditions and other information.

A. Statutory Authority
B. Eligible Applicants
C. Special Conditions
D. Cooperative Agreements
E. Project Duration and Federal Share

    Part III presents the criteria upon which the proposals will be 
reviewed and evaluated.

A. Criteria
B. Review Process

<bullet> Part IV contains information for preparing the fiscal year 
1996 application.

A. Availability of Forms
B. Proposal limits
C. Check List for a Complete Application
D. Due Date
E. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980
F. Required Notification of State Single Point of Contact

    Appendix A contains a list of the Early Head Start grantees.
    Appendix B-1 contains the Request for Proposal for contract to 
conduct the evaluation of Early Head Start as originally published and 
now funded.
    Appendix B-2 contains the tentative measures proposed for the 
cross-site evaluation.
    Appendix C includes the relevant forms necessary for completing the 
application.

B. Definitions

    Research Partner: The initial university or non-profit organization 
designated in the Early Head Start grantee's proposal or a university 
or non-profit organization which formed a partnership with an Early 
Head Start grantee for the purpose of conducting the research under 
this announcement after the Early Head Start grant was awarded.
    Cooperative Agreement: A cooperative agreement is a funding 
mechanism which allows substantial Federal involvement in the 
activities undertaken with Federal financial support. Details of the 
responsibilities, relationships, and governance of the cooperative 
agreement will be spelled out in the terms and conditions of the award. 
The specific responsibilities of the Federal staff and grantee staff 
are tentatively listed in Part II-D and will be agreed upon prior to 
the award of each cooperative agreement.

C. Purpose

    The purpose of this announcement is to invite universities and non-
profit organizations who agree to be the research partners of Early 
Head Start program grantees to submit proposals for competitive 
Cooperative Agreements to (1) conduct local research studies on issues 
related to Early Head Start which will enrich and expand the National 
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study and benefit the field, 
and (2) establish the foundation for a possible longitudinal study of 
the mediating and moderating influences on the developmental progress 
of Early Head Start and Head Start children and families.

D. Background

    On March 17, 1995, ACF announced the availability of funds on a 
competitive basis for Early Head Start Programs. Sixty-eight applicants 
were successful and became Early Head Start grantees on the effective 
date of September 30, 1995. (Applicants should be familiar with this 
document in order to prepare a responsive proposal. Copies of this 
announcement are available from the Technical Assistance Team at (1-800 
351-2293.) Along with the development of the program specifications for 
Early Head Start, ACYF designed a set of research and evaluation 
initiatives to establish the efficacy of the Early Head Start program 
and to contribute new knowledge to the field on factors which influence 
the developmental progress of low-income infant and toddlers and their 
families. The plan for the Early Head Start research and evaluation 
activities is based on the premise that the first set of Early Head 
Start programs are prototypes of the Early Head Start concept of state-
of-the-art services for families with infants and toddlers. They will 
operate during a period which will almost assuredly see major social 
reforms and reconfigurations in services including welfare, health and 
child care. Therefore, the lessons learned and the models that will be 
developed will shape the direction of services for families with 
infants and toddlers well into the 21st century. The plan features (1) 
a dynamic and iterative formative evaluation process, designed to be 
used in subsequent Early Head Start programs, that will serve as the 
instrument for continuous program improvement; (2) an impact evaluation 
to determine whether and under what conditions program prototypes were 
effective, and (3) an integrated research base consisting of local 
research studies as well as the cross-site study for generating further 
hypotheses around a broad array of potential development and service 
issues and possibilities; and (4) an intended longitudinal study of 
both Early Head Start and Head Start.
    On May 19, 1995, the first phase of the competitive award process 
for the conduct of the research and evaluation activities was initiated 
as a Request for Proposal for a national contractor to perform the 
cross-site evaluation of Early Head Start (Appendix B-1). The contract 
resulting from the competition for the national contractor was awarded 
to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. This announcement is the second 
phase, in which cooperative agreements will be awarded on a competitive 
basis to the research partners of Early Head Start grantees to conduct 
local research studies.

[[Page 66278]]


E. Local Research Studies

1. Local Research Under This Announcement
a. Role of Local Researchers
    Under the total Early Head Start Research and Evaluation effort 
local researchers will have two significant roles:
    (1) Under this announcement they will conduct research relevant to 
the issues addressed in section E.2.b. below; and (2) under a 
subcontract to the national contractor they will be responsible for the 
collection of data for the cross-site study. The local researchers will 
form a consortium with the other local researchers and the national 
contractor to insure that all the parts of this study form a cohesive 
whole. A Technical Review Panel will by appointed by ACYF to review all 
the research and evaluation efforts as a whole and provide additional 
input. (See Appendix B-1 for a more detailed description.) In order to 
ensure the minimum of intrusion for the Early Head Start programs and 
to ensure a cohesive study, no applicants will be considered for an 
award under this announcement unless they agree to serve as 
subcontractors to the national contractor.
b. Concepts
    Local research studies are intended to supplement, complement and 
enrich the research that will be conducted in the cross-site study. 
(See Appendix B-1 The Statement of Work for the Cross-site Evaluation 
and Appendix B-2 for a list of the tentative measures proposed for the 
cross-site evaluation.) With full access to the cross-site data 
collected in their respective sites, local investigators will have an 
opportunity to explore mediating events or the theoretical pathways 
that explain the results that are obtained. In addition, local research 
provides an opportunity to identify outcomes, that because of data 
constraints, are not explored in the cross-site study or are specific 
to an individual site. It also expands the possibilities for multiple 
measures of the same construct. Another advantage of local research is 
the enhanced opportunity for the use of observational, ethnographic, 
case study and other qualitative approaches that inform our 
understanding of how the program functions and explain the particular 
outcomes that are achieved.
    Four outcome domains and specific outcomes under each were 
preliminarily identified by the Advisory Committee on Services for 
Families with Infants and Toddlers for Early Head Start. Although no 
one program is expected to be equally successful across all outcomes, 
these outcomes were identified by the Committee as particularly 
important for continued child, family and program development.
    Child: Health and physical development; social competency; secure 
attachments with parents and other caregivers; language and cognitive 
development; resiliency factors; benefits to siblings.
    Family: Attitudes towards parenting; parent-child interaction; 
reduction in teenage pregnancy and positive birth outcomes; having a 
medical home; parenting, employability and progress towards self-
sufficiency; training and education; housing; physical and mental 
health; substance abuse; home environment; safety; involvement in the 
Early Head Start program; knowledge of child development; child 
guidance beliefs and practices.
    Community: Collaboration among agencies serving children and 
families; seamlessness in referrals and actual service provision; 
quality of services for children and families; increase in services for 
infants and toddlers; safety.
    Staff: Staff-parent/child relationships; staff continuity; staff 
professional development; staff compensation; staff physical and mental 
health; staff qualifications; and staffing patterns.
    The major question for the local studies is ``What mediates and 
moderates positive child and family development within the context of 
the specific Early Head Start program and the local community?'' Each 
of the local research studies may focus on variables within one of the 
four outcome domains listed above. Positive child and family 
development are the ultimate objectives of Early Head Start, and thus, 
must have a prominent focus. However, well-designed local research 
studies which focus on particular staff or community outcomes will be 
considered if their relationship to the well-being of children and 
families can be theoretically linked through the existing literature 
and investigated within the time frame of the five-year cooperative 
agreement. Investigators focusing on the same outcome domain may find 
additional opportunities for cooperative research. Depending on the 
questions for the local research, investigators may choose or not 
choose to incorporate the control group, which will be part of the 
cross-site evaluation, in the local research study.
    Within the framework of the Early Head Start program design, each 
site represents a unique model based upon the needs, values, resources 
and cultural climate of its community. Therefore, within the array of 
possible outcomes, it is highly likely that each program will place 
different emphases among them and work toward additional objectives 
that are unique to the particular local site. It is therefore important 
for the local research studies to identify site-specific outcomes which 
are not explored in the cross-site study and to study intra-site 
differential impacts and the reasons for them. The local studies will 
enhance the cross-site analysis by the provision of additional 
explanatory material for inter-site differences and by the 
identification of additional effects of Early Head Start programs. The 
first data collection point for the child's developmental status, 
attachment, mother/child interaction and other child and family 
measures for the cross-site analysis will be around the time of the 
child's first birthday. ( See Appendix B-2 for a list of tentative 
measures.) If applicants see a need for earlier data collection for 
their local research studies, they may propose such data collection 
using the same or other measures as part of the local research data 
collection and analyses.
c. Study Parameters
--Design

    The program sites whose local research partners receive awards 
under this announcement will be sites in which both local research and 
the national cross-site evaluation are conducted. However, if less than 
12 proposals receive an acceptable rating, additional sites may be 
selected to participate only in the national cross-site evaluation to 
ensure 12 sites for the cross-site effort. The sites with local 
researchers will become the potential sites to continue on with the 
follow-up longitudinal studies. For the cross-site evaluation, all 12 
sites, whether they are additionally local research sites or not, will 
be required to participate in random assignment of those families who 
have applied to the Early Head Start program and in which there is a 
pregnant woman or a child under one year of age. Such families will be 
randomly assigned to either the program or control group under a system 
designed by the national contractor with participation from the local 
researchers. The Early Head Start program must agree to fully cooperate 
with the random assignment as a condition for the research partner to 
receive an award under this announcement.
    As noted above, applicants are not required to utilize the control 
group in their local research designs unless the proposed research 
questions require such a design. However, since the cost 

[[Page 66279]]
of the data collection on a number of child and family measures for the 
program and control group will be covered by the national contractor, 
the applicant may wish to consider adding an additional sample, such as 
a random sample of the Early Head Start eligible population, or other 
types of scientifically sound samples. These samples could contribute 
valuable information to the Early Head Start research and evaluation 
effort and would considerably strengthen longitudinal follow-up 
efforts.

--Sample

    In order to be considered for an Early Head Start research 
cooperative agreement, the applicants must be able to guarantee that 
their Early Head Start program partners have the ability to recruit a 
minimum of 150 families meeting the designated criteria for the random 
assignment pool. Specifically, the families to be recruited must 
include a child who is born between June 1, 1995 and June 30,1997 and 
must not have had a child enrolled in Head Start and PCC (Parent and 
Child Centers) within the last 12 months, or, in the case of CCDP 
(Comprehensive Child Development Program), the last five years. Neither 
may the families to be recruited have been enrolled in any other 
Federal, State or local program with similar comprehensive services for 
the last 12 months. Exceptions to these requirements will be considered 
on a site by site, or family basis after the research sites have been 
selected. (Note: Enrollment in other programs is defined as 
participating for a minimum of three months.) The families in the 
random assignment pool, as the term implies, will be randomly assigned 
to either the program or the control group. (A minimum of 75 in each.) 
Therefore the Early Head Start program must have the ability to enroll 
a minimum of 75 families who meet the research requirements during the 
research recruitment period of March 1, 1996 and June 1, 1998 (27 
months). The families must be enrolled some time during the mother's 
pregnancy or before the child is one year of age. The Early Head Start 
programs will be continuously enrolling families during the course of 
their operation. Therefore, the research sample will be an additive 
sample rather than a cohort sample. However, no family will be 
recruited into the research sample if the child is born before June 1, 
1995 or after June 30, 1997. If a research sample family leaves the 
program during the 27 month research recruitment period, replacement of 
families can only be made within the parameters stated above.
    Although there is a 27 month recruitment and enrollment period for 
the research sample, sites may wish to use all or part of that period 
to recruit the requisite sample in accordance with what works best for 
their program. (For example, some programs may not be ready to recruit 
or enroll families by March and other programs may wish to enroll the 
majority of their research sample families as early as possible.) 
However, to ensure that the site will reach the requisite sample size, 
the earliest possible enrollment of the full research sample is 
encouraged. In addition, any site which anticipates that it can secure 
a sample of over 75 program families and 75 control families over the 
recruitment period that meet the research criteria, may enroll other 
families, in excess of the 75 families, which do not meet the research 
criteria. These additional families will not be included in the 
research sample. Programs are encouraged, however, to achieve the 
largest research sample possible, up to 125 families each for the 
program and comparison group. Larger samples would be a major advantage 
for any future longitudinal research.

2. Considerations for the Longitudinal Studies

    Longitudinal studies beyond the five years of the Early Head Start 
research and evaluation effort are outside the scope of the present 
announcement. However, it is ACYF's intent to engage in such 
longitudinal studies, given availability of future funds and the 
feasibility of such efforts in five years time. It will be necessary to 
lay the groundwork for such studies from the beginning of the Early 
Head Start research and evaluation effort in order to ensure that early 
data necessary for the longer effort is collected.
    Although the longitudinal studies are related to and embedded in 
the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study, they have a number 
of sufficiently unique considerations to warrant a separate discussion.
    a. Eligibility--It is anticipated that universities and non-profit 
organizations which receive Early Head Start research grants under this 
announcement will be potential candidates for follow-on longitudinal 
research grants. The exact number of grants that will be awarded for 
the follow-on longitudinal studies will depend on the availability of 
funds and other criteria such as the size of the sample left at the 
site, the quality of the research conducted to date, and the level of 
program implementation.
    b. Studies--The longitudinal follow-ons can be conceptualized as 
two studies which serve different purposes.

Longitudinal Studies of Early Head Start

    Longitudinal studies of Early Head Start will address the 
contributions of earlier intervention to the child and family's later 
development.

Longitudinal Studies of Head Start

    Since Early Head Start programs are required to establish formal 
linkages with local Head Start programs in order to provide for the 
continuity of services for children and families, the Early Head Start 
research sites provide a unique opportunity for the conduct of 
longitudinal studies of Head Start. Presently, there are no existing 
studies of Head Start where the early service patterns and experiences 
of children and families either enrolling in Head Start or serving as 
comparisons or controls are known to the extent that they will be known 
in Early Head Start. That data will be available, at least for part of 
the Head Start population, in the Early Head Start research sites by 
the time Longitudinal Studies of Head Start are underway. In addition, 
the studies can make progress in addressing the question of whom among 
the Head Start population Head Start serves.
    Design and sampling issues for both studies will need careful 
consideration.

Part II  Program Information and Requirements

A. Statutory Authority

    The Head Start Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9801 et seq.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Universities and other non-profit institutions which have been 
designated by the Early Head Start grantees listed in Appendix A as 
their research partner for the purposes of the impact evaluation.
    A research partner may be the institution identified in the Early 
Head Start grantee's proposal or a new or additional research partner 
that the Early Head Start grantee has selected for the purposes of 
conducting the research under this announcement.

    Note: Only one university or non-profit institution per each 
Early Head Start grantee may apply. An applicant must be certified 
by the Early Head Start grantee as the designated research partner. 
In addition, if a university or non-profit institution applies on 
behalf of one or more investigators as the research partner of an 
Early Head Start grantee, the university or non-profit institution 
may only apply as the partner of any other Early Head Start grantee 
if applying in behalf of different investigators. 

[[Page 66280]]


C. Additional Special Requirements

    1. In order to be accepted for review, applications must contain a 
letter from the Program Director of the Early Head Start program 
certifying that the applicant is the designated research partner of 
that program.
    2. The proposed local research study must not overlay additional 
interventions for children, families or staff which are designed by the 
local research partner for research purposes beyond the existing Early 
Head Start intervention designed by the program for that site. (For 
example, the local research may not investigate research hypotheses 
that would require the assignment of families enrolled in the program 
to treatment and control groups.
    3. Applicants must agree to enter a subcontractual or other 
arrangement with the national contractor for the purposes of collecting 
the data for the cross-site study and for site-specific analysis of the 
cross-site data. The subcontract with the national contractor will be 
in addition to the funds received under this announcement and will 
primarily consist of providing input to the cross-site design; 
supervision of cross-site data collection at the local site; ensuring 
quality control; and site specific data analyses of the cross-site 
data.
    4. Applicants must agree to work in a consortium with the other 
local researchers and the national contractor in order to produce an 
integrated set of studies.
    5. Applicants must present their proposal to and receive approval 
from the Early Head Start program policy councils (or other appropriate 
policy group) prior to submission.
    6. Successful applicants must form a local advisory committee 
consisting of staff and parents of the Early Head Start program, other 
community agencies and researchers with expertise in areas relevant to 
the local research.
    7. Applicants' Early Head Start program partner must be able to 
recruit and enroll the required number and types of families as 
described in Part I, section E-1-c above.
    8. The principal investigator and at least one other key research 
team member must attend a minimum of one two-day meeting of the local 
researchers in Washington, DC in addition to the two-day meetings with 
the national contractor and the Technical Review Panel. A third day 
will be provided at the national contractor meetings in order for the 
local researchers to meet on the issues and coordination of the local 
research projects. Successful applicants must also plan to attend Head 
Start's Third National Research Conference in Washington, DC June 20-
23, 1996. The applicant will be responsible for all travel expenses 
related to these meetings. These travel expenses may be included in the 
applicant's budget.
    9. Since the research will be conducted at the Early Head Start 
program site, applicants must use their off-campus research rates for 
indirect costs. If the applicant is a non-profit organization, the 
applicant is limited to an indirect cost rate of no more than 15 
percent.
    10. In submitting an application, the applicant understands that 
the data resulting from the local research is the property of the ACYF. 
Therefore, a copy of the raw data set with accompanying documentation 
must be submitted to the Government in a manner and frequency that will 
be specified in consultation with the consortium during the first year 
of the cooperative agreement. It is not the intention of the Government 
to inhibit or restrict presentations and publications of the results of 
the local research by the grantee beyond any publishing restrictions 
that will be agreed upon by the Consortium and ACYF.
    12. The applicant must provide all required assurances and 
certifications including a Protection of Human Subject Assurance as 
specified in the policy described on the HHS Form 596 (attached in 
Appendix A).

D. Cooperative Agreements

    ACYF is utilizing a cooperative agreement mechanism to support 
local research as a means of ensuring close cooperation and 
coordination between and among local researchers, Early Head Start 
programs and the National contractor. Together, these three entities 
form the research team. Although the three entities have equal status 
on the research team, each has an area of primary responsibility: (1) 
The Early Head Start program has primary responsibility for the design 
and implementation of program services and activities; (2) the National 
contractor has primary responsibility for the cross-site study; and (3) 
the local researcher has primary responsibility for the local research 
study. In applying for a cooperative agreement under this announcement, 
the applicant pledges close cooperation and coordination with the other 
research partners.
1. Responsibilities of the Grantee
The Grantee
    <bullet> Conducts a local research study which enhances, enriches 
or expands the cross-site data and focuses on one of the four Early 
Head Start outcome domains.
    <bullet> Designs and conducts the preliminary research for the 
Longitudinal Study of Early Head Start and the Longitudinal Study of 
Head Start.
    <bullet> Participates as a member of the consortium of local 
researchers and the national contractor.
    <bullet> Conducts local analyses and interpretations of the cross-
site data.
    <bullet> Agrees to enter a subcontract or other financial 
arrangement with the national contractor for purposes of collecting 
data for the cross-site study.
    <bullet> Agrees to work as a member of the research team consisting 
of the Early Head Start program, the national contractor and the local 
researcher.
2. Responsibilities of the Federal Staff
Federal Staff
    <bullet> Provide guidance in the development of the final study 
design.
    <bullet> Participate as members of the national consortium or any 
policy, steering or other working groups established at the consortium 
level to facilitate accomplishment of the project goals.
    <bullet> Facilitate communication among consortium members, Early 
Head Start grantees and the Federal staff.
    <bullet> Provide logistical support to facilitate meetings of the 
local researchers.

