MEF Associates, LLC

CLASSIFYING AND MEASURING HOUSEHOLD FOOD WASTE

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT IS TO DEVELOP AND DELIVER TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TTA) TO STATE TANF PROGRAMS AND PARTNERS RESPONDING TO THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 2023 (FRA, PUBLIC LAW 118-5).

HHS ACF OPRE HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD LOCAL EVALUATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (HMRF-LETA)

MDRC IS CONDUCTING THE TESTING IDENTIFIED ELEMENTS FOR SUCCESS IN FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS PROJECT AND MEF ASSOCIATES WAS SUBCONTRACTED TO PROVIDE SERVICES ON THE PROJECT

TASK 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUBTASK 1.1: KICK-OFF MEETING. DR. PECK WILL PROVIDE INPUT TO AND ATTEND THE EVALUATION€„¢S VIRTUAL KICK-OFF MEETING. SUBTASK 1.2: PROJECT WORK PLAN. DR. PECK WILL PROVIDE INPUT TO AND REVIEW THE WORK PLAN. SUBTASK 1.3: ONGOING COMMUNICATIONS. DR. PECK WILL ATTEND PROJECT TELECONFERENCES WITH THE COR, AS REQUESTED BY THE PROJECT DIRECTOR. €¢ MEF WILL ALSO PREPARE INVOICES TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE 15TH OF EACH MONTH WITH BREAKOUTS BY TEAM MEMBERS FOR HOURS CHARGED BY SUBTASK. INVOICES WILL BE SUBMITTED BY THE 15TH OF THE MONTH AND BE ACCOMPANIED BY A MONTHLY MEMBERS DESCRIBING THE MONTH€„¢S PROJECT ACTIVITIES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, RISKS OR ISSUES ENCOUNTERED, AND PROGRESS. TASK 2: KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION DESIGN OPTIONS SUBTASK 2.1: KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT. TO UNDERSTAND THE ES PROGRAM LANDSCAPE WHILE ALSO GATHERING INSIGHTS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP FEASIBLE AND RIGOROUS IMPACT DESIGN OPTION, THE STUDY TEAM WILL COMBINE DATA FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES TO CREATE AN INITIAL KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT MEMO, WHICH WILL THEN INFORM DESIGN OPTIONS. €¢ MEF WILL: § CONTRIBUTE TO DOCUMENT AND LITERATURE REVIEW. § LEAD DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDES FOR IMPACT/OUTCOME FEASIBILITY CALLS WITH SUPPORT FROM MATHEMATICA AND AIR § CONTRIBUTE TO THE SELECTION OF STATES AND LOCAL BOARDS FOR THE EXPLORATORY CALLS § CONDUCT TEN (10) 2-PERSON FEASIBILITY PHONE INTERVIEWS (ASSUMING 20 CALLS TOTAL TO IDENTIFY 12 STATES) § CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT MEMO SUBTASK 2.2: EVALUATION DESIGN OPTIONS REPORT. THE REPORT WILL BEGIN WITH A CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND DESCRIBE OPTIONS TO ESTIMATE THE EFFECTS OF ES STAFFING MODELS, SITE-SPECIFIC FACTORS, AND APPROACHES USED TO PROVIDE SERVICES ON PARTICIPANTS€„¢ EMPLOYMENT, EARNINGS, ENROLLMENT IN AND COMPLETION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS, AND CO-ENROLLMENT IN OTHER WIOA PROGRAMS. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE OPTIONS FOR AN OUTCOMES STUDY THAT CAREFULLY EXAMINES VARIATION IN THESE OUTCOMES. THE REPORT WILL PRESENT THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE OPTIONS BASED ON CRITERIA AND PRIORITIES DISCUSSED WITH DOL. FOR EACH OPTION, THE REPORT WILL PRESENT THE ASSOCIATED RESEARCH QUESTIONS, EXISTING LITERATURE, PROPOSED RESEARCH DESIGN, REQUIRED DATA AND ANALYSIS, AND REQUIRED TIME AND RESOURCES. THE REPORT WILL CONSIDER A RANGE OF POTENTIAL DESIGN METHODS, FOCUSING ON QEDS WITH DESIGNS THAT EXAMINE VARIATION IN STAFFING MODELS AT THE STATE AND LOCAL AREA LEVEL. IT WILL HIGHLIGHT THE DESIGN OPTIONS THAT ARE MOST APPLICABLE TO DIFFERENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE THE MOST RIGOROUS EVIDENCE. WHILE MANY STATISTICAL METHODOLOGIES WILL BE CONSIDERED, THESE METHODS ARE ALL BASED ON A COMPARISON OF PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES IN WAIVER STATES TO PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES IN NON-WAIVER STATES. THESE DESIGNS WOULD DRAW ON DATA FROM WORKFORCE INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE SYSTEM (WIPS) AND NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES (NDNH) FOR PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES AND THE ACS TO IDENTIFY COMPARISON STATES OR SITES. €¢ MEF WILL LEAD THE EVALUATION DESIGN OPTIONS REPORT. SUBTASK 2.3: STATE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION. AFTER THE COR APPROVES THE STATE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN, THE STUDY TEAM WILL CONDUCT INITIAL CALLS WITH STATES. AFTER INITIAL CALLS THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT FOLLOW-UP CALLS WITH SITES THAT ARE DEEMED AS WELL SUITED TO THE EVALUATION. IF IT WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR PARTNERSHIP BUILDING, WE WILL CONSIDER CONDUCTING EVALUATION FEASIBILITY AND RECRUITMENT SITE VISITS TO HIGH-PRIORITY LOCATIONS, PRIORITIZING NON-WAIVER STATES SINCE THEY ARE NOT MANDATED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVALUATION. €¢ MEF WILL CONTRIBUTE TO RECRUITMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF MOUS WITH STATES; MATHEMATICA LEADING TASK 3 IMPACT OUR OUTCOMES STUDY SUBTASK 3.1: IMPACT OR OUTCOME EVALUATION DESIGN REPORT. THE DESIGN REPORT WILL DESCRIBE THE IMPACT STUDY DESIGN, SAMPLE CREATION, SURVEY DATA COLLECTION, ADMINISTRATIVE DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, AND REPORTING. THE DESIGN REPORT WILL DESCRIBE HOW THE IMPACT STUDY WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION STUDY TO DEFINE THE MODEL

SUBCONTRACTOR WILL PROVIDE SUPPORT ON THE "CONVERSION OF ENROLLMENT SLOTS FROM HEAD START TO EARLY HEAD START" PROJECT, WHICH IS DESIGNED TO BUILD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE AROUND THE CONVERSION OF ENROLLMENT SLOTS FROM HEAD START TO EARLY HEAD START BY EXAMINING HOW AND WHY HEAD START GRANTEES PREPARE FOR AND ENGAGE IN ENROLLMENT CONVERSIONS, WHAT BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO THE CONVERSION PROCESS EXIST, AND WHAT BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO THE PROVISION OF HIGH-QUALITY INFANT AND TODDLER EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION EXIST.