The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES) - 2017

The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES) - 2017 Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center, Acquisition Management Services, 12501 Ardennes Avenue, Suite 400, Rockville, MD, 20857, United States Description This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Background The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to conduct a descriptive study of the Early Head Start program, titled Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study - 2017 (Baby FACES 2017). ACF initiated the Early Head Start program in response to the 1994 Head Start reauthorization, which established a special initiative for service delivery to families during pregnancy and with infants and toddlers. This comprehensive, two-generation program includes intensive services that can begin before the child is born and continue through the critical first three years with a focus on enhancing the child's development and supporting the family. Since its inception, a robust body of research has accompanied the Early Head Start program. This includes an impact evaluation of some of the first grantees, research grant programs to spark innovation and answer policy and practice questions, and a survey of EHS programs to gather additional information on the management systems and services being provided as well as characteristics of children and families served. In 2007, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in ACF contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a descriptive study of Early Head Start programs. Baby FACES was designed to describe the national program and the experiences and development of children and families while enrolled in the program. It was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 89 Early Head Start programs and included two cohorts of children who were enrolled in spring 2009: newborns and 1-year-olds. The Newborn Cohort consisted of pregnant women and newborns under 9 weeks old and the 1-year-old Cohort included children ages 10 to 15 months old. The study followed the children and their parents, teachers, and home visitors annually while the children were in the program or until they turned 3. OPRE plans to continue this tradition of Early Head Start research with a new round of Baby FACES (Baby FACES 2017) aiming to build on lessons learned to date and support ongoing improvement of Early Head Start program quality and the outcomes for the families they serve. Baby FACES 2017 will maintain an up-to-date, extensive knowledge base of the Early Head Start program to support policies and planning at the national level, inform technical assistance, and improve local operations and implementation. It will be designed to provide in depth descriptive information about EHS programs and services, their staff, and the children and families served. Specifically, the project will address the following goals and research questions: - Gaining information on what Early Head Start is: What are the key features of Early Head Start programs and what services are delivered to families and children? How are programs implemented and what management systems are in place to support implementation? How do Early Head Start programs respond to the needs of the community at large and partner with other community agencies in service delivery? - Gaining information on who Early Head Start staff is: How are Early Head Start programs staffed and what are the characteristics of leaders, managers, and staff providing services to families? What does ongoing supervision and professional development of staff look like? - Gaining information on who is being served by Early Head Start: What are the characteristics and needs of families who participate in Early Head Start? How are parents supporting children's development at home? How are children and families faring across multiple domains of development and wellbeing? - Gaining information on how programs meet the needs of families: What is the quality of services provided to Early Head Start families? How are services individualized to meet families needs? How are parents engaged in programs? What types of quality improvement activities do programs engage in to better meet the needs of families? How do programs support families transitions out of Early Head Start? Purpose and Objectives Under the new project, Baby FACES 2017, OPRE intends to build on the existing body of Early Head Start research and provide an up-to-date, detailed portrait of Early Head Start to support planning and quality improvement at national and local levels. The Contractor that receives the award will engage in multiple interrelated activities to meet these goals, including: (a) design a large-scale, nationally representative, multi-component descriptive study of Early Head Start programs, services, staff and families served; (b) develop a sampling plan that will yield a nationally representative sample of Early Head Start programs, as well as classrooms, home visitors, children and families within programs; (c) develop and clear (through ACF and OMB) an instrument package that fully addresses the multiple goals and research questions associated with the project, including measures of program services as well as child and family wellbeing; (d) train and manage a large team of data collectors deployed throughout the US; (e) execute a large-scale, multi-method national data collection effort; (f) manage the data yielded by the data collection effort involving multiple data sets and large numbers of variables; (g) conduct extensive data analyses, including using complex, state of the art analytic techniques; (h) produce numerous reports, papers, briefs, presentations and other products to address the study goals and communicate results to diverse audiences; (i) conduct ad hoc data analyses and produce summaries of findings on a tight timeframe on a as needed basis; and (i) while conducting this work for a national data collection, design and execute additional, complimentary efforts such as pilot studies, field tests, or