E. Project Duration and Federal Share

1. Project Duration
    Awards, on a competitive basis, are for a project period of five 
years. Continuation applications beyond the first 12 month budget 
period, but within the five-year project period, will be entertained in 
subsequent years on a non-competitive basis, subject to availability of 
funds, satisfactory progress and a determination that continued funding 
is in the best interests of the Government.
2. Federal Share of Project Costs
    Federal share of project costs shall not exceed $150,000 for the 
first 12-month budget period inclusive of indirect costs and shall not 
exceed $150,000 for the second and third 12-month budget period. The 
Federal share of the fourth and fifth budget period shall be negotiated 
prior to the fourth and/or fifth year of funding.
3. Matching Requirements
    There is no matching requirement; however, applicants must apply 
their indirect cost rate for off-campus 

[[Page 66281]]
research or no more than 15 percent for non-profit research 
institutions.
4. Anticipated Number of Projects to be Funded
    It is anticipated that 12 projects will be funded.

Part III  Evaluation Criteria

    The criteria presented below will be applied by the reviewers to 
the applicants submission in order to select the successful applicants. 
ACYF has prepared a document entitled ``Helpful Tips for Preparing a 
Successful Research Grant Application.'' This document can be obtained 
from the Technical Assistance Team at (1-800-351-2293).

A. Criteria

1. Objectives and Significance  25 points

    <bullet> The extent to which the objectives of the local research 
are important and relevant to the overall Early Head Start Research and 
Evaluation effort.
    <bullet> The extent to which the local research study makes a 
significant contribution to the overall study and to the broader field.
    <bullet> The extent to which the related literature review supports 
the study objectives, the questions to be addressed or the hypotheses 
to be tested.
    <bullet> The extent to which the questions that will be addressed 
or the hypotheses that will be tested are sufficient for meeting the 
stated objectives.

2. Approach  40 points

    <bullet> The extent to which the planned approach reflects 
sufficient input from and partnership with the Early Head Start 
program.
    <bullet> The extent to which the research design is appropriate and 
sufficient for addressing the questions of the study.
    <bullet> The extent to which the planned approach allows for the 
identification and differentiation of site-specific outcomes.
    <bullet> The extent to which the planned research includes 
quantitative and qualitative methods.
    <bullet> The extent to which the planned measures and analyses both 
reflect knowledge and use of state-of-the-art measures and analytic 
techniques and advance the state-of-the-art.
    <bullet> The adequacy of the anticipated research sample size for 
the requirements of the cross-site study and for the local research 
study.
    <bullet> The extent to which the site in which the research will be 
conducted has a recruitment and enrollment strategy that meets the 
requirements set forth in the design section of the announcement.
    <bullet> The extent to which planned site activities are sufficient 
preparation for potential longitudinal studies.
    <bullet> The extent to which the applicant's proposals for 
resolution of the data collection issues as a result of the two types 
of data collection are realistic and feasible.
    <bullet> The applicant has provided all required assurances.
    <bullet> The reasonableness of the budget for the work proposed.

3. Staffing  35 points

    <bullet> The extent to which the principal investigator and other 
key research staff possess the research expertise necessary to conduct 
the local research including infant/toddler and family development; the 
application of advanced statistical analysis for quantitative and 
qualitative data; and the use of quantitative and qualitative methods 
as demonstrated by the technical portions of the applications and the 
information contained in their vitae.
    <bullet> The extent to which the proposed staff reflect an 
understanding of and sensitivity to the issues of working in a 
community setting and in partnership with program staff and parents.
    <bullet> The extent to which the proposed staff reflect a multi-
disciplinary team.
    <bullet> The adequacy of the time devoted to this project by the 
principal investigator and other key staff in order to ensure a high 
level of professional input and attention.
    <bullet> The extent to which the staffing is sufficient for 
conducting the local research and the data collection and site analysis 
of the cross-site evaluation.

B. The Review Process

    Applications received by the due date will be reviewed and scored 
competitively. Experts in the field, generally persons from outside the 
Federal government, will use the evaluation criteria listed in Part III 
of this announcement to review and score the applications. The results 
of this review are a primary factor in making funding decisions. ACYF 
may also solicit comments from ACF Regional Office staff and other 
Federal agencies. These comments, along with those of the expert 
reviewers, will be considered in making funding decisions. In selecting 
successful applicants, consideration may be given to achieving an 
equitable distribution among geographic regions of the country and 
other considerations necessary to achieve, to the greatest extent 
possible, a research and evaluation sample that is representative of 
all Early Head Start programs.

Part IV  Instructions for Submitting Applications

A. Availability of Forms

    Eligible applicants interested in applying for funds must submit a 
complete application including the required forms included at the end 
of this program announcement in Appendix C. In order to be considered 
for a grant under this announcement, an application must be submitted 
on the Standard Form 424 (approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget under Control Number 0348-0043). A copy has been provided. Each 
application must be signed by an individual authorized to act for the 
applicant and to assume responsibility for the obligations imposed by 
the terms and conditions of the grant award. Applicants requesting 
financial assistance for non-construction projects must file the 
Standard Form 424B, ``Assurances: Non-Construction Programs'' (approved 
by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0348-0340). 
Applicants must sign and return the Standard Form 424B with their 
application. Applicants must provide a certification concerning 
lobbying. Prior to receiving an award in excess of $100,000, applicants 
shall furnish an executed copy of the lobbying certification (approved 
by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0348-0046). 
Applicants must sign and return the certification with their 
application.
    Applicants must make the appropriate certification of their 
compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. By signing and 
submitting the application, applicants are providing the certification 
and need not mail back the certification with the application.
    Applicants must make the appropriate certification that they are 
not presently debarred, suspended or otherwise ineligible for award. By 
signing and submitting the application, applicants are providing the 
certification and need not mail back the certification with the 
application.
    Applicants must also understand that they will be held accountable 
for the smoking prohibition included within Pub.L. 103-227, Part C 
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (also known as The Pro-Children's Act of 
1994). A copy of the Federal Register notice which implements the 
smoking prohibition is included with the forms. By signing and 
submitting the application, applicants are providing the certification 
and need not mail back the certification with the application.
    All applicants for research projects must provide a Protection of 
Human 

[[Page 66282]]
Subjects Assurance as specified in the policy described on the HHS Form 
596 (approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 0925-0137) in Appendix C. If there is a question regarding the 
applicability of this assurance, contact the Office for Protection from 
Research Risks of the National Institutes of Health at (301)-496-7041. 
Those applying for or currently conducting research projects are 
further advised of the availability of a Certificate of Confidentiality 
through the National Institute of Mental Health of the Department of 
Health and Human Services. To obtain more information and to apply for 
a Certificate of Confidentiality, contact the Division of Extramural 
Activities of the National Institute of Mental Health at (301) 443-
4673.

B. Proposal Limits

    The proposal should be double-spaced and single-sided on 8\1/
2\'' x 11'' plain white paper, with 1'' margins on all sides. Use only 
a standard size font such as 10 or 12 pitch throughout the 
announcement. All pages of the narrative (including appendices, 
resumes, charts, references/footnotes, tables, maps and exhibits) must 
be sequentially numbered, beginning on the first page after the budget 
justification as page number one. Applicants should not submit 
reproductions of larger sized paper that is reduced to meet the size 
requirement. Applicants are requested not to send pamphlets, brochures, 
or other printed material along with their applications as these pose 
copying difficulties. These materials, if submitted, will not be 
included in the review process. In addition, applicants must not submit 
any additional letters of endorsement beyond any that may be required.
    The length of the narrative section, including appendices, should 
not exceed 60 pages. Anything over 60 pages will be removed and not 
considered by the reviewers. Applicants are encouraged to submit 
curriculum vita using ``Biographical Sketch'' forms used by some 
government agencies.
    Please note that applicants that do not comply with the 
requirements in the section on ``Eligible Applicants'' will not be 
included in the review process.

C. Checklist for a Complete Application

    The checklist below is for your use to ensure that the application 
package has been properly prepared.

--One original, signed and dated application plus two copies.
--Attachments/Appendices, when included, should be used only to provide 
supporting documentation such as resumes, and letters of agreement/
support.
--A complete application consists of the following items in this order:

    (1) Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424, REV. 4-88);
    (2) Budget information--Non-Construction Programs (SF424A&B REV.4-
88);
    (3) Budget Justification, including subcontract agency budgets;
    (4) Letter from the Director of the Early Head Start program 
certifying that the applicant is the designated research partner of the 
respective program;
    (5) Application Narrative and Appendices (not to exceed 60 pages);
    (6) Proof of non-profit status. Any non-profit organization 
submitting an application must submit proof of its non-profit status in 
its application at the time of submission. The non-profit organization 
can accomplish this by providing a copy of the applicant's listing in 
the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) most recent list of tax-exempt 
organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code or by 
providing a copy of the currently valid IRS tax exemption certificate, 
or by providing a copy of the articles of incorporation bearing the 
seal of incorporation of the State in which the corporation or 
association is domiciled.
    (7) Assurances Non-Construction Programs;
    (8) Certification Regarding Lobbying;
    (9) Where appropriate, a completed SPOC certification with the date 
of SPOC contact entered in line 16, page 1 of the SF 424, REV.4-88;
    (10) Certification of Protection of Human Subjects.

D. Due Date for the Receipt of Applications

    1. Deadline: Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an 
announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline time 
and date at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 
Administration for Children and Families, Division of Discretionary 
Grants, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Mail Stop 6c-462, Washington, DC 
20447, Attention: Early Head Start Local Research, Applicants are 
responsible for mailing applications well in advance, when using all 
mail services, to ensure that the applications are received on or 
before the deadline time and date.
    Applications handcarried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by 
overnight/express mail couriers shall be considered as meeting an 
announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline date, 
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., at the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, 
Division of Discretionary Grants, ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor Loading Dock, 
Aerospace Center, 901 D Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024, between 
Monday and Friday (excluding Federal Holidays). (Applicants are 
cautioned that express/overnight mail services do not always deliver as 
agreed.) ACF cannot accomodate transmission of applications by fax. 
Therefore, applications faxed to ACF will not be accepted regardless of 
date or time of submission and time of receipt.
    2. Late applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria 
above are considered late applications. ACF shall notify each late 
applicant that its application will not be considered in the current 
competition.
    3. Extension of deadlines: ACF may extend the deadline for all 
applicants because of acts of God such as floods, hurricanes, etc., 
widespread disruption of the mails or when it is anticipated that many 
of the applications will caome from rural or remote areas. However, if 
ACF does not extend the deadline for all applicants, it may not waive 
or extend the deadline for any applicants.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Public Law 96-511, the 
Department is required to submit to OMB for review and approval any 
reporting and record keeping requirements in regulations including 
program announcements. This program announcement does not contain 
information collection requirements beyond those approved under OMB 
Control Numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0046 and 0925-0137.

F. Required Notification of the State Single Point of Contact

    This program is covered under Executive Order 12372, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' and 45 CFR part 100, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human Services 
Program and Activities.'' Under the Order, States may design their own 
processes for reviewing and commenting on proposed Federal assistance 
under covered programs.
    * All States and Territories except Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, 
Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, 
Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, American Samoa and Palau have elected 
to participate in the Executive Order process and have 

[[Page 66283]]
established Single Points of Contact (SPOCs). Applicants from these 
twenty-one jurisdictions need take no action regarding E.O. 12372. 
Applicants for projects to be administered by Federally-recognized 
Indian Tribes are also exempt from the requirements of E.O. 12372. 
Otherwise, applicants should contact their SPOCs as soon as possible to 
alert them of the prospective applications and receive any necessary 
instructions. Applicants must submit any required material to the SPOCs 
as soon as possible so that the program office can obtain and review 
SPOC comments as part of the award process. It is imperative that the 
applicant submit all required materials, if any, to the SPOC and 
indicate the date of this submittal (or the date of contact if no 
submittal is required) on the Standard Form 424, item 16a.
    Under 45 CFR 100.8(a)(2), a SPOC has 60 days from the application 
deadline to comment on proposed new or competing continuation awards.
    SPOCs are encouraged to eliminate the submission of routine 
endorsements as official recommendations.
    Additionally, SPOCs are requested to clearly differentiate between 
mere advisory comments and those official State process recommendations 
which may trigger the ``accommodate or explain'' rule.
    When comments are submitted directly to ACF, they should be 
addressed to: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration 
for Children and Families, Division of Discretionary Grants, 370 
L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. A list of the Single 
Points of Contact for each State and Territory is included as an 
Appendix to this announcement.

    Dated: December 14, 1995.
Olivia A. Golden,
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Appendix A--List of Early Head Start Grantees

Alaska

Rural CAP Child Development, Karen King, P.O. Box 200908, Anchorage, AK 
99520-0908, Telephone: (907) 279-2511, Fax: (907) 279-6343, E-mail: 
None

Arizona

Southwest Human Development Ginger Ward, 202 E. Earll, Suite 140, 
Phoenix, AZ 85012, Telephone: (602) 266-5976, Fax: (602) 274-8952, E-
mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e9babea1ada9b9bba0a4aca7acbdc7aaa6a4">[email protected]</a>

Arkansas

Child Development Inc., JoAnn Williams, P.O. Box 2110, Russellville, AR 
72811, Telephone: (501) 968-6493, Fax: (501) 968-7825, E-mail: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1253405a4b5c57525141455c57463c515d5f">[email protected]</a>

California

The Children First, Manuel Castellanos Jr., Venice Family Clinic, 604 
Rose Avenue, Venice, CA 90291, Telephone: (310) 314-7320 x670, Fax: 
(310) 314-7641, E-mail: None
Northcoast Children's Services (NCS), Siddiq Kilkenny, P.O. Box 1165, 
Arcata, CA 95521, Telephone: (707) 822-7206, Fax: (707) 822-7962, E-
mail: None
Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA), Head Start, Catherine 
Goins, 3750 Rosin Court, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95834, Telephone: 
(916) 263-5342, Fax: (916) 263-3779, E-mail: None

Colorado

Clayton Mile High Family Futures Project, Mitzi Kennedy/Adele Phelan, 
3801 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Denver, CO 80205, Telephone: (303) 
355-2008, Fax: (303) 331-0248, E-mail: None
Community Partnership for Child Development, Terry Schwartz, 2132 E. 
Bijou, Colorado Springs, CO 80909, Telephone: (719) 635-1536 x217, Fax: 
(719) 634-8086, E-mail: Later date
Family Star, Lereen Castellano/Alicia Sheridan, 1331 E. 33rd Avenue, 
Denver, CO 80205, Telephone: (303) 295-7711, Fax: (303) 295-0958, E-
mail: None

District of Columbia

Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center, Cynthia Faust, 1719-13th Street, 
NW, Washington, DC 20009, Telephone: (202) 462-3375, Fax: (202) 939-
8696, E-mail: None
United Cerebral Palsy of Washington and Northern VA (UCP), Stanley L. 
Pryor, 3135 Eighth Street, NE, Washington, DC 20017, Telephone: (202) 
269-1500, Fax: (202) 526-0519, E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b8ebecf9f6898f8f8e8c88f8f9f7f4">[email protected]</a>

Florida

Alachua County School District, Donna Omer, School Board of Alachua 
County, 620 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601, Telephone: 
(904) 955-7605, Fax: (904) 955-6700, E-mail: None
Metro Dade Community Action Agency, Regina M. Grace, 395 NW. 1st 
Street, Miami, FL 33128, Telephone: (305) 347-4640, Fax: (305) 372-
8745, E-mail: None

Georgia

Berry Chattooga Early Development Center, Nancy Daniel, 702 South 
Congress Street, Summerville, GA 30747, Telephone: (706) 857-1651, Fax: 
(706) 857-6610, E-mail: None
Clark Atlanta University Head Start, Linda Hassan, 350 Autumn Lane, 
SW., Atlanta, GA 30314, Telephone: (404) 696-9585 x104, Fax: (404) 696-
9524, E-mail: None
Georgia Early Head Start Network, Donna Overcash, Save the Children 
Child Care Support Ctr., 1447 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 700, Atlanta, 
GA 30309, Telephone: (404) 885-1578, Fax: (404) 874-7427, E-mail: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2160756d606f756061726077646269686d6573646f0f6e7366">[email protected]</a>

Illinois

City of Chicago, Dept. of Human Services, Frank McGehee, 510 North 
Peshtigo Court, 8th Floor, Chicago, IL 60611, Telephone: (312) 744-
0251, Fax: (312) 744-7530, E-mail: None
The Ounce of Prevention Fund, Portia Kennel, 188 W. Randolph Street, 
#2200, Chicago, IL 60601, Telephone: (312) 853-6080, Fax: (312) 853-
3337, E-mail: None
Wabash Area Development, Inc., Donna Emmons, 100 N. Latham, Enfield, IL 
62835, Telephone: (618) 963-2387, Fax: (618) 963-2525, E-mail: None

Indiana

Healthy Beginnings, Hamilton Center, Anita Lascelles, 620 8th Avenue, 
Terre Haute, IN 47804, Telephone: (812) 231-8335, Fax: (812) 232-8228, 
E-mail: None

Iowa

Mid-Iowa Community Action, Susan Fessler, 1001 South 18th Street, 
Marshalltown, IA 50158, Telephone: (515) 752-7162, Fax: (515) 752-9724, 
E-mail: None
Upper Des Moines Opportunity, Inc., Mary Jo Madvig, P.O. 519, 101 
Robbins Avenue, Graettinger, IA 51342-0519, Telephone: (712) 859-3885, 
Fax: (712) 859-3892, E-mail: None

Kansas

Head Start Parent & Child Center, Glenda Wilcox, 931 South St. Francis, 
Wichita, KS 67211, Telephone: (316) 267-8314, Fax: (316) 267-7185, E-
mail: None
Project EAGLE of the University of Kansas Medical Center, Martha 
Staker, Gateway Centre Tower II, Suite 1001, 4th & State Avenue, Kansas 
City, KS 66101, Telephone: (913) 281-2648, Fax: (913) 281-2680, E-mail: 
None 

[[Page 66284]]

Salina USD #305, Korey Powell-Hensley, 700 Jupiter, Salina, KS 67401, 
Telephone: (913) 826-4868, Fax: (913) 826-4867, E-mail: None

Kentucky

Breckinridge-Grayson Programs, Inc., Cleo Lowery, P.O. Box 63, 
Leitchfield, KY 42755, Telephone: (502) 259-4054, Fax: (502) 259-4055 
E-mail: None
Murray Head Start, Judy Whitten, 208 S. 13th Street, Murray, KY 42074, 
Telephone: (502) 753-6031, Fax: (502) 759-4906, E-mail: None

Maryland

The Family Services Agency, Inc., Mary C. Jackson, 640 E. Diamond 
Avenue, Suite A, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, Telephone: (301) 840-2000 
x205, Fax: (301) 840-9621, E-mail: None
Friends of the Family, Inc., Linda R. Gaither, 1001 Eastern Avenue--2nd 
Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202-4364, Telephone: (410) 659-7701, Fax: (410) 
783-0814, E-mail: None

Michigan

Region II Community Action Agency, Martha York, Center for Family, 817 
W. High Street, Jackson, MI 49203, Telephone: (517) 784-2895, Fax: 
(517) 788-5998; 784-9226, E-mail: None

Mississippi

Friends of Children of Mississippi, Inc., Cathy Gaston/Marvin Hogan, 
4880 McWillie Drive, Jackson, MS 39206, Telephone: (601) 362-1541, Fax: 
(601) 362-1613, E-mail: None

Missouri

Human Development Corporation, Lois A. Harris, 929 North Spring Avenue, 
St. Louis, MO 63108, Telephone: (314) 652-5100 x285, Fax: (314) 652-
0813, E-mail: None
KCMC Child Development Corporation, Shirley Stubbs-Gillette, 2104 East 
18th, Kansas City, MO 64127, Telephone: (816) 474-3751 x603, Fax: (816) 
474-1818, E-mail: None

