The Illinois Birth to Five Evaluation will focus on program access, quality, and outcomes.
Overarching research questions from ISBE include

• What are the characteristics of the participating programs, staff, and children?
• What services are provided and what is the level and range of service quality across programs?
• Do programs produce the expected outcomes, and how are program and staff characteristics related to these outcomes?
• What is the relationship between participation rates, level and range of services, and child outcomes across 0-3 and 3-5 programs?

Timeline
To maximize the quality and utility of this evaluation, and to fully and accurately address the proposed research questions, the evaluation will take place in two phases.

Phase I (March 2008–June 2009) focused on collecting baseline programmatic information and designing the implementation and outcome components of the evaluation. The complex size, scope, and variation of the ECBG programs require thoughtful, systematic collection of programmatic data to support the design process of the large-scale implementation and outcome study.
Objectives for this phase included:

1. Systematically gathering detailed descriptive data about the ECBG programs in order to get a comprehensive picture of what Birth to Five programs look like and who they serve
2. Piloting sampling techniques, data collection methods, and measures for the feasibility of state-wide, representative, systematic data collection on staff and children
3. Designing a statewide evaluation research design and sampling method to examine program quality, staff characteristics, child descriptive, and program outcomes

Key activities in Phase I include:

• Convening of the ISBE-appointed research advisory committee
• Reviewing program administrative data and studying evaluability
• Conducting statewide program survey
• Conducting program site visits and interviews
• Pilot-testing quality observation methods
• Finalizing research questions, sampling techniques and data collection plans

Phase 2 (July 2009–June 2011) will focus on executing the evaluation plan designed in Phase 1. The three objectives of this phase are to:

1. Systematically gather detailed descriptive data about staff, families and children in ECBG programs
2. Examine the implementation of ECBG programs and the level and range of quality
3.  Examine the effectiveness and outcomes of the ECBG programs

Key activities in Phase 2 include:

• Obtaining baseline and follow-up assessment data about children, families, staff, and programs
• State-wide program implementation and quality data collection and analysis
• Data analysis of child and program outcomes