special topic studies to answer more detailed research questions. Project Requirements In order to successfully complete the key tasks outlined above, the following sub-tasks/ deliverables and the requisite skills, expertise, and corporate and staff capacity to engage in and successfully complete these subtasks/deliverables are required: - Demonstrate the capacity, capability and relevant prior experience to conduct a multi-site, multi-method, large-scale study involving Early Head Start programs, staff and families and including diverse populations in a variety of geographic settings. - Develop an appropriate research design and analytic plan that includes: the study logic model and research questions; a narrative discussion of the measures and analytic techniques to be utilized in answering each research question; relative advantages or disadvantages of approaches or methods; and, for each data source, the specific types of data analyses that will be employed. - Develop an approach to sampling, including establishing program/site sample selection criteria, for a large, nested, representative study. - Obtain OMB approval of data collection instruments and IRB approval of research plans. - Demonstrate prior experience and success in obtaining agreement of programs and families to participate in a multi-method study including observational, interview and survey methods; recruiting participants and achieving 80 percent or greater response rate. - Obtain and manage relevant administrative data. - Produce and secure data files and documentation including public use or restricted use files. - Demonstrate capacity, capability and relevant experience to carry out critical tasks managing large volumes of multi-modal data from different sources and monitor the completeness and quality of data being collected. - Demonstrate availability of adequate computer/statistical resources and the institutional capability to process and analyze a large volume of data, including capacity to input data, clean data and conduct quality control checks. - Conduct complex analyses utilizing state-of-the-art statistical techniques. - Staff managing and involved in the project should have the technical qualifications and academic, professional, and technical experience to successfully complete the requirements of the project and ensure that all work is of highest quality, on time and within budget. - Demonstrate technical qualifications, capacity, capability and relevant experience to communicate with diverse audiences, to translate research findings and technical information into practical implications for program and practitioner audiences, and to be responsive to diverse stakeholders. - Staff must demonstrate capacity in overall program management by having experience in: a. relevant topical areas (e.g., early care and education, Early Head Start, infant and toddler development), technical requirements (e.g., survey design and approach), and management requirements (e.g., relevant experience with direct management of large teams, including subcontractors, on complex project and contract oversight responsibilities) b. Conducting complex analyses utilizing state-of-the-art statistical techniques. c. Managing projects of similar scope and complexity. d. Working collaboratively and successfully with other research teams, program administrators and staff, representing diverse fields and programs, and other stakeholders in carrying out the kinds of tasks as required for this project. e. Establishing robust management and communication structures that account for the complexity of the project and need to coordinate with a range of stakeholders. Anticipated Period of Performance 9/30/15 to 9/29/20 Capability Statement/Information Sought Capability statements must include a demonstration of how you would meet the requirements of this project, as outlined above, including: - Staff expertise, experience, and availability; please provide resumes for any key personnel cited in the capability statement - Current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work - Prior completed projects of a similar scope - Corporate experience and management capability - Examples of prior completed Government contracts that are similar to in scope to this effort - Description of any proposed teaming arrangements and how the entities included in these arrangements meet the above-cited information regarding expertise and experience. - Company name, address, DUNS, Point of Contact, Phone and Email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses, and business size and status (e.g., small business, 8(a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUB Zone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women owned small business). - The capability statement should be in MS Word format and is limited to 40 double?spaced pages (exclusive of any cover letter, title page, table of contents, and resumes). It should have standard 1 margins all?around and font size no smaller than 12 pt. Only one copy of the capability statement should be submitted. Interested parties having the capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements may submit capability statements via email toIsaac.bellamy@psc.hhs.gov. Capability statements must be received at the email address indicated above by 12pm EST, March 19, 2015. Other Important Considerations The proposed project is large and complex in scope, and will require extensive coordination among a large project team, approximately 80- 100 Early Head Start Programs, multiple federal agencies, and the early care and education field in general. There is significant interest in this project from a rapidly evolving policy and practice environment requiring quick turnaround of high quality products. Given ACF's significant investment in the Early Head Start program and the research associated with it, it is of the utmost importance that work conducted under this project is rigorous, timely, and of high quality. Point of Contact Isaac Bellamy Isaac.Bellamy@psc.hhs.gov Disclaimer and Important Notes This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).