Nebraska

Central Nebraska Community Services, Suzan Obermiller, P.O. Box 509, 
Loup City, NE 68853, Telephone: (308) 745-0780, Fax: (308) 745-0824, E-
mail: None

New Hampshire

Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc., Rebecca 
Johnson, P.O. Box 1016, Concord, NH 03302-1016, Telephone: (603) 225-
3295, Fax: (603) 228-1898, E-mail: None

New Jersey

Babyland Nursery, Inc., Mary Smith/Martin Schneider, 755 South Orange 
Avenue Newark, NJ 07106, Telephone: (201) 399-3400, Fax: (201) 399-
2076, E-mail: None
NORWESCAP Head Start Administration, Linda Kane, 481 Memorial Parkway, 
Phillipsburg, NJ 08865, Telephone: (908) 454-8830, Fax: (908) 859-0729, 
E-mail: None

New York

The Astor Home for Children, Elizabeth Colkin, 50 Delafield Street, 
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, Telephone: (914) 452-4167, Fax: (914) 452-0718, 
E-mail: None
Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc. Head Start, Grace Knaak, Municipal 
Bldg--5th Floor, 200 E. Third Street, Jamestown, NY 14701, Telephone: 
(716) 661-9430 Fax: (716) 661-9436 E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6324282d2222282326332a">[email protected]</a>
Educational Alliance, Marion Lazar, 197 East Broadway, New York, NY 
10002, Telephone: (212) 475-6200 x6200, Fax: (212) 982-0932, E-mail: 
None
Parent & Child Center, Coleen A. Meehan, 175 Hudson Street, Syracuse, 
NY 13204, Telephone: (315) 470-3324, Fax: (315) 474-6863, E-mail: None
Project Chance Early Head Start, Bart O'Conner, 136 Lawrence Street, 
Brooklyn, NY 11201, Telephone: (718) 330-0845, Fax: (718) 330-0846, E-
mail: None

North Carolina

Asheville City Schools Preschool and Family Literacy Center, Robbie H. 
Angell 441 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28806, Telephone: (704) 255-
5423, Fax: (704) 251-4913, E-mail: None

North Dakota

Little Hoop Community College, Beverly Graywater, P.O. Box 89, Fort 
Totten, ND 58335, Telephone: (701) 766-4070, Fax: (701) 766-1357, E-
mail: None

Ohio

 Child Focus--Clermont County Head Start, Terrie Hare, 1088 Hospital 
Drive, Suite A, Batavia, OH 45103, Telephone: (513) 732-5432, Fax: 
(513) 732-5440, E-mail: None
Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community, Action Agency, Verline Dotson, 
2904 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206, Telephone: (513) 569-1840, 
Fax: (513) 569-1251, E-mail: None

Oregon

Southern Oregon Child and Family Council, Inc., Blair Johnson, 505 Oak 
Street, P.O. Box 3819, Central Point, OR 97502, Telephone: (503) 664-
4730; 857-9255, Fax: (503) 664-6620, E-mail: Pending

Pennsylvania

Family Foundations, Laurie Mulvey/Heather Fisher, 1811 Boulevard of the 
Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, Telephone: (412) 281-3511 Fax: (412) 281-
3254, E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="317c647d67746871677c621f7278621f617865651f747564">[email protected]</a>
Philadelphia Parent Child Center, Inc., Jewel Morrissette-Ndulula, 2515 
Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19133, Telephone: (215) 229-1800, 
Fax: (215) 229-5860, E-mail: None

Puerto Rico

Aspira Inc. of Puerto Rico, Edme Ruiz Torres, Box 29132, 65th Infantry 
Station, Rio Piedras, PR 00929, Telephone: (809) 768-1968, Fax: (809) 
257-2725, E-mail: None
New York Foundling Hospital, Zaida Fernandez, P.O. Box 191274, San 
Juan, PR 00919-1274, Telephone: (809) 753-9082; 753-1321; 753-9080, 
Fax: (809) 763-9209, E-mail: None

South Carolina

District #17 Schools, Anita E. Kieslich, P.O. Box 1180, Sumter, SC 
29150, Telephone: (803) 778-6433, Fax: (803) 469-6006, E-mail: None
SHARE Greenville-Pickens Head Start, Rubye H. Jones, 652 Rutherford 
Road, Greenville, SC 29609, Telephone: (803) 233-4128, Fax: (803) 233-
4019, E-mail: None

Tennessee

Chattanooga Human Services, Head Start/PCC, Donna Ginn, 2302 Ocoee 
Street, Chattanooga, TN 37406, Telephone: (423) 493-9750, Fax: (423) 
493-9754, E-mail: None
Tennessee CAREs, Barbara Nye, Tennessee State University, 330 Tenth 
Avenue N., Box 141, Nashville, TN 37203, Telephone: (615) 963-7231, 
Fax: (615) 963-7214 E-mail: None

Texas

Avance San Antonio Inc., Rebecca C. Cervantez, 2300 W. Commerce, Suite 
304, San Antonio, TX 78207, Telephone: (210) 220-1788, Fax: (210) 220-
3795, E-mail: None
Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc., Rob Massonneau, 1349 Empire 
Central, Suite 900, Dallas, TX 75247, Telephone: (214) 634-8704 x484, 
Fax: (214) 631-5417, E-mail: None

[[Page 66285]]

Parent/Child Incorporated, Blanche A. Russ-Glover, 1000 West Harriman 
Place, San Antonio, TX 78207-7900, Telephone: (210) 226-6232, Fax: 
(210) 228-0071, E-mail: None
Texas Migrant Council, Inc., John E. Gonzales, 5102 N. Bartlett Avenue, 
P.O. Box 2579, Laredo, TX 78041, Telephone: (210) 722-5174, Fax: (210) 
726-1301, E-mail: None

Utah

Bear River Head Start, Glenna Markey, 75 South 400 West, Logan, UT 
84321, Telephone: (801) 753-0951, Fax: (801) 753-1101, E-mail: None

Vermont

CVCAC Head Start, Marianne Miller, PO. Box 747, 36 Barre-Montepelier 
Road, Barre, VT 05641, Telephone: (802) 479-1053, Fax: (802) 479-5353, 
E-mail: None
Early Education Services, Judith Jerald, 218 Canal Street, Brattleboro, 
VT 05301, Telephone: (802) 254-3742, Fax: (802) 254-3750, E-mail: None

Washington

Families First, Peg Mazen, P.O. Box 1997, Auburn, WA 98071, Telephone: 
(206) 850-2582, Fax: (206) 850-0220, E-mail: None
Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, Jaclyn Haight, 31912 Little Boston Road, 
NE, Kingston, WA 98346, Telephone: (360) 297-6258, Fax: (360) 297-7097, 
E-mail: None
Spokane County Head Start/ECEAP, Washington State Community College 
#17, Patt Earley, 4410 North Market, Spokane, WA 99202, Telephone: 
(509) 533-8500, Fax: (509) 533-8599, E-mail: None
Washington State Migrant Council, Carlos Trevino, 312 Division, 
Grandview, WA 98930, Telephone: (509) 882-5800, Fax: (509) 882-1605,E-
mail: None

West Virginia

Monongalia County Head Start, Marie Alsop/Cheryl Wienke,1433 Dorsey 
Avenue,Morgantown, WV 26505, Telephone: (304) 291-9330, Fax: (304) 291-
9324,E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1b584c525e55505e5b5a58585e484835502a29354c4d354e48">[email protected]</a>

Wisconsin

Renewal Unlimited, Inc. - Head Start of Central Wisconsin, Suzanne 
Hoppe, N6510 Hwy. 51 South, Portage, WI 53901-9603, Telephone: (608) 
742-5329, Fax: (608) 742-5481, E-mail: None

Appendix B-1--Statement of Work for the Early Head Start Evaluation 
Contract

Request for Contract--The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation 
Project

I. Background

    The Head Start Act, as amended May, 1994 (42 usc 9801 et seg.) 
established a new program for families with infants and toddlers within 
the framework of Head Start. Section 645A of the Head Start Act, 
Programs for Families with Infants and Toddlers states that (a) ``The 
Secretary shall make grants in accordance with the provisions of this 
section for--(1) programs providing family-centered services for low-
income families with very young children designed to promote the 
development of the children and to enable their parents to fulfill 
their roles as parents and to move toward self-sufficiency.''
    The Department of Health and Human Services calls this new program 
Early Head Start. In developing Early Head Start, the Administration on 
Children, Youth and Families (ACYF)/Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF) engaged in an intensive consultation process to learn 
from parents, practitioners, researchers and academics about the state 
of the art of quality programming for pregnant women and families with 
infants and toddlers. As part of the consultation process, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services formed the Advisory Committee on 
Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers. That committee issued 
a report in September, 1994, that provides the blueprint for the design 
of the Early Head Start program. The ACF issued a Program Announcement 
of in March, 1995, and is expected to begin funding programs by 
September 30, 1995.
    The award of this contract will be followed by a competition among 
Early Head Start program research partners to establish a limited 
number of local research sites. The first part of this section 
describes the overall Early Head Start research and evaluation design, 
including activities to be completed both by the national Contractor 
and local researchers; the second part details the scope of work for 
the national evaluation contract.

The Need for Early Head Start Research and Evaluation

    It will be important for the proposed evaluation, mandated by the 
Head Start legislation, to build upon the substantial body of knowledge 
that exists and to expand upon findings from related studies. The CCDP 
evaluation will present results of a rigorous evaluation of an 
intensive, comprehensive, multi-service intervention program for 
families of infants and toddlers, implemented across a number of 
communities nationwide. Additional studies currently underway, such as 
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 
Child Care study and the Healthy Start evaluation will provide findings 
and methods that will contribute to the Early Head Start research and 
evaluation. However, Early Head Start, while related programmatically 
to many predecessors, combines and/or extends elements in previous 
programs to present a unique program for evaluation. The Early Head 
Start program is individualized; intense; comprehensive; child-service 
oriented; two-generational; locally-adapted, utilizing parents in 
decision making, and designed to have four levels of effect, on infants 
and toddlers, families, communities and staff.

II. The Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Plan

    The research and evaluation plan highlights the first Early Head 
Start programs as prototypes of the Early Head Start concept. The plan 
features (1) a dynamic formative evaluation process, designed to be 
used in subsequent Early Head Start programs, that will serve 
continuous program improvement; (2) an impact evaluation that will 
enable determination of whether and under what conditions program 
prototypes were effective, and (3) an integrated research base for 
generating further hypotheses around the broad array of potential 
program issues and possibilities.
    This research and evaluation plan features an integrated local and 
national evaluation design with nested levels of program involvement. 
Level I, continuous program improvement, is for all sites; Level II, 
cross-site impact evaluation and site-specific, related research will 
occur at selected sites. The impact evaluation is designed to determine 
the attribution of outcomes to the intervention. The research portion 
of the study will examine the causally modeled and directional 
relationships among specific child, family, program and community 
variables and outcomes.

A. Purposes

    Elaboration of the purposes and the proposed approach proposed for 
each follow:
    1. Continuous Program Improvement. The Advisory Committee on 
Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers proposed a new role for 
program 

[[Page 66286]]
evaluation that would be useful to programs seeking to develop to a 
standard of high quality. A systematic feedback procedure utilizing 
formative evaluation techniques will be developed as a tool for dynamic 
program improvement, and as a prototype formative evaluation tool in 
the event of Early Head Start program expansion. Thus, the first 
purpose of this effort is to support a process for generating and 
utilizing program qualitative and quantitative data, including 
management information system data, in continuous program improvement. 
This feature will be addressed programmatically at all Early Head Start 
sites, in most cases with the aid of local research partners. The 
national Contractor will provide support for this evaluation function 
through development of formative evaluation formats for continuous 
improvement.
    2. Impact. The Head Start Act and the Advisory Committee on 
Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers called for a study of 
program effectiveness. A cross-site impact study will be conducted by a 
national Contractor in a sample of selected sites. Site-specific 
analyses, conducted by local research partners, will identify local 
program impacts and elucidate the processes, pathways, and conditions 
under which the program had an effect. Cross-site and local studies 
will complement each other.
    3. Additional Research. The Advisory Committee on Services for 
Families with Infants and Toddlers sought to stimulate the research 
community to address the many questions we have about how best to 
enhance the development of low-income infants and toddlers and their 
families under conditions of changing policies and programmatic 
variations. The potential for research under the broad umbrella of the 
Early Head Start purposes and in connection with impact and continuous 
programmatic improvement is great. The Early Head Start research and 
evaluation plan thus seeks to bring forth a new generation of solid 
research to enhance current understandings of optimal developmental 
circumstances for low-income infants/toddlers, their families and 
communities. Further, questions related to the program are expected to 
be fitted to theoretical frameworks to encompass and extend beyond the 
realm of impact evaluation. This research will be conducted primarily 
at selected research sites by local research partners
    4. Longitudinal Study. Early Head Start presents a unique 
opportunity to conduct longitudinal research on Early Head Start, Head 
Start and beyond. Thus, the research and evaluation plan emphasizes the 
underlying longitudinal nature of the study of Early Head Start, and is 
the beginning of a longitudinal study of Early Head Start children and 
families.

B. Studies

    The specific studies this project is expected to generate and the 
approximate sequence are as follows:

Studies to Describe Early Head Start Programs
Studies of Program Quality and Program Implementation
Studies of Program Impact
Studies of Program Variation
Studies Directed Towards Specific Policy Concerns
Studies of Program Impact in a Longitudinal Context
Studies by Local Researchers on Multiple Topics Pertaining to Early 
Head Start

C. Questions

    A series of preliminary research questions have been developed to 
guide the formation of the research and evaluation design.
    What are the characteristics of Early Head Start children and 
families, communities and staff and programs? What are the origins of 
Early Head Start programs? Who attends Early Head Start? How 
representative are the children and families who attend Early Head 
Start of the Early Head Start-eligible population within their 
communities? What types of communities are Early Head Start programs 
in? What types of services are delivered? What are the characteristics 
and emphases of local programs?
    What are the pathways to quality in Early Head Start Programs? How 
do programs achieve full implementation? How is quality in Early Head 
Start program components defined? What is the quality of Early Head 
Start programs and program components? How long does it take to attain 
quality in Early Head Start programs? What outcomes are associated with 
various aspects of program quality?
    Is Early Head Start effective in supporting the development of 
children, family, communities and staff? Which Early Head Start 
practices maximize benefits for children, families, communities and 
staff under what kinds of circumstances? What are the collective and 
differentiated impacts of Early Head Start? How does Early Head Start 
support development under varying conditions of risk? Are there diffuse 
effects of the program? Are there effects that can be attributed to 
targeted programs or services in Early Head Start? Are there mediators 
between services and outcomes that can be identified? What are the 
benefits of Early Head Start that translate into dollars saved?
    What child, family, program and community variables contribute to 
the optimal development of low-income children in Early Head Start 
programs? Which Early Head Start practices maximize benefits for which 
children under what conditions? What factors contribute to resiliency 
of children in Early Head Start? What factors associated with Early 
Head Start contribute to optimizing health, social or cognitive 
development? Is targeting specific services for children effective? Are 
there strategies that are particularly effective with high-risk 
infants? What are the programs that are achieving positive outcomes for 
children doing? What are the barriers to attaining positive outcomes 
for children in Early Head Start programs?
    What Early Head Start factors, community, family and personal 
factors contribute to parent and family-level outcomes? What factors, 
under what conditions, enhance parenting skills including parent/child 
interactions for which parents? What factors contribute to the parents' 
ability to make progress toward self-sufficiency? What factors 
contribute to the health and well-being of Early Head Start parents? 
What factors contribute to male involvement in the lives of Early Head 
Start children? What factors contribute to parental involvement for 
which parents in the Early Head Start program? What family outcomes are 
associated with positive child outcomes, and what are the pathways from 
parent to child development in the context of Early Head Start? Are 
there targeted strategies that specifically benefit some parents?
    What changes in communities occur as a result of the Early Head 
Start program? What were the baseline characteristics of Early Head 
Start communities at the time programs began? What Early Head Start 
practices maximize benefits for which communities under what types of 
circumstances? What new collaborations were established? What community 
factors supplemented or supplanted the Early Head Start success with 
families and children? How strong was the community effect on Early 
Head Start programs? Did Early Head Start have a positive effect on 
child care services, or on any other services, throughout the 
community?
    What is the role of staffing in Early Head Start programs? What is 
the role of staffing and staff development in creating effective 
program processes and 

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bringing about positive outcomes for children, families and 
communities? What enables staff to create the environments and 
relationships that promote infant/toddler and family development? What 
factors contribute to staff continuity with children and families? What 
role does Early Head Start professional development play in staff 
effectiveness?
    What are the effects of program variations? What are the 
identifiable program variations in Early Head Start? What can be said 
about the types of variations and their effects?
    What can we learn through Early Head Start to maximize collective 
effectiveness of policies and programs that promote the development of 
low-income children and their families? What is the role of Early Head 
Start for promoting parents' pathways to work? How do comprehensive 
Early Head Start services add to the effects of child care on children 
and families? What are the barriers and pathways to the successful 
integration of children with special needs into Early Head Start? These 
questions will be addressed in a report directed towards specific 
policy concerns by the national Contractor and the Contractor may be 
asked to provide additional special reports around related issues.
    How do Early Head Start and Head Start families and comparable 
groups who do not participate in Early Head Start develop over time? 
What are the developmental trajectories of Early Head Start and 
comparison group children and families under varying experiences and 
varying degrees of risk?

D. Design

    The Early Head Start program is designed as a prototype of an on-
going service program as opposed to an intervention designed by an 
investigator for theory building or hypothesis testing. Thus, while 
Early Head Start was planned to accommodate evaluation, the evaluation 
design primarily has been fitted to the program. This programmatic 
emphasis has shaped numerous research and evaluation design elements as 
well as the overall two-tier nature of the research and evaluation 
plan. All Early Head Start programs will participate in either one or 
both levels of the research and evaluation.
    Level I: All program sites will participate in formative evaluation 
activities which are designed to assist programs in continuous 
improvement towards program quality. The Level I evaluation activities 
also will be instituted for all subsequent Early Head Start programs 
under conditions of program expansion. The following are features of 
Level I.
    <bullet> Sites will use data from a uniform management information 
system, together with local qualitative and quantitative data in a 
formative evaluation process.
    <bullet> In most cases, sites will utilize a local research partner 
for this aspect of the evaluation.
    <bullet> The national Contractor will provide standard formats for 
the use of these data during the first year of the project, and will 
make the characteristics of this format available to sites added in 
subsequent years through collaboration with the Training and Technical 
Assistance Contractor.
    Level II: A sample of sites (12) will participate in Level II 
activities focusing on evaluating the effectiveness of the Early Head 
Start utilizing approaches to generate both breadth and depth in impact 
evaluation . The following are characteristics of Level II activities.
    <bullet> There will be a cross-site impact study, conducted by a 
national Contractor, that will be complemented by local studies of 
program impact.
    <bullet> The local research partners may apply through a 
competitive process for grants to carry out research studies at their 
local sites. The sites whose local research partners receive these 
grants will become sites for the cross-site impact evaluation. In the 
event that there are not sufficient numbers of sites whose local 
research partners have submitted an acceptable proposal or if a better 
distribution of Early Head Start programs is required than the research 
site pool represents, as programs were alerted in the Early Head Start 
program announcement, ACYF may select further sites for evaluation. 
Data collection at these sites would be conducted directly by the 
national Contractor.
    <bullet> The impact evaluation will follow an experimental model. 
The program will recruit double the number of families needed to fill 
program openings. Families then will be assigned into program and 
comparison groups by random assignment, most likely midway through the 
first fiscal year. The recruitment and random assignment process will 
continue until October 1, 1996, when programs are expected to attain 
full enrollment, and, thereafter, as openings occur.
    <bullet> Only those programs that are fully implemented and 
operating as the program was designed, with criteria to be determined 
as an evaluation task, will be included in the final impact evaluation. 
Additional criteria for impact evaluation may be proposed by ACYF as 
well. It is anticipated that 12 sites will participate in the final 
impact evaluation, however, 15 sites will be selected as preliminary 
impact sites to provide an ample pool of sites for impact evaluation.
    <bullet> To fit the service emphasis of the program, subjects will 
be continuously recruited into the program to fill program openings as 
they occur. That is, this is not a cohort study. Sample sizes will 
build over time.
    <bullet> While programs are encouraged to give preference to 
subjects who are pregnant and have infants under a year of age, they 
may serve children up to three years of age. However, to focus the 
sample and to have a potential longitudinal sample of children who 
began the program early, the research sample will be comprised only of 
pregnant women and families with infants up to one year of age. This 
requirement will apply to families recruited at the time the program 
begins as well as to replacement families.
    <bullet> Programs will range in size from 75 to 150 families. The 
impact evaluation sample, due to continuous recruitment, may exceed 150 
program (and an equal number of comparison group) families but shall be 
capped at 175 program (and an equal number of comparison group) 
families for any one site. Site samples need to include at least 50 
program families (with an equal number of comparison families).
    <bullet> In addition to documenting the services received by 
program families in the Early Head Start program, it will be necessary 
to document the needs and service use by comparison families to 
determine if the individualized services provided by the Early Head 
Start program had an impact beyond what comparison families received in 
their communities. Therefore, the same needs assessment will need to be 
conducted on control families and their service usage will need to be 
tracked in a manner as similar to the experimental group as possible.
    <bullet> Comparison group families will be given an annotated list 
of community services. Pregnant women will receive an initial referral 
to prenatal care. All families, program and comparison, participating 
in the evaluation study will receive approximately $20/interview period 
for their participation in the study. Both the national Contractor and 
local researchers are encouraged to solicit material goods to give to 
families for completing interviews. These goods may be donated locally 
or nationally and could include diapers, infant clothing, or 
educational toys.
    <bullet> Program families who drop out will be followed, to the 
extent possible. An 

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evaluation task will be to develop a plan for tracking comparison and 
program group dropout research sample families and for defining the 
minimum amount of time that constitutes program involvement.

