U.S. Department of Education, Contracts and Purchasing Operations, CPO, 7th & D Streets SW, Room 3616, Washington, DC 20202-4443

B -- SURVEY OF EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS SOL n/a POC Jeff Halsted, (202) 708-8283, Contract Specialist The Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), This Sources Sought announcement is for planning purposes only. The United States Department of Education (ED) plans to issue a solicitation for a Survey of Early Care and Education Programs (SECEP). The U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will conduct a new national survey of the individuals and programs that provide care and education to the nation's children before they enter school. This survey will enhance NCES' and others' ability to answer some of the most basic questions surrounding the supply of early care and education programs. The survey will allow for estimates of the number of center-based programs and licensed family child care providers, as well as the types of center-based programs, characteristics of both center-based and family child care programs, and the distribution of characteristics by types of programs. The following key questions relating to the availability, affordability, and quality of child care and early education programs will be addressed by the survey:  What is the availability of these programs?  Who do these programs serve (who has access and what ages are served)?  What is the cost of these programs?  How many programs are supported by public funds?  How many programs are operated out of public schools?  What is the distribution of quality indicators across these programs?  What range of care and education needs do these programs serve?  What are the characteristics of the providers and teachers in these programs?  What is the public investment in early childhood programs? SECEP will examine a national sample of licensed and exempted center-based programs and licensed family child-care providers serving children under 6 years of age. The survey will include child-care centers and early education programs such as Head Start, preschool, nurseryschool, and prekindergarten. Certain types of programs and providers unregulated or not licensed by states, are not listed in registries, and as a result will not be surveyed. Overall, approximately 4,000 programs are expected to be sampled from 100 primary sampling units (PSU) nationwide. Each PSU will be composed of counties and county groups. An area frame will be developed for each of the sampled PSUs, and a sample of programs will be drawn from the list. Once individual programs and centers are identified, an administrator in each center will be interviewed about his or her program. In licensed family child-care, the primary provider will be surveyed about his or her program. Any solicitation issued will be under Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 8732 and 8733. Any solicitation will call for the design, field test, implementation, and reporting of the described survey. ED is seeking expressions from small businesses to determine if an adequate number of small businesses exist who are capable of performing this survey and are likely to submit a proposal. Teaming is also encouraged between businesses. Qualified businesses, classified as a small business under the aforementioned SIC codes, are encouraged to submit a capability statement no later than October 26, 1999. The capability statement must describe your organization's qualifications and experience for performing similar services. Statements may be mailed, faxed (202) 708-9817, or e-mailed to Jeff_C._Halsted@ed.gov. This is not a Request for Proposals and should not be construed as a commitment to issue a solicitation or award a contract. ***** Posted 10/07/99 (W-SN389973). (0280)

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