MELF is interested in thinking about both experimental and non-experimental designs and is not ruling out either approach. The Scholarship Pilot is still in design, and formal efficacy testing may be premature. However, we also believe it is critical to identify ways the Scholarship Pilot contributes cost-effective resources for promoting school readiness, and how these outcomes compare to other resources and service options. Various research designs will address these issues; we expect bidders to describe their plan and a rationale for its use.

Currently, the University of Minnesota's Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) is looking at the range of measures used in other evaluations (0-3 and preschool).  Specific measures have not yet been selected, but we expect this work to be completed in the first quarter of 2007. These common measures will include parent outcomes, child outcomes at different stages, and program outcomes as well.  Certainly other measures could be included in the Scholarship evaluation.  MELF measures would be a minimum.

The scholarship evaluator will be involved and able to provide feedback to the CEED common measurement model. We intend to work collaboratively. 

It will be important to know the other programs in which families are participating that may also affect their parenting or choice of child care. Family mentors may be able to assist in gathering information about whether a child participates in other child care settings, for how long, under what circumstances and how the parent chose the particular arrangement, etc.

In St. Paul, the scholarships and parent mentoring will be available to families in two planning districts (6 and 7) – Thomas/ Dale and North End.  These areas have been selected based on high poverty rates, number of children under age 5, and concentration of early childhood programs. 

(In Minneapolis, the location has not been specifically targeted yet, but will be on the North side of the city.  The Minneapolis project is separate from the Scholarship project. This evaluation will not include the Minneapolis initiative, except perhaps for comparison purposes.)

The target area has over 250 eligible children in each age group. Beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing for the first three years of implementation of the pilot, 200 children at birth and 200 at age 3 will enter the program per year.  Families with pregnant mothers or infants will receive parent mentoring; families with children aged 3 will receive parent mentoring and scholarships. In the fourth year of the program, children who have participated in parent mentoring since the first year will reach age 3 and be eligible for scholarships. In the fourth year, only 200 children will enter the program at birth.

While we are not sure what the acceptance rate will be, information provided to families about home visiting and scholarships will be followed up with face-to-face contact by a parent mentor.

The parent mentor component will include home visits from professionals trained to work with parents of infants, toddlers and preschoolers on issues including health, nutrition, child development and education. Mentor relationships may begin as early as pre-natal through age 5 (kindergarten). Several partners may provide mentoring services, including Ramsey County’s public health nurse home visiting program (http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph/yas/hf_home_visiting.htm), home visitors from existing early childhood development programs, and potentially new sources. A seven county effort in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area to expand access to home visiting and implement some common standards across programs may provide an avenue for additional home visiting. It’s important to note that home visiting is currently happening, however, it’s not clear whether current efforts reach all eligible families in the target area. MELF will study the baseline penetration and determine what resources are needed to reach eligible children.

The mentoring relationship will include more frequent visits during the first few months and years of a child’s life, and less frequent visits as the child grows older. When children become eligible for scholarships at age 3, parent mentors will provide guidance to parents on selecting a qualified early childhood program. Bilingual parent mentors or translators will be available for families who primarily speak a language other than English.

MELF is funding the pilot of a QRS, the MN Child Care Resource and Referral Network is responsible for the implementation. MELF is working with Child Trends to evaluate the QRS.  All MELF programs are being built “as we go” – for example, we are developing the QRS measures/indicators that will be considered as CEED develops measurement model.  The QRS in MN will have a specific goal of school readiness.  We will also look at how parents are using QRS to make decisions.