E. Desired Outcomes

    The Early Head Start program targets specific outcome variables in 
the four program areas. It will be important for this evaluation to 
focus on those outcomes likely to be associated with involvement in 
Early Head Start, outcomes that realistically could be expected in a 
program of this nature. It will also be important to target potential 
interim outcomes, outcomes most likely to be apparent after the first 
2-3 years of the study. Preliminary outcomes as proposed by the 
Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers 
include:
    Child: Health and physical development; social competency; secure 
attachments with parents and other caregivers; language and cognitive 
development; resiliency factors; benefits to siblings.
    Family: Attitudes towards parenting; parent-child interaction; 
reproductive sequelae; having a medical home; parenting employability 
and progress towards self-sufficiency; training and education; housing; 
physical and mental health; substance abuse; home environment; safety; 
involvement in the Early Head Start program; knowledge of child 
development; child guidance beliefs and practices.
    Community: Collaboration among agencies serving children and 
families; seamlessness in referrals and actual service provision; 
quality of services for children and families; increase in services for 
infants and toddlers; safety.
    Staff: Staff-parent/child relationships; staff continuity; staff 
professional development; staff compensation; staff physical and mental 
health.

F. Data Sources

    For purposes of definition and discussion, data are referred to as 
either (1) process or (2) outcome data. Process data refer to those 
data that document program use and other experiences of families; 
outcome data refer to those qualities the program seeks to bring about. 
These data may be thought of, respectively, as independent and 
dependent variables. It is recognized that some data fit both 
definitions and that under different circumstances the same data 
element could be either process or product, independent or dependent, 
or, mediating, variables.
    A family-level management information system will be introduced, 
with technical assistance, at the outset of Early Head Start. This 
information system, known as the Head Start Family Information System 
(HSFIS) will include data elements focused on intake; needs assessment; 
use of direct and referred services; family and child health 
information and other information related to parent employment, 
housing, education and services. Primarily, HSFIS data will be referred 
to as process data, however, some of the HSFIS data also can be viewed 
as interim outcome and outcome data. Program staff will enter and 
utilize HSFIS data. Program staff will enter initial family background 
data for all Early Head Start families prior to the random assignment 
process. HSFIS data will be available for the evaluation of the Early 
Head Start program.
    Comparison family services use and health data will be recorded 
frequently in a special HSFIS module that will be identical to or 
parallel to HSFIS-entered program data. It is proposed that these data 
will be entered by a Community Family Coordinator/s, who will form a 
relationship with the comparison group families, paralleling to some 
extent the context in which HSFIS data for program families will be 
entered by program staff. The Community Family Coordinator services 
will be subcontracted by the national Contractor, as feasible, through 
the local researchers.
    Additional process data (qualitative and quantitative) may be 
collected locally or nationally as determined by researchers at either 
level. This may include process data that cannot be collected through 
the HSFIS in comparable ways for the comparison and program families 
and will therefore have to be collected using the same, vs. parallel 
data collection procedures.
    Outcome variables and the measurement for those variables will be 
identified and developed for the cross-site evaluation, for both 
project and comparison families, by the national Contractor with input 
from the local research team. Collection will be contracted through the 
national Contractor to the local researchers.
    Local research data will be collected by local researchers through 
grants made directly from ACYF to the local researcher.

G. The Structure

    In this research and evaluation design the primary responsibility 
of the national Contractor will be to coordinate and administer the 
cross-site evaluation in the 12 impact evaluation sites. This includes 
financial and administrative responsibility for all data collected for 
the cross-site-evaluation, including both process and outcome data for 
both comparison and project families. The national Contractor may use 
as much program-collected data (HSFIS) as the Contractor and ACYF deem 
appropriate and, as feasible, is encouraged to subcontract other local 
data collection to local researchers. The national Contractor has an 
additional responsibility to provide a standard format for continuous 
programmatic improvement.
    The local program research partners will be responsible for 
designing and conducting local research in areas relating to the 
overall research and evaluation questions. Local researchers will be 
funded through individual grants with ACYF to carry out locally-
relevant research. Local researchers will be expected to be reliable 
subcontractors for the cross-site project. These same local researchers 
will be expected to serve the continuous improvement needs of their 
sites and to provide local impact evaluation reports to accompany the 
cross-site reports required by this research and evaluation design.
    A consortium will provide the mechanism for the coordination 
required by the project. A Technical Work Group, meeting with the 
consortium, will advise both the cross-site studies and the local 
research projects.

H. Challenges to the Evaluation

    The unique design for the Early Head Start program and the 
requirements for research and evaluation present specific interesting 
challenges that both local researchers and the national Contractor will 
need to address. These include:

--Program variation within and between sites. The evaluation is 
expected to stimulate unique approaches for process data measurement to 
meet the challenge of documenting the variety of programs that will be 
offered across sites and the individualized nature of services within 
sites.
--Changing conditions over time. The evaluation is expected to take 
into account a shifting range of ages. The age range will shift from a 
less-than-two year range at the outset to nearly five years towards 
program completion, due to continuous enrollment. Further, the 
evaluation will need to accommodate the transition of children out of 
the program at age 3 into Head Start or other programs and to plan for 
extending this study longitudinally.
--Decoupling of parent and child data collection. Because Early Head 
Start is not a cohort study, the periodicity of child assessments by 
child age may 

[[Page 66289]]
need to be decoupled from periodicity in assessing parent variables.
--Measuring the true nature of services delivered by Early Head Start 
at both the child and family levels. This challenge requires assessing 
a number of features associated with services, such as professional 
standards of quality, duration, intensity, quality of relationships and 
goodness of fit between the program services and individual needs.
--Delineating whether the services received are a function of the 
program or of the families' own initiative from other sources in the 
community. Since this study is not conducted in the isolation of a 
laboratory, families may seek and receive services from other community 
service providers. Therefore, it is important to determine what 
services families receive outside the program.
--Documenting services received by the comparison group. We cannot 
assume a no-treatment comparison group. While some comparison group 
data has been collected through parent interview, in other studies 
these data are usually collected at fairly long intervals with limited 
checking of reliability. The current study requires a careful 
documentation of comparison group services for interpretation of study 
findings.
--Framing the role of relationships. For very young children the 
relationships with parents and caregivers are central to development 
and these relationships are often influenced by the relationships 
between parents and program staff and the relationships of both to the 
community at large. The evaluation is challenged to assess the central 
role of relationships in this program.
--Measuring the effect of Early Head Start on communities and the 
effect of communities on Early Head Start. Early Head Start is designed 
to impact not only children and families but also communities. It is 
designed to have a ripple effect on all the programs for young children 
in a community. It is an important challenge for the evaluation to 
determine how to measure the community at baseline and how to measure 
change. Reciprocally, Early Head Start programs are nested in 
communities. The evaluation is challenged to reflect the variance of 
communities and to document the effect these communities have on Early 
Head Start's ability to carry out its purposes.
--Conducting impact evaluation exclusively at fully-implemented 
programs. The evaluation is challenged to determine criteria and timing 
for assessing full implementation in order to focus the evaluation on 
programs that are fulfilling the intent of the Early Head Start 
program.
--Determining meaningful effects. It will be important for the national 
Contractor and local researchers to go beyond the question of whether 
Early Head Start had a simple effect. Researchers are challenged to 
conceptualize the Early Head Start data set for use with complex 
analytical approaches involving meaningful aggregations and pattern 
analyses to account for varying degrees of risk, program variation and 
time.
--Fitting national and local evaluations together. The evaluation is 
challenged to bring two kinds of knowledge about Early Head Start 
together--that gathered across sites and that gathered from in-depth 
analyses within sites. A number of premises have been already made 
about this feature of the evaluation. For example, it is central to 
this project that local researchers and the national Contractor be 
equals in evaluating this project. It is presumed that there are 
questions that each can answer best from their unique perspectives. 
Local researchers are in a position to truly delve into the causes and 
effects and pathways to outcomes. They can use in depth and 
observational as well as qualitative measures to determine a program's 
effect. The local researchers are expected to address ``what's in the 
box'' at their site using multiple measures and methods in site-
specific studies. The local researchers will also need to work together 
to lay the groundwork for continuation of the study beyond the five-
year funding period. The national evaluation Contractor, on the other 
hand, will need to address those questions that cross-site data will 
enable answering, including those focused on program variation, and 
those requiring large samples for ample cells sizes required for 
examination of how the program worked for which children and families 
under which conditions. The research and evaluation was designed to 
bring forth both types of studies, and both types of studies are 
important to the story this evaluation is expected to tell. It will be 
necessary for every report to reflect this dual and complementary input 
and for the researchers at both levels to affirm the role of the other. 
Their task as partners in this evaluation will be to determine at each 
step of the project how their two efforts fit together.
--Attrition. Given the five year nature of this program and the 
intention to continue to follow the original Early Head Start families, 
it will be important for the partners in this project to coordinate to 
keep families in the sample. The evaluation is challenged to develop an 
array of sample-retention ideas that may range from local solicitation 
of gifts, newsletters and birthday cards to relationship-building to 
maintain subjects' interest. It will also be necessary to develop a 
clear plan for determination of which families who leave the project 
will be followed for research purposes under what conditions.

C-2  Scope of Work for the National Contractor

    Specifically, the national Contractor will:
    1. Provide a description of Early Head Start, from its inception 
through Year 1 for the Early Head Start programs, in all sites, with 
special emphasis on the 12 research sites, relying primarily on HSFIS 
data, but complemented by site profiles from research sites.
    2. Conduct a study of program quality and implementation in Early 
Head Start (preliminary) impact study sites programs (estimate 12). 
This study will be used in the selection of fully-implemented sites for 
inclusion in the final impact evaluation, and to present a story of the 
development of quality for future Early Head Start programs;
    3. Design and carry out an effective cross-site impact evaluation 
(estimate 12 sites) that addresses evaluation challenges and determines 
whether Early Head Start had an impact on children, families, 
communities or staff, and that addresses differential effectiveness by 
age of entry, need, sub-population, and by program features, duration 
and intensity;
    4. Conduct a study of program variation in the impact evaluation 
sites (estimate 12 sites) and its effects;
    5. Establish an infant sample for future longitudinal study in 
impact evaluation sites (estimate 12 sites), to carefully track all 
subjects to minimize attrition for the longitudinal study and to 
include cross-site analyses of data in a longitudinal context in the 
Final Report of this project;
    6. Conduct timely analyses and reports (in all years) with Early 
Head Start data in the context of critical policy issues, e.g., 
examining the value added of Early Head Start comprehensive services 
for children in full-time child care and in the transition from welfare 
to work, as requested by 

[[Page 66290]]
the ACYF and/or the Technical Work Group; and
    7. Prepare an Interim Report in September, 1997, and a Final Report 
for this project which fully integrate the cross-site and local 
studies, drawing upon the strengths of each.

C-3  Tasks

    As part of this Early Head Start evaluation effort, the Contractor 
shall access, collect, utilize, analyze and synthesize information 
regarding the implementation, operation and effectiveness of Early Head 
Start programs.
    The work for this contract will be conducted in five sequential 12 
month phases and the activities that will be accomplished include the 
following:
    In Phase I, the Contractor shall:
    (1) Participate in an orientation meeting;
    (2) Develop a coordination strategy for working with other 
Contractors involved with Early Head Start;
    (3) Conduct a literature review;
    (4) Select a cadre of consultants;
    (5) Select a Technical Work Group;
    (6) Prepare a revised study design;
    (7) Prepare a process data collection plan;
    (8) Conduct a feasibility study;
    (9) Prepare a logistical proposal for the consortium;
    (10) Prepare a site visit protocol;
    (11) Convene the consortium;
    (12) Prepare a final study design;
    (13) Conduct site visits to all impact evaluation sites;
    (14) Prepare a protocol for the data collection instruments;
    (15) Prepare a data collection and analysis plan;
    (16) Prepare an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance 
package;
    (17) Prepare a revised work plan;
    (18) Develop criteria for selection of impact sites.
    In Phases II-V, the Contractor shall:
    (19) Conduct annual site visits to impact evaluation sites.
    In ALL Phases, the Contractor shall:
    (20) Conduct cross-site data collection;
    (21) Conduct a minimum of two consortium meetings a year in 
Washington, DC;
    (22) Establish a protocol of all new or additional data collection 
instruments and prepare OMB clearance packages for all new or 
additional data collection instruments;
    (23) Provide timely data entry and return of data disks to sites;
    (24) Process and analyze the data collected;
    (25) Provide a format for continuous program improvement and 
support its use.
    In addition, in all phases the Contractor shall prepare 
deliverables as necessary for the work completed in each Phase, 
including monthly progress reports and in-depth annual progress 
reports, and the following reports within an agreed-upon time: ``Report 
of Characteristics of Early Head Start Programs,'' ``Pathways to 
Quality Study,'' ``Impact Study,'' ``Study of Program Variations,'' 
``Studies Directed Toward Specific Policy Concerns,'' an Interim 
Report, and a Final Report which shall include a synthesis of the 
results of the final data analyses, reports of site researchers and a 
summary of the five-year project. In all Phase reports, the national 
impact study will be supplemented and integrated with the studies from 
the local research sites.

A. PHASE I

    Task 1--Orientation Meeting With the Federal Project Officer (FPO)
    Within one week of the effective date of the contract, the 
Contractor shall meet with the Federal Project Officer (FPO), and other 
relevant Federal staff to review the background of the project, and the 
work to be conducted. The FPO will provide the Contractor with 
available copies of the relevant grant proposals for ACYF-funded Early 
Head Start grantees. The Contractor shall propose an agenda for the 
meeting, indicate who would attend on behalf of the Contractor, list 
the types of study design modifications or other problems that would 
require FPO decisions at that meeting, and shall provide a project 
summary for distribution to ACYF staff. Specific topics to be discussed 
at the meeting include: Revisions to the proposed work plan in the 
Contractor's proposal; arrangements for maintaining regular contact 
with the FPO and relevant Federal staff via the INTERNET network and 
other means of communication; arrangements for initial contacts and 
ongoing cooperation with program sites; arrangements for information to 
be supplied upon selection of research sites and plans for carrying out 
the Phase I tasks. The meeting shall provide an opportunity to discuss 
any clarifications of the Contractor's proposed approach, the nature of 
the project, the schedule of work, and the progress report requirements 
and other deliverables. There shall be an additional meeting with the 
consortium in the second half of Phase I.

TASK 2--DEVELOP A COORDINATION STRATEGY FOR WORKING WITH OTHER 
CONTRACTORS--HSFIS and TRAINING/TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACTORS

    During all phases of the project, effective coordination with the 
Federal staff, Federal Contractors working on related projects and 
evaluations and outside stakeholders will be important to the success 
of the project. The Contractor shall work with the FPO and other 
Federal staff to establish and maintain cooperative working 
arrangements and in weeks two through six of Phase I shall establish a 
list of tasks and a communication plan for approval by ACYF. It is 
particularly important that procedures be coordinated with the HSFIS 
Contractor, including procedures for communication and bi-annual 
meetings in Washington, DC; procedures for ensuring readiness of 
grantees to utilize the HSFIS at the outset of Early Head Start; 
feasibility of HSFIS process data collection for project and comparison 
groups; procedures for transferring HSFIS reports to the national 
evaluation Contractor and for reports to the HSFIS Contractor. It will 
also be necessary to coordinate with Training and Technical Assistance 
personnel at ACYF and with the Contractor for Early Head Start Training 
and Technical Assistance, planning for two yearly meetings with that 
Contractor and ACYF staff in Washington, DC. Reports shall be given to 
ACYF from each of the meetings.

TASK 3--PREPARE A LITERATURE REVIEW

    The Contractor shall conduct a thorough review of the existing 
literature on programs and evaluations of services to families with 
infants and toddlers, including documents produced by ACYF, foundations 
and reports of evaluations, published and not published. To place this 
evaluation in a national context, the Contractor shall review and 
synthesize relevant research and evaluation findings based on reliable 
research methodologies about the effects of services to families with 
infants and toddlers. This report shall synthesize findings from 
services to families for infants and toddlers and those from services 
related to any portion of Early Head Start, present methodological 
issues and creative solutions to those issues, identify gaps in the 
findings and methodologies and outline how this study will fill those 
gaps. This report shall also include the Contractor's recommendations 
for adding to or refining the evaluation research questions. The draft 
report 

[[Page 66291]]
shall be submitted by the beginning of the second month of Phase I and 
the final report shall be submitted at the beginning of the third month 
of Phase I. The Contractor shall provide ACYF with copies of each 
document referenced in the literature review and shall deliver a an IBM 
PC-compatible 3-\1/2\ inch diskette. ACYF shall reserve the right to 
make the literature review, or parts of the document, available to the 
public.

TASK 4--SELECT A CADRE OF CONSULTANTS

    The Contractor shall establish a cadre of consultants from relevant 
academic, professional, consulting and service-provider communities and 
recommend names within two weeks of the contract effective date. The 
intent is to have a cadre of professionals available for more intensive 
involvement on the design and implementation than is feasible with the 
Technical Work Group (TASK 5). Contractor shall provide the names and 
vitaes of potential consultants.
    The Contractor shall not secure their formal commitment prior to 
the award of the contract, and without prior approval of ACYF. The 
Contractor shall provide the names and vitae of potential consultants, 
including their specific qualifications relevant to this study. Prior 
to final approval, the Contractor shall provide a sufficiently detailed 
description of the specific work (including total projected hours per 
task or subtask to be done by this cadre, and a timeline for its 
completion). The Contractor will be responsible for all expenses of 
these consultants, including air fare, per diem and honorarium. The 
number of persons in the cadre and the quantity of consultation shall 
be the decision of the Contractor in cooperation with ACYF. The 
Contractor shall propose an estimate of consultant use.
    The Contractor shall report on expenditures for professional 
consultants as a separate line item in monthly expense vouchers and 
shall provide a separate monthly report on activities of consultants.

