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INCOME AND EARNINGS
NATIONAL HEAD START IMPACT STUDY
Measure: Selected “child care” items from the Parent Interview
Source
The National Head Start Impact Study is funded by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Westat (prime contractor) conducts the study in collaboration with the Urban Institute, the American Institutes for Research, and Decision Information Resources (the subcontractors).
The child care items were developed by the Head Start Impact Study staff with the assistance of child care experts.
Population Assessed
The Head Start Impact Study involves 4,750 (2,829 treatment and 1,921 control) 3- and 4-year-old newly entering Head Start–eligible preschool children across 84 nationally representative grantees and delegate agencies in communities where there are more eligible children and families than can be served by the program. Of the 4,750 children selected for the study, approximately 42 percent are Hispanic; 27 percent, Black; 28 percent, White; and 3 percent, other. Sixty-six percent of the children speak English as their primary language, 31 percent speak Spanish, and 3 percent speak a language other than Spanish or English. Gender is evenly split on the child sample.
The sample selection process began by including all fiscal year 1999–2000 Head Start grantees and delegate agencies in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Programs that were very new, migrant, or tribal or that offered Early Head Start only were excluded. Geographic grantee clusters were developed using a minimum of eight grantees/delegate agencies per cluster, and the clusters were grouped into 25 strata using state pre-K and childcare policy, child race/ethnicity, and urban/rural location and region as stratifiers. One cluster was selected per strata with probability proportional to size (N=261 grantees/delegate agencies). Next, the eligibility of grantees/delegate agencies in each cluster was determined. Those that were closed or merged and those that were saturated (have very few children in the community who are not served) were excluded. Remaining grantees/delegate agencies within the clusters were then stratified based on grantee/delegate agency characteristics including local contextual variables. Three grantees/delegate agencies were randomly selected from each cluster. These grantees/delegate agencies were contacted for participation in the study and the list of centers operating within these grantees/delegate agencies in 2002–2003 was compiled. Center eligibility was determined by excluding saturated centers and combining small centers with nearby centers to create center groups. Using the same stratification characteristics as used for the grantees/delegate agencies, approximately three centers were selected from each grantee/delegate agency based on proportional probabilities (i.e., larger centers have greater chance of selection). The final sample included 378 centers within 84 grantees/delegate agencies. Once the centers were selected, random assignment of children within these centers resulted in 2,829 children in the treatment group and 1,921 children in the comparison group for a total of 4,750 children.
Children selected were considered part of one of two cohorts. Cohort one included children who were 3-years-old in the 2002–2003 school year. Cohort one will be followed through 2005–2006, when they will have reached first grade. Cohort two consists of children who were 4-years-old during the 2002–2003 school year, and thus are moving into kindergarten in the 2003–2004 school year. Cohort two will be followed through their first grade year in 2004–2005.
Periodicity
The parent interview was administered in fall 2002 and spring 2003 and will be administered in the fall and spring through the child’s first grade year.
Components
The first year of data collection is complete, but subscales are not yet available. The majority of questions about income and earnings come from the child care section within the parent interviews. The questions focus on costs for Head Start and other care situations. They include items such as whether the parent or someone in the household pays for part of any day that the child spends in Head Start/other care; how much is usually paid per day, week, month, or other; if the other care situation is provided for free or if someone else pays the bill; and whether someone else pays in addition to that amount, such as a government or social service agency or employer. Expenditures and other reductions, such as taxes, are not addressed.
Procedures for Administration
The parent/primary caregiver interview takes about 60 minutes to administer. The interview is usually conducted in the parent’s/primary caregiver’s home where the interviewer asks the questions and records the respondent’s answers.
Psychometrics/Data Quality
Psychometric data for the study is not yet available.
Languages Available
Parent/primary caregiver interview instruments are available in English and Spanish. If the respondent does not speak English or Spanish, an interpreter translates the instrument into the respondent’s native language.
Items Included
The measure is not reproduced in full in this document, but examples are given. The measure can be requested by contacting the Head Start Impact Study Project Director (Ronna Cook, ronnacook@westat.com) or the ACF Project Officer (Dr. Michael Lopez, milopez@acf.hhs.gov).
Example Child Care Items
I know we talked about this, but I need to confirm that [CHILD] is currently cared for by [NAME OF SETTING FROM PREVIOUS SECTION].
In total, how many hours a week does [CHILD] typically spend in care at [NAME OF SETTING]?
In what month and year did you first start using [NAME OF SETTING] to care for [CHILD]? Do you or someone in your household pay for this care? Does [NAME OF SETTING] provide the care for free, or does someone else pay the bill?
Provided free
Someone else pays the bill
Don’t know
How much do you or others in your household usually pay for this care? Please only give me the amount paid to [NAME OF SETTING] for [CHILD]’s care. A rough estimate is fine.
In addition to what you pay, does somebody else, like a government or social service agency, an employer or someone outside your household help pay for this care arrangement? If yes, go to 8.
Who helps pay for this care?
Does a government or social service agency help?
Does an employer help?
Does someone else help? (please specify)
References and Source Documents
Research design documents for the National Head Start Impact Study are available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html
Other available reports include the following:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2003, March). Building futures: Head Start Impact Study frequently asked questions. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, March). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan (updated version). Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, January). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2002, June). National Head Start Impact research: Second report to Congress. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999, October). Evaluating Head Start: A recommended framework for studying the impact of the program. Washington,
DC: Author.
Ongoing and updated information about the National Head Start Impact Study is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html.
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