M E M O R A N D U M

IM-87/CS-01-24  5/02/01  GALLUP ORGANIZATION SURVEY OF CHILD CARE PROVIDERS


SUBJECT:
GALLUP ORGANIZATION SURVEY OF CHILD CARE PROVIDERS
 
DISCUSSION:
The Administration for Children and Families has awarded a research grant to the Midwest Child Care Consortium in partnership with the Gallup Organization.  This organization is partnering with state universities, child care policy administrators, state Head Start/Early Head Start, and child care licensing administrators, in order to survey and observe the quality of care for children, especially children ages one through three.  This collaborative effort is in a four state federal Child Care Bureau region consisting of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. 

In April 2001, Gallup will mail a letter to a random sample of child care providers in Missouri.  A draft copy of this letter is attached.  The random sample includes licensed centers, group and family homes, registered family homes and centers, Head Start grantees and their child care partners, and Early Head Start sites.  Gallup will survey child care providers who receive subsidy as well as those who do not receive any payment from the Division of Family Services.

The participation of providers in the survey and observations is voluntary.  When contacted about the survey, DFS staff should encourage the provider's cooperation with the university staff, university students, and Gallup. 

Direct any inquiries from providers about the survey process to the University of Missouri-Columbia at 573-882-9998.
 
NECESSARY ACTION:
  • Review and share with appropriate staff.
  • Request provider cooperation with the survey.
  • Refer provider inquiries about the survey to the University of Missouri.
DE
Distribution #6
CS Distribution List A
THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION 
PRINCETON
 300 South 68th Street Place
 Lincoln, Nebraska 68510
 Tel:  (402) 489-8700
 Fax: (402) 486-6780
Dear Child Care Provider:

Child care is an important topic today.  As such, there is increasing recognition and interest in the enormous contribution that child care makes to our country.  As you may know, from newsletters or announcements, the Gallup Organization is conducting a telephone survey of a random sample of child care providers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.  This study has the support of the child care and early childhood units within the Missouri Departments of Social Services and Health, as well as other agencies and organizations in the state.

Sometime in the next two months, you may be called by a Gallup interviewer to respond to a telephone survey.  If you are selected as a center-based provider, one teacher from your program will be selected at random to respond to the confidential questions; if you are a family child care provider, you or your associate (if you are a group home provider) will be asked to respond.  In both cases, it will be important for us to be sensitive to the children and your work, so interviewers will ask to schedule a time that will work best or, if you prefer, the questions can be completed at the time of the original call. 

Gallup will keep all individual responses strictly confidential and will report only overall summary results.  Also respondents may decline to answer any question.

In addition to being researchers, we are former or current child care providers, so we know the value of what you do!  Your voices are important; your responses will help tell the story of child care in the Midwest.  We strongly urge you to support the survey. 

Sincerely yours, 
 
 

Dr. Helen Raikes 
Co Director 
Midwest Child Care Research Study 
Early Childhood and Youth Studies 
The Gallup Organization 
(402) 486-6504 

Dr. Kathy Thornburg
Director, Missouri Research Team
Midwest Child Care Research Study
Human Development and Family Studies
University of Missouri-Columbia
(573) 882-9998
[ Memorandum Table of Contents ]
IM-086
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