TASK 5: SELECT AND CONVENE A TECHNICAL WORK GROUP

    The Technical Work Group will advise the entire Early Head Start 
research and evaluation project, including national impact and local 
research activities. Within two weeks following the contract effective 
date, the evaluation Contractor shall recommend eighteen experts in 
relevant fields, such as: Infant and toddler development; home 
visitation; child care; Head Start; parent-child relationships; family 
systems; teen parenting; services research; prevention and intervention 
research; ethnic diversity and minority issues; health delivery 
systems; parent education; mental health; adult education; family 
ecology; community development; staff development; assessment of child 
development; research methodology; statistics, instrument development, 
tests and measurement. The Contractor shall be prepared to make 
modifications in the list, as suggested by ACYF, based on additional 
and/or alternative candidates who might bring additional strengths to 
the Technical Work Group and to complete a group of twelve. All 
Technical Work Group members will require the approval of the ACYF 
Commissioner. In addition, the Technical Work Group must include 
rotating representation from research and program sites. Technical Work 
Group meetings will be held in conjunction with national-local research 
consortium meetings but there may be additional meetings called by the 
Contractor as needed. The Technical Work Group will provide guidance 
for this entire project, advising the cross-site evaluation study and 
local research, to produce a comprehensive picture of the complex story 
of the impact of Early Head Start. Therefore, available time of the 
Technical Work Group will need to be appropriated accordingly. A 
portion of each Technical Work Group meeting shall be allotted to local 
researchers issues.
    Phase I meeting schedule: During Phase I of the project the 
Contractor shall convene the meetings of the Technical Work Group. With 
the exception of the first meeting, these meetings shall be held during 
the consortium meetings. Within two months, or earlier if determined 
advisable in the orientation session, of Phase I a meeting will be 
convened to solicit initial comments and suggestions regarding the 
overall scope of the evaluation and issues related to implementing the 
set of proposed evaluation activities; to review the draft of the 
literature and resource review plan; to review the draft design and 
sampling plan and process data collection plans and for consultation in 
selection of local research partners. Within six months (with final 
determination to be set by the Early Head Start program timetable) but 
as early as within four months of Phase I the Technical Work Group will 
convene in the consortium to be introduced to local researchers and 
their projects; advise local projects; establish representation from 
the consortium for the Technical Work Group; establish sampling plans; 
plan site visits; and to establish the preliminary data collection 
instruments protocol. Nine months following the beginning of Phase I, 
members will participate in and report on site visits, including 
creating site profiles; consult for process evaluation; recommend a 
final design; recommend a data collection instruments protocol for the 
cross-site studies; meet with local researchers to plan specifications 
for their studies; and review the overall research and evaluation plan 
for Early Head Start. All expenses of the Technical Work Group 
including honorarium, per diem, travel and lodging to Technical Work 
Group or consortium meetings shall be covered by the national 
Contractor. Any site-specific consulting done by the Technical Work 
Group at site locations, with the exception of that done during site 
visits, shall not be the responsibility of the national Contractor.

TASK 6--PREPARE A REVISED STUDY DESIGN

    Within four and one half months after the beginning of Phase I, the 
Contractor shall prepare a revised design and sampling plan.
    Design and Sampling Plan: The Contractor shall develop a design and 
sampling plan based on random assignment methodology. The design and 
sampling plan also shall specifically include:
    <bullet> A discussion of the issues and approach the Contractor 
will use to manage and coordinate with program and research staff, the 
recruitment and random assignment of families into project and 
comparison groups in 12 (preliminary) evaluation sites, including 
discussion of issues pertaining to the implementation of experimental 
design in low-income communities, steps that will be taken to ensure 
comparability of program and comparison families and how to ensure 
minimization of differential response rates and bias, over time;
    <bullet> A discussion of how the Contractor will meet ethical 
challenges for comparison families presented by an experimental design, 
to be addressed, to some extent by presenting an annotated list of 
community services to comparison families, by a referral process for 
families that have identified crises, and for pregnant women to receive 
a focused initial referral for prenatal services;
    <bullet> A discussion of how the Contractor will resolve challenges 
related to the burden on families, compensation, and attrition, and a 
discussion of procedures to be put into place to maintain families' 
interest, including predetermined plans 

[[Page 66292]]
for Contractor to provide a payment of approximately $20/interview 
period for project and comparison families; efforts of the national 
Contractor or efforts to encourage local sites to leverage additional 
material resources (such as diapers, infants clothing or toys); efforts 
of a part-time Community Family Coordinator at each site, who will be 
subcontracted by the national Contractor, to form relationships with 
and collect data from the comparison group families (and to some 
extent, program families). (See TASK 7, for elaboration);
    <bullet> A discussion of how the Contractor will address the 
challenge of documenting the nature of services received by the program 
families, given program variation between and within sites in type of 
program delivered, quality, duration, intensity, and goodness of fit 
between program and need; and a discussion of how the Contractor will 
address the challenge of documenting the types of services comparison 
group families received.
    <bullet> A discussion of how the Contractor will meet other 
challenges to the design as presented in Section C-1-II-H Challenges to 
the Evaluation, on page 19 of this document, and not directly addressed 
in any other segment of the Contractor's proposal, including measuring 
changing conditions over time; framing the role of relationships; 
measuring and determining full program implementation (See also TASK 
18);
    <bullet> A discussion of the importance of the Contractor's plan 
for determining the representativeness of the Early Head Start sample 
in impact evaluation communities, utilizing existing data sources;
    <bullet> A discussion of the implications of the design and how the 
Contractor will collect data to place impact evaluation programs in a 
community context, including a baseline measure of community 
infrastructure; and
    <bullet> A discussion of any other challenges the Contractor 
identifies for this evaluation and the Contractor's proposal for 
resolving those challenges.

TASK 7--PREPARE A PROCESS EVALUATION PLAN

    There are multiple challenges to the process evaluation of the 
Early Head Start program that shall be addressed in a process 
evaluation plan to accompany the study design (TASK 6) four months 
after the beginning of Phase I. (1) In Level I sites the Contractor 
shall develop a process report, ``Characteristics of Early Head Start 
Programs Report,'' which will be a description of FY '95 and FY '96 
programs, using HSFIS data. (2) In Level II sites it will be necessary 
to begin documenting the characteristics, needs and the nature of 
services for both program and comparison group families, including the 
characteristics of programs and communities from the outset of Early 
Head Start.
    The Contractor shall have overall responsibility for collecting the 
process data required for this study, but shall coordinate with local 
researchers and program personnel. It is recommended that a part-time 
Community Family Coordinator be employed or subcontracted at each site 
who will coordinate local process data collection; maintain a 
relationship with comparison families; document the service use and 
provide emergency services for comparison families; and track families 
who have moved or have left the program. The Contractor shall also be 
responsible for the collection of:
    <bullet> A baseline intake interview for comparison and program 
families in Level II sites. The baseline intake interview may be 
completed by program staff using the HSFIS, before random assignment of 
recruited families.
    <bullet> A needs assessment for comparison and project groups, 
which may be gathered by the program personnel (program) and a 
Community Family Coordinator (comparison) families using identical 
formats, or utilizing an alternative format proposed by the Contractor.
    <bullet> Establishing comparability of process data between program 
and comparison groups, utilizing a program-entered HSFIS data and 
parallel comparison group HSFIS data entry. It is anticipated that 
collection of service-use and health data will be conducted by the 
program personnel (for program families) and that a Community Family 
Coordinator will form a relationship with and enter such data for 
comparison group families, using a special module of HSFIS. However, 
the Community Family Coordinator will interview both project and 
comparison families for data for which comparability of parallel entry 
cannot be established or the Contractor shall propose an alternative 
format.
    <bullet> Additional data collection procedures and a timetable for 
process data collection from comparison and project families.
    <bullet> A plan for developing site-specific profiles that will 
characterize each of the FY '95 impact evaluation sites. This task may 
cross reference with TASK 10, PREPARE A SITE VISIT PROTOCOL. Year 1 
site profiles for impact evaluation sites will be jointly authored by 
national and local researchers and local program personnel.
    <bullet> An approach that would be used in drawing up a cross-site 
descriptive study of the FY '95 and FY '96 Early Head Start programs 
utilizing HSFIS data, supplemented by site profiles from research 
sites.
    <bullet> Within two months after the beginning of Phase I, the 
Contractor shall be prepared to submit an OMB package. See TASK 16, 
PREPARE AN OMB CLEARANCE PACKAGE) of process data collection 
instruments in the eventuality all or part of a HSFIS evaluation module 
is not deemed comprehensive or desirable for process data collection.
    <bullet> An approach that would be used in drawing up a cross-site 
descriptive study of FY 95 programs with special emphasis on describing 
the 12 research sites, using HSFIS data supplement by site profiles 
from research sites.

TASK 8--CONDUCT A FEASIBILITY STUDY IN 3 SITES

    Within two months of the beginning of Phase I, the Contractor shall 
discuss rationale for and submit a protocol for an evaluation 
feasibility study protocol and within three months of Phase I shall 
conduct a feasibility study in 3 sites in order to determine if 
assumptions about the evaluation design are valid. This study shall 
involve site visits which shall have tasks to: determine the status of 
the HSFIS in the site; determine program-use needs assessment; 
determine viability of entering comparison and project group data with 
HSFIS software; determine feasibility of establishing adequate sample 
size for experimental design; and estimate the feasibility of measuring 
the level and quality of services available in the community for 
referral services. A report from this study shall be submitted within 
four months of Phase I.

TASK 9-- PREPARE A LOGISTICAL PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL-LOCAL RESEARCH 
CONSORTIUM

    Within three months of Phase I, the Contractor shall be responsible 
for proposing a consortium logistics plan which shall be submitted to 
ACYF for approval the seventh month after the beginning of Phase I, 
following review by the consortium members. This plan shall include the 
logistical approach to bi-annual consortium meetings in Washington, DC, 
to be attended by the Contractor, the Technical Work Group and local 
researchers from impact evaluation sites; a discussion of time-use 
divided into equal day-long segments in order to meet the three needs 
of the consortium (impact study planning; local research, and Technical 


[[Page 66293]]
Work Group consultation); a discussion of areas of the impact study for 
which the Contractor will seek input from the local researchers, i.e., 
site visit protocols; data collection instruments; data collection 
procedures; workplan; a discussion of the areas for which the national 
Contractor, the Technical Work Group and the local researchers will 
need to work closely together as partners, i.e., preventing attrition, 
integrating the national and local research efforts, publication 
issues, and data use. The Contractor is encouraged in preparing these 
discussions to review other consortium arrangements such as that 
utilized by LONGSCAN. The Contractor will be responsible for logistical 
expenses associated with the consortium, as well as for all of the 
expenses of the Technical Work Group. Local researchers will cover 
their own travel, lodging, registration and other expenses. The 
national Contractor shall also provide for honoraria and expenses of 
any speakers, if necessary, and subject to prior approval from the FPO.

TASK 10-- PREPARE A SITE VISIT PROTOCOL

    The third month of Phase I, the Contractor shall develop a draft 
site visit protocol which details procedures for site visits. The 
purposes of the site visits will be to review continuous program 
improvement evaluation procedures at all FY '95 (and FY '96 research 
sites). In impact evaluation sites, additional purposes will be to 
establish site profiles, to review staffing for Community Family 
Coordinators; to establish relationships with the local researchers and 
to understand the local research projects; to establish the procedures 
for random assignment, and to establish local procedures for data 
collection. The FPO and other ACYF representatives will review the 
draft protocol and return it within one week to the Contractor who 
shall present a final protocol to ACYF by the fourth month of Phase I. 
As part of the protocol development process by the third month of Phase 
I the Contractor shall provide the FPO with a draft letter of 
introduction for the ACYF Commissioner to send to Early Head Start 
sites that will participate in site visits. The letter shall identify 
the Contractor, describe the purpose of the project, and inform the 
Early Head Start programs about plans for the site visits and specify 
other contacts, including community and research representatives. A 
letter shall also be provided to the FPO for the researchers at the 
sites, identifying their roles in the site visit and describing the 
purpose of the visit. Prior to conducting the site visits, the 
Contractor shall submit a memorandum to the FPO outlining a schedule 
for the visits and an outline of a standardized format for site visit 
reports that shall be submitted to the FPO within two weeks after each 
visit. Each proposed three-person site visit team shall be comprised 
of, but not limited to, representatives of the national Contractor; the 
Technical Work Group, and program or research staff from other sites. 
ACYF staff may be represented as well.

TASK 11--CONVENE THE CONSORTIUM

    Upon selection of research sites, within four months of Phase I 
and/or within one month of the selection of research sites, the 
Contractor shall convene a meeting of the consortium in Washington, DC, 
including ACYF, the national Contractor, local researchers and the 
Technical Work Group. The Contractor shall carry out the logistical 
plan as proposed previously, dividing the consortium time into thirds 
for addressing needs of the cross-site impact evaluation, local 
research development and advise for both from the Technical Work Group. 
At the initial consortium meeting, the Contractor shall provide 
opportunities for identification of each of the local research sites' 
research purposes; discuss the logistical plan with the consortium; 
establish committees as identified by the logistical plan; establish a 
work plan; establish any subcommittees; discuss issues for immediate 
and future data collection; review process data to be collected by 
HSFIS and otherwise; review sample selection procedures; review the 
preliminary site visit protocol; and name site visit teams. The 
national Contractor shall communicate about this meeting with ACYF for 
a potential joint meeting with program staff. The national Contractor 
is responsible for all costs associated with consortium meetings, 
including hotel, break out rooms, expenses of Technical Work Group, 
except for the direct expenses of the local researchers and federal 
staff.

TASK 12--CONDUCT SITE VISITS TO ALL FY '95 EARLY HEAD START IMPACT 
EVALUATION SITES

    From the fifth through seventh month of Phase I and/or within two 
months of the selection of research sites, the Contractor shall begin 
site visits as specified in the Site Visit Protocol. A draft report and 
sample site profiles shall be submitted to the FPO by the sixth month 
of Phase I. Site visit reports and profiles on every Early Head Start 
site evaluation site shall be submitted to ACYF by the seventh month of 
Phase I. For planning purposes, the Contractor shall allow for site 
visits of 2 days in length for each site (with the actual length of the 
visits varying somewhat as a function of the size and complexity of the 
program, as well as the intended tasks to be accomplished.) All 
expenses from the site visits shall be handled through the national 
contract.

TASK 13--PREPARE A FINAL DESIGN

    It is anticipated that information provided by the Early Head Start 
site visits, by the interactions with the local researchers and by the 
meetings with the consortium, Technical Work Group and the FPO will 
call for changes and clarifications in the evaluation design and 
implementation plan. Based on this information the Contractor shall 
prepare a draft revised technical evaluation design and analysis report 
by the seventh month of Phase I and final plan by the eighth month of 
Phase I which consists of the following components:
A. Statement of Evaluation Outcomes
    A list of research and policy questions, both general and specific, 
that the study shall address. Each specific question shall be logically 
connected with the general question to which it relates, as well as 
being organized according to the overall conceptual model of the study.
    For each specific question the theoretical hypothesis, required 
data elements and data source(s) shall be identified.
    For each specific question, a discussion of any measurement issues 
for obtaining realistic and valid outcomes and the approach to 
resolving those measurement issues shall be included.
B. Revised Study Design (See TASK 6)
C. Revised Process Data Collection Plan (See TASK 7)

TASK 14--ESTABLISH A PROTOCOL FOR ALL DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

    By the ninth month following the award of this contract, the 
Contractor shall submit to the FPO a complete draft protocol for data 
collection instruments for studies for Phase II of the evaluation and a 
proposed protocol for data collection instruments for Phases III-V of 
this study. It is expected that the Contractor will seek input from 
local researchers through the consortium but that final responsibility 
for this protocol rests with the Contractor. This protocol will have 
multiple sets of data collection instruments (or interview guides). The 
first set includes 

[[Page 66294]]
instruments to assess quality in site program activities and the second 
set will include instruments to measure the programs' impact on 
children, families, communities and staff. A third set will include 
instruments to determine the variations in programs and may overlap 
with other sets. It is anticipated that information shall be gathered 
through interviews with parents and staff as well as through 
observation of children, parents, home environments, and staff.
    The Contractor's approach to measurement, including discussion of 
measurement issues, for the several studies of this evaluation shall be 
presented. The Contractor shall identify strategies for searching for 
measurement instruments, for including measurement instruments utilized 
in related studies of infant/toddler development or family services; 
and for pilot testing the data collection instruments. It is 
anticipated that community-level outcomes may involve the development 
of new data collection instruments. It is possible that some of the 
quality, variations or policy-related data may be collected by the 
national Contractor using cross-site survey methods or qualitative 
assessments.
    The instruments selected or developed shall be clearly linked to 
the conceptual design of the study, services delivered and expected 
outcomes. The set of instruments for the quality study shall generate 
information in critical areas such as:
    <bullet> Child relationships with caregivers.
    <bullet> Child and parent continuity in relationship with program 
providers.
    <bullet> Parent perceptions of, expectations of, and satisfaction 
with the program.
    <bullet> Staff perceptions of the quality of their program.
    <bullet> Parent relationships with case managers and other key 
Staff.
    <bullet> Goodness of fit between parent/child needs and services 
delivered.
    <bullet> Availability, access and quality of services in the 
community.
    <bullet> Availability, access and quality of parent education 
activities.
    <bullet> Quality of home visitation.
    <bullet> Perceptions of the program by community members.
    <bullet> Child care environment.
    The studies of impact shall generate information in critical areas 
not contained in the HSFIS or gathered as process data and including:
    <bullet> Child development.
    <bullet> Child security of attachment.
    <bullet> Child risk and resiliency factors.
    <bullet> Home environment.
    <bullet> Child care environments.
    <bullet> Parent-child relationships.
    <bullet> Other caregiver-child relationships.
    <bullet> Parenting attitudes.
    <bullet> Parent knowledge of child development.
    <bullet> Parent attitudes about guidance.
    <bullet> Support for parenting.
    <bullet> Perceptions of conflict and/or violence in the 
neighborhood.
    <bullet> Perception of parent involvement activities.
    <bullet> Community collaboration.
    <bullet> Community development of services.
    <bullet> Staff professional development.
    <bullet> Staff-children/family relationships.
    <bullet> Sibling health and development.
    For each of the proposed data collection instruments, the 
Contractor shall attach an analysis of the instruments with regard to 
any prior use in other studies of a similar nature, their psychometric 
properties and their acceptance by experts in the field as appropriate 
measures. The Contractor shall attach the results from pilot studies of 
each of the instruments in the final protocol. The Contractor shall 
prepare complete protocols of all instruments, and a training plan for 
all data collectors. The Contractor shall revise the instruments plan 
based on input from the FPO and the consortium, including the Technical 
Work Group, and shall submit final data collection instruments to the 
FPO for approval by the end of the tenth month of Phase I.

