In response to Congressional interest as expressed in the Conference Reports (House Report 108-792 and Senate Report 109-109), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), with assistance from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the General Services Administration (GSA), will conduct a governmentwide survey, Federal Dependent Care Survey: A Work/Life Initiative. We are interested in learning about the child and dependent adult care arrangements that Federal employees use, whether these arrangements support their job success, and how well the Federal Government does as an employer in supporting care needs.

A stratified random sample of Federal employees from all three branches of government will be invited to participate. The survey will be administered electronically to approximately 40,000 Federal employees on a secure, password-protected OPM website. During the week of March 27, 2006, the sampled employees will each receive an email message directly from WorkLifeSurvey@opm.gov with instructions on how to access the survey using an assigned user name and password. The average response time is 15 minutes; however, this may vary based on an employee's unique situation. All employees who receive an email to participate in the survey, regardless of whether or not they have dependents, should complete it in its entirety. While data will be collected from individuals, responses will be reported in aggregated form only. Individual respondents will remain anonymous in reports.

To assist in increasing the response rate to the Federal Dependent Care Survey, we will provide template email messages to your agency's Point of Contact for the survey. These emails should be used to inform, remind, and encourage employees to participate, should they receive an email message inviting them to participate in the survey. I urge you to encourage your employees to participate in this survey so that we may gather the best possible data from the Federal workforce.

For additional information, agency Chief Human Capital Officers and/or Human Resources Directors should contact their assigned OPM Human Capital Officer.