; and (2) consulting with other Federal agencies with responsibility for administering or evaluating programs that serve eligible families to coordinate and collaborate with respect to research related to such programs and families, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice, and the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education. (h) Research and other evaluation activities (1) In general The Secretary shall carry out a continuous program of research and evaluation activities in order to increase knowledge about the implementation and effectiveness of home visiting programs, using random assignment designs to the maximum extent feasible. The Secretary may carry out such activities directly, or through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts. (2) Requirements The Secretary shall ensure that— (A) evaluation of a specific program or project is conducted by persons or individuals not directly involved in the operation of such program or project; and (B) the conduct of research and evaluation activities includes consultation with independent researchers, State officials, and developers and providers of home visiting programs on topics including research design and administrative data matching. (3) Report and recommendation Not later than December 31, 2020, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress regarding the programs conducted with grants under this section. The report required under this paragraph shall include— (A) information regarding the extent to which States with a State plan amendment approved under this section demonstrated improvements in each of the areas specified in subsection (b)(1)(A)