DOI: 10.3886/icpsr04298.v1
title: Partnership Impact Research Project, 2001-2004 [United States]
title: Version 1

description: The Partnership Impact Research Project is a three-year
 study designed to assess the nature of early education partnerships
 among Head Start, pre-kindergarten (pre-k), child care, and early care
 and education programs and their influence on child care quality and
 access to services. The project analyzes qualitative data in an
 existing database that was collected by the
 Quality in Linking Together
 (QUILT) Early Education Partnerships initiative. The QUILT
 database was designed to provide training and technical assistance in
 the development and sustainment of partnerships to professionals
 across the nation, including early care and education providers and
 state leaders. It is divided into two sections: state-level and local
 provider-level information. Both sections contain narratives, factual
 data, and documents. Additionally, the project collected new
 quantitative and qualitative data from randomly selected child care
 and Head Start providers in Ohio to study the influence of
 partnerships on the quality of and access to services.
 The Partnership Impact Research Project explored questions about
 partnerships and their impact on child care and parents while
 attempting to determine whether state actions could influence both the
 development of provider-level partnerships and the processes
 partnerships engage in to sustain their work. Specifically, the study
 was designed to address the following objectives:
 
 Conduct a qualitative analysis of data in an existing database
 to assess the nature of partnerships and state actions to support
 partnerships.
 Conduct a longitudinal study that uses a quasi-experimental
 design and involves original data collection at three points in time
 to learn about the impact of partnerships on child care center
 quality, child care classroom quality, and accessibility of services
 for parents.
 Develop detailed reports and research briefs, tailored to
 specific audiences such as legislators, administrators, and providers,
 that translate research findings into practical information that
 addresses questions frequently asked about child care partnerships.
 Disseminate research reports and briefs through established
 networks of policy makers and practitioners, using their
 organizations' Web sites and publications. 
 The six datasets associated with this data collection are
 summarized below:
 
 Child Care Center Data -- contains information on a variety of
 aspects about a child care center from the director's point of view
 with many focused questions aimed at the preschool population and an
 overview of the child care center as a whole. This dataset provides
 information about the population being served, services provided,
 teacher ratios, teacher training and education, annual budgets,
 funding sources, and other major aspects of a child care center in
 order to achieve an understanding of quality.
 Child Care Center Partnership Data -- contains information about
 the child care partnership with the Head Start Agency that provides
 their services. There are five sections: funding sources, origins of
 the partnership, resources, nature of the partnership, and
 benefits/challenges. Information about how the partnership began, what
 the centers' role is, what services are provided, and a variety of
 general questions that inform others about the nature of the
 partnership are available in this dataset.
 Head Start Background Data -- contains background information
 about a Head Start Agency that partners with child care centers and
 other information related to budget, funding sources, number of
 children served, and Head Start program organization.
 Head Start Partnership Data -- a companion to the Head Start
 Background data, this dataset contains information about the specific
 partnership with each child care center the agency is involved
 with. There are four sections: background information, teacher
 training/professional development, services, and director
 information. Additionally, information on how the partnership began,
 what the agency's role is, what services are provided, and other
 general questions about the partnership is available.
 Parent Data -- contains information on parents' views of the
 child care center that their preschooler attends. This dataset
 provides information about the population being served including
 home/school connection, how a parent views the classroom and the care
 being provided by the center, and the services available to both the
 child and parent through the center.
 Teacher Data -- contains information about teachers' views of the
 child care center where they are employed. This dataset provides
 information about the population being served, services provided,
 teacher ratios, teacher training and education, and teacher experience
in order to achieve an understanding of quality.
description: The Partnership Impact Research Project adopted
 the QUILT project's taxonomy to categorize local partnership
 structures into three types:
 
 One organization blends multiple funding streams.
 Two or more organizations blend funding and resources.
 An organization blends funds with a family child care
 provider.
 
 Year One of the study focused on a qualitative analysis to explain
 partnership approaches at the state and local levels and to produce a
 report for national dissemination to a variety of audiences. During
 project Year Two and Year Three, the focus was on the influence of
 provider-level partnership practices on quality and access.
 Year One Methodology
 During the first year of the project, a standardized case study
 approach was used to analyze the state- and provider-level data in the
 QUILT partnership profiles database. Additionally, research literature
 about partnerships was reviewed as well as studies of state early care
 and education funding and policies. Two research questions framed the
 Year One analysis and writing: (1) How are states across the country
 supporting and promoting early care and education partnerships? (2)
 How are early care and education providers engaging in partnerships?
 To address these questions, two separate case studies were utilized:
 
 State-Level Case Study: Data sources included reviews of documents
 produced by national organizations and by states as well as interviews
 with state child care administrators, Head Start-State Collaboration
 directors, state pre-k directors, and directors of agencies
 responsible for early care and education services. The state factual
 data include links to state early care and education web pages, state
 demographics, child care licensing regulations, eligibility criteria
 for early education programs, funding for early education programs,
 and numbers served, all of which are from secondary sources such as
 the census.
 Provider-Level Case Study: Data came from the 65 partnership
 profiles in the database and provided factual information for each.
 Questions focused on: partnership approach, partnership hours and
 days, number of children served by the partnership, total numbers
 served by the center, ages of children served by the partnership and
 by partnering organizations, funding used to support the partnership,
 partnership setting, services offered, and the primary objective for
 partnering.
 Years Two and Three Methodology
 The second and third years of the project continued to examine the
 qualitative data across cross-cutting themes while also addressing
 questions about the influence of partnership on quality and
 access. In-depth longitudinal data collection continued and follow-up
 data was gathered from child care directors, teachers, parents, and
 from directors of Head Start programs partnering with child care
 centers. This portion of the project focused on: partnership
 processes, quality of services, parental access to services, duration
 of partnership, benefits/challenges of partnership, and child care
 quality. Additionally, detailed briefs were developed aimed at
 addressing specific questions posed by different audiences such as
policymakers and providers.
description: In both the state and provider (local) sections of the
 database, data are from a convenience sample selected to ensure a
 broad range of perspectives and to ensure methodological soundness to
 control for biases and to meet the criteria for credibility,
 transferability, dependability, and confirmability. The sample
 includes partnerships that represent a range of programs, communities,
 program sizes, target populations, funding sources and partnership
settings.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Child Care Center Data
DS2: Child Care Center Partnership Data
DS3: Head Start Background Data
DS4: Head Start Partnership Data
DS5: Parent Data
DS6: Teacher Data
description: The sample in the state profiles section of the QUILT
 database represents early care and education stakeholders from all 50
 states and the District of Columbia. The sample in the provider
 section of the database represents over 200 providers in partnerships
 from 36 states, Puerto Rico, a tribal nation, and each region in the
country.
description: mail questionnaire; telephone interview; face-to-face interviewThe Child Care Bureau and Head Start Bureau jointly
 fund the QUILT, which is comprised of three organizations: Community
 Development Institute (CDI), Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC),
 and the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC). EDC is
 responsible for designing and maintaining the QUILT state and provider
 partnership profiles database, accessible through the
 QUILT Web site hosted by
CDI.