TASK 15--SUBMIT A DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PLAN

    The Contractor shall prepare a data collection and analysis plan 
that links each study question to the data collection instruments, 
proposed respondents/data sources and study methods and the final 
design and sampling plan (TASK 11). The Contractor shall provide a 
graphic that displays this information.
    The national Contractor shall be responsible for all the costs of 
data collection for all of the national studies as described in this 
document, including the cost of compensating families for interviews. 
Local researchers will also be encouraged to generate additional 
material resources for families. Impact data collection may be, and it 
is anticipated in most cases, will be, subcontracted to the local 
researcher, in response to the Contractor's call for an application 
containing data collection plan and qualifications of staff. The local 
researcher shall have first subcontracting opportunity at the first 
collection period. However, if, after that, due to a lack of quality or 
timeliness in previous data collection; or the local researcher does 
not want to subcontract; or there is no local researcher at the site, 
the national Contractor may subcontract with other qualified 
researchers for local data collection. Subcontracts shall be renewed on 
an annual basis.
    The Contractor shall develop an overall data collection plan which 
clearly outlines timelines for all proposed data collection activities, 
including a theoretically-based justification for each proposed data 
collection activity. The data collection plan shall include:
    <bullet> A discussion of issues around the timing of data 
collection and a proposed timetable for data collection. It is also 
anticipated that the impact data shall be collected at multiple points 
in time, to correspond with predetermined targets around children's age 
and parent and staff length of time in the program. Thus, data 
collection activities involving parents and children may need to be 
decoupled, leading to the likelihood that data collection in any one 
site may be relatively continuous. The Contractor shall discuss a 
preferred approach to this issue;
    <bullet> Procedures for contacting and tracking families over time;
    <bullet> A discussion of recommended procedures for the follow-up 
of incomplete data;
    <bullet> Theoretical justification, procedures and timelines for 
assessment strategies proposed by the Contractor in additional areas 
not already mentioned in the presentation related to data collection of 
the program process;
    <bullet> Theoretical justification, procedures and timelines for 
assessment strategies proposed by the Contractor related to data 
collection of child, family, community or staff outcomes;
    <bullet> Theoretical justification, procedures and timelines for 
conducting observations and other data collection focused on program 
quality or variations;
    <bullet> A discussion of a quality control component which 
addresses the training of data collection staff at the local Early Head 
Start program sites, continuity of data collection staff and methods 
for ascertaining reliability and effectiveness of data collectors;
    <bullet> Procedures for identifying and assessing the quality of 
existing data, as well as procedures for negotiating with sites to 
access and utilize existing sources of data, particularly as they 
pertain to community data for determining the representativeness of the 
Early Head Start recruited families; and
    <bullet> Procedures for establishing, maintaining and overseeing 
the subcontractors cooperative relationships with the Early Head Start 
programs that shall maintain the independence and objectivity required 
for a third party 

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evaluation, but will allow for the effective management of data 
collection activities.
    The Contractor shall discuss the data analysis challenge (Section 
I-I), including a discussion focused on determining the magnitude of 
effect across diffuse program services, and propose solutions to these 
challenges. The Contractor shall identify the specific types of data 
analyses that will be employed for each phase of data collection and 
for each data element, within the context of the revised study design, 
including the unit of analysis, possible aggregations and method of 
display in the final report.
    The draft data collection and analysis plan shall be submitted to 
the FPO by the end of the eleventh month after contract effective date. 
The FPO will review this plan with other ACYF staff and submit comments 
to the Contractor within one week. The Contractor shall make the 
required corrections and resubmit the plan in final form to the FPO by 
the end of twelfth month after contract effective date.

TASK 16--PREPARE AN OMB CLEARANCE PACKAGE

    The Contractor shall develop an Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) clearance package for the study, including all data collection 
instruments and transmittal memorandum in accordance with OMB and the 
ACF guidelines. The package shall include, but not be limited to, the 
following:
    <bullet> A justification and introduction to the study. This 
includes a justification of why the study is needed; how, by whom and 
for what purpose the information will be used; why existing information 
cannot be used and a summary of study components;
    <bullet> Data collection plan. This includes both a description of 
and a justification for the study design, including the sample plan; 
design of data collection instruments with a question by question 
justification; results of pretesting data collection instruments; and a 
data analysis plan;
    <bullet> Tabulation and publication plans;
    <bullet> Consultation with outside agencies;
    <bullet> Respondent burden estimate;
    <bullet> Confidentiality statement.
    The OMB package shall be submitted to the FPO by the end of the 
eleventh month of Phase I. The FPO will provide up to four sets of 
comments to the Contractor over a period of three weeks. The Contractor 
shall then submit the final OMB package to the FPO by the end of the 
twelfth month of Phase II. The Contractor shall allow at least 120 days 
for OMB approval.

TASK 17--REVISE THE INITIAL WORK PLAN INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSAL

    Based on the progress of work covered by Tasks 1-16, the Contractor 
shall produce a revised work plan for each of the remaining Phases of 
the contract (Phases II-V), by the twelfth month after the contract 
effective date. Key issues to be addressed in both the initial and 
revised work plan shall include:
    <bullet> Effective coordination of this project with Federal staff 
and designated Contractors, including HSFIS Contractor; Training and 
Technical Assistance Coordinator; Early Head Start sites, the 
consortium and the Technical Work Group;
    <bullet> Identification of issues to be resolved for data 
collection with plans and timelines for how those issues will be 
addressed;
    <bullet> Identification of logistical issues in the workings of the 
consortium and plans for addressing these issues. A schedule of 
consortium meetings;
    <bullet> A proposed protocol of measures with timelines and 
identification of data collectors for each data collection point;
    <bullet> Data collection, analyses and reporting plans for later 
phases of this project;
    <bullet> A schedule for subsequent site visits;
    <bullet> Any other remaining tasks.

TASK 18--SELECT FINAL CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION IN IMPACT EVALUATION

    The Advisory Committee on Services to Families with Infants and 
Toddlers recommended establishing criteria for Early Head Start program 
evaluation, including the recommendation that no Early Head Start 
program shall be evaluated that is not fully implemented. Twelve months 
after the beginning of Phase I, the Contractor, with input from the 
Technical Work Group, shall submit a draft plan for determining whether 
sites demonstrate viability for impact evaluation. This plan shall 
include criteria for defining the minimum threshold for program 
implementation; standards for demonstrating whether comparability 
between comparison and project families was maintained; adequate power, 
and any other criterion deemed important to a valid evaluation of 
impact, i.e., absence of saturation of Head Start-like services in the 
community. As criteria for full implementation, the review shall 
include consideration of measures of implementation associated with the 
Early Head Performance Standards; Head Start Performance Measures; and 
program quality in general. This review and the plan shall be submitted 
to ACYF. On approval of the criteria, site visit teams will rate sites, 
beginning with research sites, on each criterion; this rating shall 
involve a site visit which may be combined with a previously scheduled 
site visit or with other planned data collection. Ratings will be 
forwarded to ACYF, who will make the final determination of which sites 
shall be included in the evaluation. Three months after the beginning 
of Phase II or on a modified timetable as proposed by ACYF or the 
national Contractor and approved by ACYF, final determination shall be 
made by ACYF regarding which and how many sites to include in the final 
impact evaluation. As a conservative estimate, the Contractor shall 
plan to conduct an impact evaluation at 12 sites.

B. PHASES II-V

TASK 19--CONDUCT ANNUAL SITE VISITS

    Within one month of each new Phase, the Contractor shall develop a 
revised protocol for annual site visits to, at a minimum, all sites 
included in the evaluation. Protocols for the site visits shall be 
developed with input from the consortium, including the Technical Work 
Group, and be submitted to ACYF for final approval within three months 
of each new Phase. Site visits shall follow the approved protocol and 
shall include verification of data collection procedures; availability 
and use of program data, including HSFIS data, for continuous program 
improvement; follow through on research plans, and continued 
documentation of the nature of the program. Written reports shall be 
submitted to ACYF and the site within three weeks of each visit. The 
written report shall include an updated site profile, authored jointly 
by the Contractor and the local researcher, where applicable. The 
Contractor may be asked to conduct site visits to new Early Head Start 
sites for purposes the same as for FY '95 program sites. The proposal 
shall include a per-site cost to cover the possibility of additional 
Early Head Start program site visits in subsequent years.

C. ALL PHASES

TASK 20--CONDUCT CROSS-SITE DATA COLLECTION

    The Contractor shall conduct cross-site data collection for the 
national impact studies (for both the project and comparison groups) in 
an estimated 12 selected Early Head Start sites, either directly 
providing for data collection or by subcontracting with local 
evaluators, as determined on an annual basis. 

[[Page 66296]]

    Upon approval of the OMB Clearance Package, the Contractor shall 
conduct the appropriate data collection activities (outlined in the OMB 
clearance package) at the selected Early Head Start programs. The 
Contractor shall develop a plan to have senior evaluation staff conduct 
periodic site visits during data collection periods for the purpose of 
monitoring on-site evaluation staff, ensuring quality control and 
maintaining good working relationships with local research and program 
staff. The Contractor shall develop procedures for monitoring local 
staff to make sure they carry out their evaluation responsibilities.
    Where appropriate, the Contractor also shall consider the potential 
need for the use of security guards to accompany researchers in cases 
where their safety is at risk.
    As the data collection in this project has a longitudinal nature, 
whenever possible, data collectors with demonstrated effectiveness 
shall maintain continuity with families; the Contractor shall have 
developed compensatory procedures for maintaining reliability of 
measurement.
    In each site, the Contractor shall continue to design and implement 
methods for understanding the services provided to both the treatment 
and comparison groups and at the community level. The Contractor shall 
continue to build the profile begun at each site to describe the 
general character of each program and shall continue to examine methods 
for documenting the program. Finally, the Contractor shall continue to 
explore methods for understanding the communities' impacts on and from 
Early Head Start programs. The Contractor shall work closely with 
researchers at local sites in these tasks.

TASK 21--CONDUCT A MINIMUM OF TWO MEETINGS A YEAR WITH THE CONSORTIUM

    Within the first three months following the beginning of each new 
phase, the Contractor shall convene the consortium, including the local 
researchers and the Technical Work Group, in Washington, DC., to 
conduct the business of the consortium according to the consortium 
workplan. A minimum of two consortium meetings shall be convened each 
year, and no six month period shall pass without a consortium meeting. 
The possibility of meeting in connection with Early Head Start program 
personnel shall be considered for at least one of the two meetings and 
ACYF shall guide the decision on whether a program-research meeting is 
advised. There shall be support for at least two meetings of each of 
the consortium subcommittees per year, as necessary. The Contractor 
shall deliver ACYF consortium reports with embedded Technical Work 
Group reports within one month following each consortium meeting. The 
Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with 
consortium meetings (See TASK 11), except for the direct costs of local 
researchers and the federal staff. If the Contractor coordinates with 
program personnel, only the research and evaluation portion of the 
costs of the consortium shall be the responsibility of the national 
Contractor.

TASK 22--ESTABLISH A PROTOCOL OF ALL MEASURES FOR EACH NEW PHASE OF THE 
PROJECT AND PREPARE AND SUBMIT NEW CLEARANCE PACKAGES FOR SUBMISSION TO 
THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET (OMB), AS NECESSARY

    Within the first three months of each new phase, and as needed, the 
Contractor shall review the work plan to determine acceptability of the 
protocol for each new phase of measurement and the need to obtain OMB 
clearance. Measures added shall be submitted with input from the local 
researchers and the Technical Work Group, to ACYF, pilot tested and 
approved by the consortium according to procedures developed in the 
original protocol before being submitted to OMB. Procedures under TASK 
14, TASK 15 and TASK 16 shall be adopted for subsequent measures.

TASK 23--PROVIDE SITES WITH DATA FILES AND SUMMARY REPORTS

    The objective of continuous program improvement necessitates the 
timely turnaround of all data. Therefore, it will be necessary for 
impact data submitted from local sites to the national Contractor to be 
cleaned, entered and returned on disk to the local site within three 
months of its submission to the national Contractor. The national 
Contractor will need to develop procedures for working with sites that 
do not maintain quality and timeliness standards within the 
subcontracting structure.
    Within six months of each Phase, a site-level printout for all 
impact evaluation sites shall be generated with sites identified only 
by number to maintain confidentiality, presenting the data, as 
predetermined in the data analysis plan, in summary form for each site 
and summed or averaged, as appropriate, across sites. From these 
printouts, sites shall be able to compare their own results with those 
of other sites. This report shall include HSFIS data. The national 
Contractor shall be required to submit, receive and report to ACYF a 
brief assessment of their own activities in the task of timely data 
turn around. To this end, initiated by the national Contractor, local 
programs will briefly evaluate the Contractor's timeliness and 
formatting of returned data. This brief report shall be due to ACYF by 
the eleventh month of each Phase, and will be submitted to the ACYF 
together with printouts of data returned to sites.

TASK 24--PROVIDE FORMATS FOR CONTINUOUS PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT

    All Level I sites are expected to utilize formative evaluation 
procedures for continuous program improvement as a component of program 
management. Many Level I sites will identify a local university or 
research institution partner to assist them in completing this task; 
Level II sites will be expected to participate in continuous program 
improvement activities in addition to conducting research. The national 
Contractor shall be a partner in formative evaluation tasks for 
continuous program improvement by: Conducting site visits to all 12 
evaluation sites in order to informally assess site preparedness for 
continuous program improvement and to provide on-site guidance for 
initiating this function at the local level; developing a standard 
format for orienting subsequent Early Head Start sites (FY '96 and 
beyond) to continuous program improvement activities; providing annual 
formative evaluation training, either directly or through the Training 
and Technical Assistance Contractor, to all program sites, during 
annual program consortium meetings in Washington, DC. or utilizing an 
alternative format; participating in bi-annual coordination meetings 
with the Training and Technical Assistance Contractor to ascertain that 
capacity for this new management function develops in all sites, and 
coordinating with the HSFIS Contractor through bi-annual meetings to 
assure that HSFIS data are being utilized for continuous program 
improvement. The Contractor shall provide a continuous program 
improvement report in the twelfth month of each Phase.

TASK 25--ANALYZE THE DATA

    The Contractor shall conduct and complete analyses of national 
evaluation data on a timetable jointly agreed upon by ACYF and the 
Contractor, and based on the 

[[Page 66297]]
methodology approved under TASK 15. After preliminary analyses during 
each Phase, the Contractor may revise the analytical plan based on the 
quality and completeness of the database or on refinements of the 
conceptual hypotheses. Procedures for data analysis shall be reviewed 
by the Technical Work Group after each Phase of data collection and 
analysis. Recommendations for any revisions in the data analysis plan 
shall be submitted to the FPO for review and approval. In addition, the 
Contractor shall reserve 5% of the budget for analyses requested by 
ACYF or the Technical Work Group for analyses focused on policy or not 
specified in the contract.

C-4  Deliverables

    a. Literature and Research Review, Draft and Final: The Contractor 
shall produce a draft and final literature review. The draft report 
shall be submitted to the FPO by November 1, 1995. The FPO shall 
provide comments within two weeks. The final version of the revised 
literature review shall be submitted to the FPO by December 1, 1995.
    b. Revised Draft Study Design and Process Data Plan: The Contractor 
shall submit a revised study design and sampling plan and process data 
plan by January 31, 1996. This shall be an updated version of the 
design and sampling plan submitted in the Contractor's Best and Final 
proposal and shall reflect input from the Technical Work Group and 
ACYF. It shall be in draft form. The process data plan shall reflect 
the progress of HSFIS implementation as well.
    c. Feasibility Study to Test Assumptions of the Design--Protocol 
and Report: By November 31, 1995, the Contractor shall submit a 
feasibility protocol, updated from the proposal to reflect knowledge of 
sites available for the feasibility study. This shall be a pilot study 
of the sampling, design and process evaluation procedures proposed. 
Working with ACYF, program sites for this study will be selected and 
the Contractor shall report findings by January 31, 1996.
    d. Consortium Logistics Plan, Draft and Final: The draft and final 
Logistics Plan shall be submitted, respectively, by December 31, 1995 
and April 30, 1996. This document shall be an update from procedures 
submitted with this contract and shall propose operations procedures 
that will guide the coordination of consortium logistics for the 
cooperative aspects of this project.
    e. Site Visit Draft and Final Protocols, Draft and Reports: After 
review by the Technical Work Group, the draft of the site visit 
protocol shall be submitted to the FPO by the end of December 1995. 
ACYF will make recommendations, and the final site visit protocol shall 
be submitted to the FPO for approval by January 31, 1996. By the 
beginning of the March 1996, (the week after the first site visit), the 
Contractor shall submit a draft site visit report for approval by the 
FPO. The draft report shall include a schedule of events, an analysis 
of data from interviews and assessments, a summary of any additional 
issues raised, and an updated and expanded profile of the program and 
its evaluation. The FPO shall provide feedback to clarify expectations 
about content and format within two weeks. The final version of the 
first site visit report shall be submitted to the FPO for approval by 
the end of the March 1996. For each remaining site visit, a draft of 
the site visit report shall be submitted to the FPO one week after the 
site visit. The final version of each report shall be submitted to the 
FPO for approval three weeks after the site visit. The report for the 
last of the site visits shall be submitted no later then the end of 
April 1996.
    f. Study Design, Draft and Final: The study design report shall be 
due April 30, 1996, reflecting input from the Technical Work Group, the 
consortium, and from site visits. The FPO shall review the design, 
obtain comments from other ACYF staff, and provide comments to the 
Contractor within two weeks. The Contractor shall then make corrections 
to the design and submit a final study design for review and approval 
by the FPO. The final study design shall be submitted by May 31, 1996.
    g. Data Collection Instruments Protocol, Draft and Final: With 
input from the consortium including the Technical Work Group, the 
Contractor shall develop, or select existing data collection 
instruments to be submitted to the FPO by the end of the June 1996. The 
Contractor shall attach an analysis of the instruments with regard to 
any prior use in other studies of a similar nature, their psychometric 
properties, their acceptance by experts in the field as appropriate 
measures, and their performance in pre-tests and field testing. The FPO 
shall provide comments to the Contractor within two weeks. The 
Contractor shall revise the instruments based on the comments by the 
FPO and shall submit final data collection instruments to the FPO for 
approval by July 31,1996.
    i. Data Collection and Analysis Plan, Draft and Final: With input 
from the consortium including the Technical Work Group, the Contractor 
shall present a draft data collection and analysis plan to the FPO by 
August 31, 1996 that shall be a complete plan for the data collection 
for this project and shall present a plan for analysis to answer the 
original study questions. The FPO shall review this plan, returning it 
to the Contractor for revisions and request its return by the September 
30, 1996.
    j. Revised Work Plan, Draft and Final: A draft of the Phase I 
Revised Work Plan shall be submitted to the FPO for approval by July 
31, 1996. The FPO shall provide feedback within one week. The final 
version shall be submitted by September 30, 1996. The work plan may be 
revised once the data collection is underway to make use of new 
information or strategies which emerge over time. Proposed changes 
shall be indicated in the monthly technical progress reports and shall 
require the prior written approval of the FPO before changes are 
implemented.
    k. OMB Clearance Package: The draft OMB package shall be submitted 
to the FPO by August 31, 1996. The FPO shall provide up to four 
separate sets of comments to the Contractor over a period of two weeks. 
The Contractor shall then submit the final OMB package to the FPO for 
approval by the end of the September 1996. The Contractor shall allow 
at least 120 days for OMB approval. An early OMB package shall be 
developed within the first several months on a schedule to be 
determined by the Contractor and FPO.
    l. Report of Site Qualifications for Evaluation: The draft 
criteria, finalized criteria and report of sites' qualification for 
criteria shall be submitted to ACYF respectively, September 30, 1996, 
November 30 and December 31, 1996.
    m. Phase II--V Site Visit Protocols, Reports: Following the 
schedule established for the Phase I site visit reports, a draft of the 
site visit protocol shall be submitted to the FPO by the third month of 
each Phase and a draft report shall be submitted one week after the 
first site visit. The final version of each report shall be submitted 
to the FPO three weeks after the site visit.
    n. Monthly and Annual Progress Reports: The Contractor shall 
provide brief monthly technical progress reports to the FPO which 
clearly indicate the contract tasks which were to be performed in the 
prior month, a description of the progress made in completing these 
tasks, problems encountered or remaining from the prior month, expected 
approach to resolve problems from the prior month, tasks for the 
current month, and any budgeting implications or significant concerns 
to 

[[Page 66298]]
be addressed by the FPO. In addition, the monthly progress reports 
shall provide a brief review of the status of the contract budget for 
the respective Phase, with separate presentations (by tasks and 
subtasks) of the original amount budgeted, funds expended to date, 
funds expended in the prior month, and the remaining balance of funds 
in the contract. The first two monthly progress reports shall contain a 
communication plan which details how all relevant parties shall be 
updated regarding project activities. This communication plan shall be 
updated as necessary in the monthly progress report.
    At the end of each project year, the Contractor shall prepare an 
in-depth annual progress report, summarizing the status of the 
evaluation cross sites and in each site as well as activities of the 
evaluation and the consortium, accomplishments, and problems 
encountered during the year. This report shall also include a detailed 
plan for activities in each site during the coming year. Within one 
month of submitting the annual report for approval, the Contractor 
shall provide an in-depth briefing on the progress of the study and 
initial findings in Washington, DC, for ACYF staff. Following those 
briefings, after receiving input from ACYF staff, the Contractor may be 
required to present a similar briefing for a Congressional audience. In 
all briefings, the Contractor may be required to collaborate with local 
researchers involved with Early Head Start evaluation.
    o. New Data Collection Instruments Protocols and OMB Clearance: 
Within three months of the beginning of each new phase or as is 
necessary, the Contractor shall submit a protocol and OMB clearance for 
any new measures to be added to or changed from the originally approved 
protocols. The form of these deliverables shall be similar to form 
specified above for Data Collection Instruments Protocol, Draft and 
Final, and OMB Clearance Package.
    p. Consortium and Technical Work Group Reports: Within one month 
after each consortium meeting and subcommittee meetings and within one 
month of each Technical Work Group meeting a written report shall be 
submitted to ACYF. All meetings of these bodies shall be reported in 
separate reports, even though Technical Work Group meetings may be 
embedded in the consortium meetings.
    q. Collaborative Contractor Coordination Reports: One week 
following each meeting with the HSFIS or Training and Technical 
Assistance Contractor, a report shall be submitted to ACYF and to the 
relevant Contractor.
    r. Reports of Data Returned to Sites: Timeliness and Usefulness of 
Data Turnaround: Reports of data disks returned to sites, site 
printouts, and reports of assessments of the Contractor's activities at 
local sites shall be submitted to ACYF by August 31st of each Phase.
    s. Reports of Activities to Support Continuous Program Improvement: 
By September 30th of each Phase, a report shall be submitted 
summarizing the Contractor's role in Continuous Program Improvement 
activities and progress.
    t. Phase Reports: For each Phase, the Contractor shall produce 
Draft and Final Report/s that shall incorporate data collected and 
analyzed around the intended purposes and plan of the project. These 
reports shall be due in draft form August 31 and in final form 
September 30 of each Phase, or as determined between ACYF and the 
Contractor. Each report shall have attached relevant local researchers' 
reports, and provide an overview that integrates national and local 
findings. The reports shall be presented in the following approximate 
sequence:
    ``Report of Characteristics of Early Head Start Programs'' which 
shall be an analysis of first year HSFIS data together with site 
profiles from impact evaluation sites, co-authored by local researchers 
and program staff.
    ``Pathways to Quality Study'' which shall be an analysis of quality 
data from sites in describing the various procedures and successes of 
programs in attaining program quality. There shall be attached local 
studies focused on improving program quality. The national Contractor 
shall provide an overview that integrates findings from the national 
and local studies.
    ``Impact Studies'' of this project shall compare program to 
comparison groups and also address the question: for which children and 
families were there impacts under which conditions? Local research 
studies focused on this question shall be attached and the national 
Contractor shall provide an overview that integrates findings from the 
national and local studies.
    The ``Study of Program Variations'' shall first describe, then 
examine in depth the site profiles in relation to impact data collected 
to examine the questions pertaining to which children and families 
benefitted under what conditions of Early Head Start program 
variations. Local research reports that address the question shall be 
included and integrated.
    ``Studies Directed Towards Specific Policy Concerns,'' shall 
examine potential studies nested in the data set, i.e., analyzing 
across sites the added effect of Early Head Start to child care and in 
transition from welfare to work.
    ``Studies of Impact in a Longitudinal Context'' shall be an 
analysis of findings in a longitudinal context. Local research reports 
that address the question of change over.
    u. Interim Report: The Contractor shall produce an Interim Report, 
due September 1, 1997, which will summarize findings to date for the 
study. This report may require integration with other studies and 
evaluations of services for infants and toddlers, such as the CCDP 
evaluation.
    v. Final National Report: The Contractor shall produce a Final 
Report which provides a national assessment of Early Head Start program 
implementation and program impacts across the programs examined. This 
report shall be comprehensive of the entire 5-year duration of the 
project and shall include and integrate findings from local studies, 
but maintaining the integrity of the separate studies.
    The Report shall draw conclusions about the following issues (as 
well as other relevant issues raised during the course of the 
evaluation):
    (1) Were nationally-defined Early Head Start objectives met?
    (2) Were program implementation objectives realized?
    (3) To what extent were continuous improvement objectives realized?
    (4) To what extent and under what conditions were programs able to 
implement quality services?
    (5) What short- and long-term impacts did Early Head Start programs 
have on children, families, communities and staff?
    (6) For which children, families, communities and staff under which 
conditions was Early Head Start able to realize its objectives? What 
else was learned about child, family, community, staff effects through 
Early Head Start?
    (7) To what extent did different prototypes of Early Head Start 
variation emerge and what kinds of outcomes were associated with 
various prototypes?
    (8) What was learned through analyses of subgroups in Early Head 
Start with additional implications for public policy;
    (9) What were the longitudinal effects of Early Head Start under a 
variety of conditions, including risk and program variation;
    (10) How did the study of Early Head Start programs advance the 
methods of program evaluation?
    In the Report, the Contractor shall discuss how the contents of 
this Report 

[[Page 66299]]
relate to any findings and recommendations presented in previous work 
produced under this contract. The Contractor also shall provide a 
discussion of the findings in relation to the literature in the field. 
The discussion of the literature shall be based on a revised version of 
the preliminary literature review. These revisions shall take into 
account new work in the field as well as information produced by 
Contractors under related studies.
    The Contractor shall submit a draft outline of the final report to 
the FPO by the end of the ninth month before the end of Phase V. The 
FPO will have four weeks to review and approve the outline. The outline 
shall include a framework for a stand-alone Executive Summary. The 
draft final report based on the approved outline shall be submitted by 
the end of the tenth month before the end of Phase V. The FPO shall 
have four weeks to comment on the report and to obtain comments from 
other HHS staff and the Technical Work Group and the consortium. The 
Contractor shall plan to revise the draft at least twice based on 
comments from the FPO and other ACYF staff prior to submitting the 
final report to the FPO for approval. The Contractor shall make a 
presentation to Federal staff four weeks after submission of the draft 
final report. Issues raised in response to the presentation shall be 
considered in preparing the final version of the report. The final 
report and a camera ready copy of the final report shall be submitted 
to the FPO for approval by the end of the 60th month after contract 
effective date. The final report shall include a stand-alone Executive 
Summary which must not exceed fifteen pages in length. A copy of the 
Report of Evaluation Outcomes and of the Executive Summary shall be 
submitted on IBM PC compatible 3.5 inch 1.4 megabyte DS/HD diskettes in 
Wordperfect 5.1. In order to accommodate a publishing plan, the 
Contractor shall submit line item quotes reflecting the exact costs of 
research, writing, editing and copy preparation associated with the 
copies of the Final National Report and the Executive Summary 
(including one unbound camera-ready copy of each report).
    w. Data Files: The Contractor shall produce a public use data 
diskette for an IBM PC Compatible 3.5 inch 1.4 MB DS/HD diskette at the 
conclusion of each Phase and at the end of the project for purposes of 
data archiving. Documentation shall include file and record layout, 
data dictionary including coding keys, a dump of the first and last 20 
records of the data set and a summary of the processing including edit 
conditions and software used for analysis. The file shall contain no 
personal identifiers or confidential information.
    It is the intent of ACYF that data should be publicly available for 
secondary analysis and publication of results as soon as possible 
following the completion of the contract. Prior to the end of the five 
year project, however, approval of the FPO and consideration by the 
consortium shall be required for publications, presentations or other 
uses of the data that are based on that national evaluation, at either 
a national or local level. Data tapes may be released for analyses by 
phases with first priority for a six-month period of time going to the 
Technical Work Group and researchers involved with the project.

Appendix B-2

      Table 1.--Components of Proposed Child and Family Assessments     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Assessment point (child's age)     
                               -----------------------------------------
                                  14 months     24 months     36 months 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Child Assessments:                                               
    Cognitive and Language                                              
     Development:                                                       
        Bayley Scales of                                                
         Infant Development...            X             X             X 
        Expressive Language...  ............  ............            X 
        Receptive Language....  ............  ............            X 
    Social Competence:                                                  
        Bayley Behavioral                                               
         Rating Scale.........            X             X             X 
    Emotional and Self                                                  
     Regulation:                                                        
        Bayley Behavioral                                               
         Rating Scale.........            X             X             X 
Maternal Interview:                                                     
    Parenting and the Home                                              
     Environment <SUP>a............            X             X             X 
    Social Support Networks                                             
     for Families <SUP>b...........            X             X             X 
    Child's Social and                                                  
     Emotional Outcomes <SUP>c.....            X             X             X 
    Child's Language                                                    
     Development (MacArthur                                             
     Communicative                                                      
     Development).............            X             X   ............
    Quality of Parent-                                                  
     Caregiver Relationship...            X             X             X 
Home and Family Observations:                                           
    Home Observation for                                                
     Measurement of the.......            X             X             X 
    Attachment Q-Sort (Mother-                                          
     Child)...................            X             X             X 
    Videotaping--Mother-Child                                           
     Tasks....................  ............            X   ............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<SUP>a Proposed measures include Concepts of Development Questionnaire,      
  Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory, Aggravation Related to     
  Parenting Scale, Parent Attitude toward Child Expressiveness Scale,   
  Parent Attributions Test, Home Observation for Measurement of the     
  Environment, Family Functioning Style, and Family Environment Rating  
  Scale.                                                                
<SUP>b Proposed measures include Social Support Scale and Family Social      
  Network Scale.                                                        
<SUP>c Proposed measures include Infant Characteristics Questionnaire,       
  Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory, and a behavioral problem          
  checklist.                                                            


                           Table 2.--Components of Proposed Parent Services Interviews                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Timing (months since enrollment)                         
      Parent interviews      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Baseline          6            12            18            24            36     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service Needs and Use.......            X             X             X             X             X             X 
Family Health Outcomes......  ............            X             X             X             X             X 
Parent Involvement..........  ............  ............            X   ............            X             X 
Progress Toward Economic                                                                                        
 Self-Sufficiency...........  ............  ............            X   ............            X             X 

[[Page 66300]]
                                                                                                                
Perceptions of Community....  ............  ............            X   ............            X             X 
Child Health and Physical                                                                                       
 Development Outcomes.......            X             X             X             X             X             X 
Benefits to Siblings--Health            X             X             X             X             X             X 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



     Table 3.--Components of Proposed Child Care Quality Assessments    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Assessment point (child's age)     
                               -----------------------------------------
                                  14 months     24 months     36 months 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation of Child Care                                               
 Setting and Provider-Child                                             
 Interactions <SUP>a...............            X             X             X 
Provider Survey...............            X             X             X 
Attachment Q-Sort (Caregiver-                                           
 Child).......................            X             X            X  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<SUP>a Proposed measures include Infant-Toddler Environment Rating Scale,    
  Family Day Care Rating Scale, Early Childhood Environment Rating      
  Scale, Adult Involvement Scale, and Arnett Scale of Provider          
  Sensitivity.                                                          


[[Page 66301]]


Appendix C
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-C

[[Page 66304]]


Instructions for the SF 424

    This is a standard form used by applicants as a required 
facesheet for preapplications and applications submitted for Federal 
assistance. It will be used by Federal agencies to obtain applicant 
certification that States which have established a review and 
comment procedure in response to Executive Order 12372 and have 
selected the program to be included in their process, have been 
given an opportunity to review the applicant's submission.

Item and Entry

    1. Self-explanatory.
    2. Date application submitted to Federal agency (or State if 
applicable) and applicant's control number (if applicable).
    3. State use only (if applicable).
    4. If this application is to continue or revise an existing 
award, enter present Federal identifier number. If for a new 
project, leave blank.
    5. Legal name of applicant, name of primary organizational unit 
which will undertake the assistance activity, complete address of 
the applicant, and name and telephone number of the person to 
contact on matters related to this application.
    6. Enter Employer Identification Number (EIN) as assigned by the 
Internal Revenue Service.
    7. Enter the appropriate letter in the space provided.
    8. Check appropriate box and enter appropriate letter(s) in the 
space(s) provided:

--``New'' means a new assistance award.
--``Continuation'' means an extension for an additional funding/
budget period for a project with a projected completion date.
--``Revision'' means any change in the Federal Government's 
financial obligation or contingent liability from an existing 
obligation.

    9. Name of Federal agency from which assistance is being 
requested with this application.
    10. Use the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number and 
title of the program under which assistance is requested.
    11. Enter a brief descriptive title of the project. If more than 
one program is involved, you should append an explanation on a 
separate sheet. If appropriate (e.g., construction or real property 
projects), attach a map showing project location. For 
preapplications, use a separate sheet to provide a summary 
description of this project.
    12. List only the largest political entities affected (e.g., 
State, counties, cities).
    13. Self-explanatory.
    14. List the applicant's Congressional District and any 
District(s) affected by the program or project.
    15. Amount requested or to be contributed during the first 
funding/budget period by each contributor. Value of in-kind 
contributions should be included on appropriate lines as applicable. 
If the action will result in a dollar change to an existing award, 
indicate only the amount of the change. For decreases, enclose the 
amounts in parentheses. If both basic and supplemental amounts are 
included, show breakdown on an attached sheet. For multiple program 
funding, use totals and show breakdown using same categories as item 
15.
    16. Applicants should contact the State Single Point of Contact 
(SPOC) for Federal Executive Order 12372 to determine whether the 
application is subject to the State intergovernmental review 
process.
    17. This question applies to the applicant organization, not the 
person who signs as the authorized representative. Categories of 
debt include delinquent audit disallowances, loans and taxes.
    18. To be signed by the authorized representative of the 
applicant. A copy of the governing body's authorization for you to 
sign this application as official representative must be on file in 
the applicant's office. (Certain Federal agencies may require that 
this authorization be submitted as part of the application.)

BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

[[Page 66305]]
[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED]TN21DE95.005



[[Page 66306]]
[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED]TN21DE95.006



BILLING CODE 4184-01-C

[[Page 66307]]


Instructions for the SF-424A

General Instructions

    This form is designed so that application can be made for funds 
from one or more grant programs. In preparing the budget, adhere to 
any existing Federal grantor agency guidelines which prescribe how 
and whether budgeted amounts should be separately shown for 
different functions or activities within the program. For some 
programs, grantor agencies may require budgets to be separately 
shown by function or activity. For other programs, grantor agencies 
may require a breakdown by function or activity. Sections A,B,C, and 
D should include budget estimates for the whole project except when 
applying for assistance which requires Federal authorization in 
annual or other funding period increments. In the latter case, 
Sections A,B,C, and D should provide the budget for the first budget 
period (usually a year) and Section E should present the need for 
Federal assistance in the subsequent budget periods. All 
applications should contain a breakdown by the object class 
categories shown in Lines a-k of Section B.

Section A. Budget Summary

Lines 1-4, Columns (a) and (b)

    For applications pertaining to a single Federal grant program 
(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog number) and not requiring a 
functional or activity breakdown, enter on Line 1 under Column (a) 
the catalog program title and the catalog number in Column (b).
    For applications pertaining to a single program requiring budget 
amounts by multiple functions or activities, enter the name of each 
activity or function on each line in Column (a), and enter the 
catalog number in Column (b). For applications pertaining to 
multiple programs where none of the programs require a breakdown by 
function or activity, enter the catalog program title on each line 
in Column (a) and the respective catalog number on each line in 
Column (b).
    For applications pertaining to multiple programs where one or 
more programs require a breakdown by function or activity, prepare a 
separate sheet for each program requiring the breakdown. Additional 
sheets should be used when one form does not provide adequate space 
for all breakdown of data required. However, when more than one 
sheet is used, the first page should provide the summary totals by 
programs.

Lines 1-4, Columns (c) Through (g.)

    For new applications, leave Column (c) and (d) blank. For each 
line entry in Columns (a) and (b), enter in Columns (e), (f), and 
(g) the appropriate amounts of funds needed to support the project 
for the first funding period (usually a year).
    For continuing grant program applications, submit these forms 
before the end of each funding period as required by the grantor 
agency. Enter in Columns (c) and (d) the estimated amounts of funds 
which will remain unobligated at the end of the grant funding period 
only if the Federal grantor agency instructions provide for this. 
Otherwise, leave these columns blank. Enter in columns (e) and (f) 
the amounts of funds needed for the upcoming period. The amount(s) 
in Column (g) should be the sum of amounts in Column (e) and (f).
    For supplemental grants and changes to existing grants, do not 
use Column (c) and (d). Enter in Column (e) the amount of the 
increase or decrease of Federal funds and enter in Column (f) the 
amount of the increase or decrease of non-Federal funds. In Column 
(g) enter the new total budgeted amount (Federal and non-Federal) 
which includes the total previous authorized budgeted amounts plus 
or minus, as appropriate, the amounts shown in Columns (e) and (f). 
The amount(s) in Column (g) should not equal the sum of amounts in 
Column (e) and (f).
    Line 5--Show the totals for all columns used.

Section B. Budget Categories

    In the column headings (1) through (4), enter the titles of the 
same programs, functions, and activities shown on Lines 1-4, Column 
(a), Section A. When additional sheets are prepared for Section A, 
provide similar column headings on each sheet. For each program, 
function or activity, fill in the total requirements for funds (both 
Federal and non-Federal) by object class categories.
    Lines 6a-i--Show the totals of Lines 6a to 6h in each column.
    Line 6j--Show the amount of indirect cost.
    Line 6k--Enter the total of amounts on Lines 6i and 6j. For all 
applications for new grants and continuation grants the total amount 
in column (5), Line 6k, should be the same as the total amount shown 
in Section A, Column (g), Line 5. For supplemental grants and 
changes to grants, the total amount of the increase or decrease as 
shown in Columns (1)-(4), Line 6k should be the same as the sum of 
the amounts in Section A, Columns (e) and (f) on Line 5.
    Line 7--Enter the estimated amount of income, if any, expected 
to be generated from this project. Do not add or subtract this 
amount from the total project amount. Show under the program 
narrative statement the nature and source of income. The estimated 
amount of program income may be considered by the federal grantor 
agency in determining the total amount of the grant.

Secton C. Non-Federal-Resources

    Lines 8-11--Enter amounts of non-Federal resources that will be 
used on the grant. If in-kind contributions are included, provide a 
brief explanation on a separate sheet.
    Column (a)--Enter the program titles identical to Column (a), 
Section A. A breakdown by function or activity is not necessary.
    Column (b)--Enter the contribution to be made by the applicant.
    Column (c)--Enter the amount of the State's cash and in-kind 
contribution if the applicant is not a State or State agency. 
Applicants which are a State or State agencies should leave this 
column blank.
    Column (d)--Enter the amount of cash and in-kind contributions 
to be made from all other sources.
    Column (e)--Enter totals of Columns (b), (c), and (d).
    Line 12--Enter the total for each of Columns (b)-(e). The amount 
in Column (e) should be equal to the amount on Line 5, Column (f), 
Section A.

Secton D. Forecasted Cash Needs

    Line 13--Enter the amount of cash needed by quarter from the 
grantor agency during the first year.
    Line 14--Enter the amount of cash from all other sources needed 
by quarter during the first year.
    Line 15--Enter the totals of amounts on Lines 13 and 14.

Section E. Budget Estimates of Federal Funds Needed for Balance of 
the Project

    Line 16-19--Enter in Column (a) the same grant program titles 
shown in Column (a), Section A. A breakdown by function or activity 
is not necessary. For new applications and continuation grant 
applications, enter in the proper columns amounts of Federal funds 
which will be needed to complete the program or project over the 
succeeding funding periods (usually in years). This section need to 
be completed for revisions (amendments, changes, or supplements) to 
funds for the current year of existing grants.
    If more than four lines are needed to list the program titles, 
submit additional schedules as necessary.
    Line 20--Enter the total for each of the Columns (b)-(e). When 
additional schedules are prepared for this Section, annotate 
accordingly and show the overall totals on this line.

Section F. Other Budget Information

    Line 21--Use this space to explain amounts for individual direct 
object-class cost categories that may appear to be out of the 
ordinary or to explain the details as required by the Federal 
grantor agency.
    Line 22--Enter the type of indirect rate (provisional, 
predetermined, final or fixed) that will be in effect during the 
funding period, the estimated amount of the base to which the rate 
is applied, and the total indirect expense.
    Line 23--Provides any other explanations or comments deemed 
necessary.

Assurances--Non-Construction Programs

    Note: Certain of these assurances may not be applicable to your 
project or program. If you have questions, please contact the 
awarding agency. Further, certain Federal awarding agencies may 
require applicants to certify to additional assurances. If such is 
the case, you will be notified.

    As the duly authorized representative of the applicant I certify 
that the applicant:
    1. Has the legal authority to apply for Federal assistance, and 
the institutional, managerial and financial capability (including 
funds sufficient to pay the non-Federal share of project costs) to 
ensure proper planning, management and completion of the project 
described in this application.
    2. Will give the awarding agency, the Comptroller General of the 
United States, and if appropriate, the State, through any authorized 
representative, access to and the right to examine all records, 
books, papers, or documents related to the award; and will 

[[Page 66308]]
establish a proper accounting system in accordance with generally 
accepted accounting standards or agency directives.
    3. Will establish safeguards to prohibit employees from using 
their positions for a purpose that constitutes or presents the 
appearance of personal or organizational conflict of interest, or 
personal gain.
    4. Will initiate and complete the work within the applicable 
time frame after receipt of approval of the awarding agency.
    5. Will comply with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 
(42 U.S.C. Secs. 4728-4763) relating to prescribed standards for 
merit systems for programs funded under one of the nineteen statutes 
or regulations specified in Appendix A of OPM's Standards for a 
Merit System of Personnel Administration (5 C.F.R. 900, Subpart F).
    6. Will comply with all Federal statutes relating to 
nondiscrimination. These include but are not limited to: (a) Title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) which prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin; (b) 
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 U.S.C. 
Secs. 1681-1683, and 1685-1686), which prohibits discrimination on 
the basis of sex; (c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 
as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794), which prohibits discrimination on 
the basis of handicaps; (d) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as 
amended (42 U.S.C. Secs. 6101-6107), which prohibits discrimination 
on the basis of age; (e) the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 
1972 (P.L. 92-255), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the 
basis of drug abuse; (f) the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and 
Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 
(P.L. 91-616), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the 
basis of alcohol abuse or alcoholism; (g) Secs. 523 and 527 of the 
Public Health Service Act of 1912 (42 U.S.C. 290 dd-3 and 290 ee-3), 
as amended, relating to confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse 
patient records; (h) Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination 
in the sale, rental or financing of housing; (i) any other 
nondiscrimination provisions in the specific statute(s) under which 
application for Federal assistance is being made; and (j) the 
requirements of any other nondiscrimination statute(s) which may 
apply to the application.
    7. Will comply, or has already complied, with the requirements 
of Titles II and III of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real 
Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646) which 
provide for fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced or 
whose property is acquired as a result of Federal or federally 
assisted programs. These requirements apply to all interests in real 
property acquired for project purposes regardless of Federal 
participation in purchases.
    8. Will comply with the provisions of the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. 
Secs. 1501-1508 and 7324-7328) which limit the political activities 
of employees whose principal employment activities are funded in 
whole or in part with Federal funds.
    9. Will comply, as applicable, with the provisions of the Davis-
Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Secs. 276a to 276a-7), the Copeland Act (40 
U.S.C. Sec. 276c and 18 U.S.C. Secs. 874), and the Contract Work 
Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. Secs. 327-333), regarding 
labor standards for federally assisted construction subagreements.
    10. Will comply, if applicable, with flood insurance purchase 
requirements of Section 102(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 
of 1973 (P.L. 93-234) which requires recipients in a special flood 
hazard area to participate in the program and to purchase flood 
insurance if the total cost of insurable construction and 
acquisition is $10,000 or more.
    11. Will comply with environmental standards which may be 
prescribed pursuant to the following: (a) institution of 
environmental quality control measures under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190) and Executive Order 
(EO) 11514; (b) notification of violating facilities pursuant to EO 
11738; (c) protection of wetlands pursuant to EO 11990; (d) 
evaluation of flood hazards in floodplains in accordance with EO 
11988; (e) assurance of project consistency with the approved State 
management program developed under the Coastal Zone Management Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); (f) conformity of Federal actions 
to State (Clear Air) Implementation Plans under Section 176(c) of 
the Clear Air Act of 1955, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); (g) 
protection of underground sources of drinking water under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act of 1974, as amended, (P.L. 93-523); and (h) 
protection of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (P.L. 93-205).
    12. Will comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (16 
U.S.C. 1271 et seq.) related to protecting components or potential 
components of the national wild and scenic rivers system.
    13. Will assist the awarding agency in assuring compliance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as 
amended (16 U.S.C. 470), EO 11593 (identification and protection of 
historic properties), and the Archaeological and Historic 
Preservation Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 469a-1 et seq.).
    14. Will comply with P.L. 93-348 regarding the protection of 
human subjects involved in research, development, and related 
activities supported by this award of assistance.
    15. Will comply with the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966 
(P.L. 89-544, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) pertaining to the 
care, handling, and treatment of warm blooded animals held for 
research, teaching, or other activities supported by this award of 
assistance.
    16. Will comply with the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention 
Act (42 U.S.C. Secs.  4801 et seq.) which prohibits the use of lead 
based paint in construction or rehabilitation of residence 
structures.
    17. Will cause to be performed the required financial and 
compliance audits in accordance with the Single Audit Act of 1984.
    18. Will comply with all applicable requirements of all other 
Federal laws, executive orders, regulations and policies governing 
this program.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature of Authorized Certifying Official

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicant Organization

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Submitted

BILLING CODE 4184-01P

[[Page 66309]]
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[[Page 66310]]
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

[[Page 66311]]


Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility 
Matters--Primary Covered Transactions

    By signing and submitting this proposal, the applicant, defined 
as the primary participant in accordance with 45 CFR Part 76, 
certifies to the best of its knowledge and believe that it and its 
principals:
    (a) are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for 
debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered 
transactions by any Federal Department or agency;
    (b) have not within a 3-year period preceding this proposal been 
convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for 
commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with 
obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, 
State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; 
violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of 
embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction 
of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;
    (c) are not presently indicted or otherwise criminally or 
civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State of local) 
with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (1) 
(b) of this certification; and
    (d) have not within a 3-year period preceding this application/
proposal had one or more public transactions (Federal, State, or 
local) terminated for cause or default.
    The inability of a person to provide the certification required 
above will not necessarily result in denial of participation in this 
covered transaction. If necessary, the prospective participant shall 
submit an explanation of why it cannot provide the certification. 
The certification or explanation will be considered in connection 
with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determination 
whether to enter into this transaction. However, failure of the 
prospective primary participant to furnish a certification or an 
explanation shall disqualify such person from participation in this 
transaction.
    The prospective primary participant agrees that by submitting 
this proposal, it will include the clause entitled ``Certification 
Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary 
Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transaction.'' provided below without 
modification in all lower tier covered transactions and in all 
solicitations for lower tier covered transactions.

Certificatin Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and 
Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions

(To Be Supplied to Lower Tire Participants)

    By signing and submitting this lower tier proposal, the 
prospective lower tier participant, as defined in 45 CFR Part 76, 
certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief that it and its 
principals:
    (a) are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for 
debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from 
participation in this transaction by any federal department or 
agency.
    (b) where the prospective lower tier participant is unable to 
certify to any of the above, such prospective participant shall 
attach an explanation to this proposal.
    The prospective lower tier participant further agrees by 
submitting this proposal that it will include this clause entitled 
``certificatin Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and 
Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions.'' Without 
modification in all lower tier covered transactions and in all 
solicitations for lower tier covered transactions.

Certification Regarding Lobbying

Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and Cooperative 
Agreements

    The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge 
and relief, that:
    (1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be 
paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for 
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any 
agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or 
an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding 
of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making 
of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, 
and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification 
of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
    (2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been 
paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to 
influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of 
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a 
Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant, 
loan or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and 
submit Standard Form-LLL, ``Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,'' in 
accordance with its instructions.
    (3) The undersigned shall require that the language of this 
certification be included in the award documents for all subawards 
at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under 
grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all 
subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.
    This certification is a material representation of fact upon 
which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered 
into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making 
or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, 
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification 
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not 
more than $100,000 for each such failure.

State for Loan Guarantee and Loan Insurance

    The undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and 
belief, that:
    If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for 
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any 
agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or 
an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this 
commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a 
loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL 
``Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,'' in accordance with its 
instructions.
    Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or 
entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31, 
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required statement shall 
be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more 
than $100,000 for each such failure.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date

BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

[[Page 66312]]
[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED]TN21DE95.009



BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

[[Page 66313]]


Certification Regarding Environmental Tobacco Smoke

    Public Law 103-227, Part C--Environmental Tobacco Smoke, also 
known as the Pro-Children Act of 1994 (Act), requires that smoking 
not be permitted in any portion of any indoor facility owned or 
leased or contracted for by an entity and used routinely or 
regularly for the provision of health, day care, education, or 
library services to children under the age of 18, if the services 
are funded by Federal programs either directly or through State or 
local governments, by Federal grant, contract, loan, or loan 
guarantee. The law does not apply to children's services provided in 
private residences, facilities funded solely by Medicare or Medicaid 
funds, and portions of facilities used for inpatient drug or alcohol 
treatment. Failure to comply with the provisions of the law may 
result in the imposition of a civil monetary penalty of up to $1,000 
per day and/or the imposition of an administrative compliance order 
on the responsible entity.
    By signing and submitting this application the applicant/grantee 
certifies that it will comply with the requirements of the Act. The 
applicant/grantee further agrees that it will require the language 
of this certification be included in any subawards which contain 
provisions for children's services and that all subgrantees shall 
certify accordingly.

OMB STATE SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT LISTING*

ARIZONA
    Janice Dunn, Arizona State Clearinghouse, 3800 N. Central Avenue, 
Fourteenth Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85012, Telephone: (602) 280-1315, 
FAX: (602) 280-1305
ARKANSAS
    Mr. Tracy L. Copeland, Manager, State Clearinghouse, Office of 
Intergovernmental Services, Department of Finance and Administration, 
1515 W. 7th St., Room 412, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203, Telephone: 
(501) 682-1074, FAX: (501) 682-5206
ALABAMA
    Jon C. Strickland, Alabama Department of Economic and Community 
Affairs, Planning and Economic Development Division, 401 Adams Avenue, 
Montgomery, AL 36103-5690, Telephone: (205) 242-5483, FAX: (205) 242-
5515
CALIFORNIA
    Grants Coordinator, Office of Planning and Research, 1400 Tenth 
Street, Room 121, Sacramento, California 95814, Telephone: (916) 323-
7480, FAX: (916) 323-3018
DELAWARE
    Francine Booth, State Single Point of Contact, Executive 
Department, Thomas Collins Building, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 
19903, Telephone: (302) 739-3326, FAX: (302) 739-5661
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
    Charles Nichols, State Single Point of Contact, Office of Grants 
Mgmt. and Dev., 717 14th Street, N.W.--Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 
20005, Telephone: (202) 727-6554, FAX: (202) 727-1617
FLORIDA
    Suzanne Traub-Metlay, Florida State Clearinghouse, 
Intergovernmental Affairs Policy Unit, Executive Office of the 
Governor, The Capitol (Room 1603), Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001, 
Telephone: (904) 488-8114, FAX: (904) 488-9005
GEORGIA
    Tom L. Reid, III, Administrator, Georgia State Clearinghouse, 254 
Washington Street, S.W.--Room 401J, Atlanta, Georgia 30334, Telephone: 
(404) 656-3855 or (404) 656-3829, FAX: (404) 656-7938
ILLINOIS
    Tim Golemo, State Single Point of Contact, Department of Commerce 
and Community Affairs, 620 East Adams, Springfield, Illinois 62701, 
Telephone: (217) 782-1671, FAX: (217) 782-6620
INDIANA
    Frances E. Williams, State Budget Agency, 212 State House, 
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, Telephone: (317) 232-2972, FAX: (317) 233-
3323
IOWA
    Steven R. McCann, Division for Community Assistance, Iowa 
Department of Economic Development, 200 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, 
Iowa 50309, Telephone: (515) 242-4719, FAX: (515) 242-4859
KENTUCKY
    Ronald W. Cook, Office of the Governor, Department of Local 
Government, 1024 Capitol Center Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-8204, 
Telephone: (502) 573-2382, FAX: (502) 573-2512
MAINE
    Joyce Benson, State Planning Office, State House Station #38, 
Augusta, Maine 04333, Telephone: (207) 287-3261, FAX: (207) 287-6489
MARYLAND
    William G. Carroll, Manager, State Clearinghouse for 
Intergovernmental Assistance, Maryland Office of Planning, 301 W. 
Preston Street--Room 1104, Baltimore, Maryland 21201-2365, Staff 
Contact: Linda Janey, Telephone: (410) 225-4490, FAX: (410) 225-4480
MISSISSIPPI
    Cathy Mallette, Clearinghouse Officer, Department of Finance and 
Administration, 455 North Lamar Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39202-
3087, Telephone: (601) 359-6762, FAX: (601) 359-6764
MISSOURI
    Lois Pohl, Federal Assistance Clearinghouse, Office of 
Administration, P.O. Box 809, Room 760, Truman Building, Jefferson 
City, Missouri 65102 Telephone: (314) 751-4834, FAX: (314) 751-7819
NEVADA
    Department of Administration, State Clearinghouse, Capitol Complex, 
Carson City, Nevada 89710, Telephone: (701) 687-4065, FAX: (702) 687-
3983
NEW HAMPSHIRE
    Jeffrey H. Taylor, Director, New Hampshire Office of State 
Planning, Attn: Intergovernmental Review Process
    Mike Blake, 2\1/2\ Beacon Street, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, 
Telephone: (603) 271-2155, FAX: (603) 271-1728
NEW JERSEY
    Gregory W. Adkins, Assistant Commissioner, New Jersey Department of 
Community Affairs

    Please direct all correspondence and questions about 
intergovernmental review to:

    Andrew J. Jaskolka, State Review Process, Intergovernmental Review 
Unit, CN 800, Room 813A, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0800, Telephone: 
(609) 292-9025, FAX: (609) 633-2132
NEW MEXICO
    Robert Peters, State Budget Division, Room 190 Bataan Memorial 
Building, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503, Telephone: (505) 827-3640
NEW YORK
    New York State Clearinghouse, Division of the Budget, State 
Capitol, Albany, New York 12224, Telephone: (518) 474-1605
NORTH CAROLINA
    Chrys Baggett, Director, N.C. State Clearinghouse, Office of the 
Secretary of Admin., 116 West Jones Street, Raleigh North Carolina 
27603-8003, Telephone: (919) 733-7232, FAX: (919) 733-9571
NORTH DAKOTA
    North Dakota Single Point of Contact, Office of Intergovernmental 
Assistance, 600 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, North Dakota 58505-
0170, Telephone: (701) 224-2094, FAX: (701) 224-2308
OHIO
    Larry Weaver, State Single Point of Contact, State Clearinghouse, 
Office of Budget and Management, 30 East Broad Street, 34th Floor, 
Columbus, 

[[Page 66314]]
Ohio 43266-0411

    Please direct correspondence and questions about intergovernmental 
review to:

    Linda Wise, Telephone: (614) 466-0698, FAX: (614) 466-5400
RHODE ISLAND
    Daniel W. Varin, Associate Director, Department of Administration, 
Division of Planning, One Capitol Hill, 4th Floor, Providence, Rhode 
Island 02908-5870, Telephone: (401) 277-2656, FAX: (401) 277-2083
    Please direct correspondence and questions to:

    Review Coordinator, Office of Strategic Planning
SOUTH CAROLINA,
    Omeagia Burgess, State Single Point of Contact, Grant Services, 
Office of the Governor, 1205 Pendleton Street--Room 477, Columbia, 
South Carolina 29201, Telephone: (803) 734-0494, FAX: (803) 734-0385
TEXAS
    Tom Adams, Governors, Officer, Director, Intergovernmental 
Coordination, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711, Telephone: (512) 
463-1771, FAX: (512) 463-1888
UTAH
    Carolyn Wright, Utah State Clearinghouse, Office of Planning and 
Budget, Room 116 State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114 Telephone: 
(801) 538-1535, FAX: (801) 538-1547
VERMONT
    Nancy McAvoy, State Single Point of Contact, Pavilion Office 
Building, 109 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05609 Telephone: (802) 
828-3326, FAX: (802) 828-3339
WEST VIRGINIA
    Fred Cutlip, Director, Community Development Division, W. Virginia 
Development Office, Building #6, Room 553, Charleston, West Virginia 
25305, Telephone: (304) 558-4010, FAX: (304) 558-3248
WISCONSIN
    Martha Kerner, Section Chief, State/Federal Relations, Wisconsin 
Department of Administration, 101 East Wilson Street--6th Floor, P.O. 
Box 7868, Madison, Wisconsin 53707, Telephone: (608) 266-2125, FAX: 
(608) 267-6931
WYOMING
    Sheryl Jeffries, State Single Point of Contract, Herschler 
Building, 4th Floor, East Wing, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, Telephone: 
(307) 777-7574, FAX: (307) 638-8967

TERRITORIES

GUAM
    Mr. Giovanni T. Sgambelluri, Director, Bureau of Budget and 
Management Research, Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 2950, Agana, Guam 
96910, Telephone: 011-671-472-2285, FAX: 011-671-472-2825
PUERTO RICO
    Norma Burgos/Jose E. Caro, Chairwoman/Director, Puerto Rico 
Planning Board, Federal Proposals Review Office, Minillas Government 
Center, P.O. Box 41119, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00940-1119, Telephone 
(809) 727-4444, (809) 723-6190, FAX: (809) 724-3270, (809) 724-3103
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
    State Single Point of Contact, Planning and Budget Office, Office 
of the Governor, Saipan, CM, Northern Mariana Islands 96590
VIRGIN ISLANDS
    Jose George, Director, Office of Management and Budget, #41 
Norregade Emancipation Garden Station, Second Floor, Saint Thomas, 
Virgin Islands 00802

    Please direct all questions and correspondence about 
intergovernmental review to:

    Linda Clarke, Telephone: (809) 774-0750, FAX: (809) 776-0069

[FR Doc. 95-31009 Filed 12-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

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