11.14.11 REVISED 2012 SIPP-EHC Section B

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Census Bureau

2012 Survey of Income & Program Participation Event History Calendar Field Test

OMB NUMBER: 0607-0957

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. Universe and Respondent Selection

The SIPP respondent universe is the civilian noninstitutionalized population based on the 2000 decennial census, which contains approximately 270 million individuals. The SIPP uses a multistage stratified sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The first stage involves the definition and division of the United States into groups of counties called the Primary Sampling Units (PSU), which are assembled into homogeneous groups called strata. The second stage involves selection of units within the PSU.

The 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test sample is the fifth sample for the SIPP to be fielded from the 2000 redesign of the sample. There are 351 PSUs in the 2000 redesigned SIPP and in sample for the 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test. The selected PSUs in the 2000 SIPP sample design cover both urban and rural areas of the United States and many were also in the 1990 SIPP sample design. PSU definitions, address lists, and area segments are all based on the 2000 decennial census.

Within each PSU, living quarters (LQ) are systematically selected from lists of addresses prepared for the 2000 Decennial Census. Other sampling techniques are used to represent new construction, group quarters, and areas where incomplete addresses are common. Low income households were over sampled from the lists of addresses prepared for the census and from the lists of incomplete addresses. We are taking sample from the 2000 redesign sample from the following states: CT, MA, NY, NJ, MD, PA, MI, OH, IL, IN, MO, OK, CA, TN, VA, FL, GA, LA, TX, and AZ. Basically, we are taking all the unit frame sample we have selected for SIPP from the high poverty stratum in self-representing PSUs in two sample designations. The 2011/2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test sample consists of approximately 4,000 designated LQs, of which approximately 3,300 will be occupied at the time of interview and about 2,600 will be interviewed. Each household contains an average of 2.1 eligible adult respondents; therefore, the 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test should contain approximately 5,460 survey respondents. The expected response rate for this test is 75-80%. The

2011 SIPP-EHC response rate was 84.92%.

2. Procedures for Collecting Information

In sample households, all people 15 years old and over will be interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules as described in Attachment D. The interviewing period of the 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test is May through June 2012. Approximately 2,600 households are selected for the 2012 SIPP-EHC test. We estimate that each household contains 2.1 people aged 15 and above, yielding approximately 5,460 person-level interviews in the field test. Interviews take one hour on average. The total annual burden for the 2012 SIPP-EHC interviews will be 5,460¹ hours in FY 2012.

Due to the change in the schedule for interviewing from January to May, we will continue the Re-contact Experiment with the households interviewed in the

2011 SIPP-EHC test with the goal of obtaining updated address information from eligible households. In January 2012, we will mail a change of address card and a letter of explanation to the same households that received this information request after the 2011 SIPP-EHC test. The letter and the change of address form request information on any actual or planned address updates before the 2012 interviewing. The additional burden hours for this re-contact mailing are estimated to be 145 hours.

We expect the minimum detectable differences between the 2012 Field Test and the 2008 SIPP monthly participation rates to be approximately 0.7 for TANF and SSI,

1.6 for Food Stamps and WIC, and 1.8 for Medicaid at the 10% level of significance.

3. Methods to Maximize Response

In all SIPP Panels we make special efforts to minimize non-interviews. In each wave, every household in the active sample receives an advance letter that explains the purpose of the survey and why their cooperation is important. In the 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test each household will be given a brochure (Attachment E) that contains information about the SIPP and informs respondents about the Census Bureau and our commitment to confidentiality. For Type A refusal households, standard procedures include additional visits to the household by another Field Representative (FR) or if needed, a Supervisory Field Representative to convert the household response.

4. Tests of Procedures

The current 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test is part of a program of evaluation and development emerging from a comprehensive reassessment of the SIPP. The

SIPP-EHC is an evolving process and will have multiple developmental and testing stages. The 2012 SIPP-EHC will test the full implementation of the SIPP-EHC, including following movers and feeding back data to respondents from the 2011 interview. These developmental stages are interspersed by a series of smaller, specifically focused content, instrument, and systems tests.

5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection

The Census Bureau will collect and process these data. Within the Census Bureau, the following individuals should be consulted for further information on their areas of expertise:

Sample Design

Tracy Mattingly Chief, SIPP Branch

Demographic Statistical Methods Division

301-763-6445

Data Content

David Johnson Chief, Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division

301-763-6443

Data Collection and Tabulation

Patrick Benton Chief, Income Surveys Branch

Demographic Surveys Division

301-763-4618

Attachments

A. 2012 SIPP-EHC Field Test Instrument Booklet

B. SIPP-EHC-105(L) 2012–Director's Letter

C. SIPP-EHC-105(L)(SP) 2012–Director's Letter Spanish

D. Respondent Rules

E. SIPP-EHC 4006A Brochure “SIPP You Represent Your Nation”

F. Change of Address Letter

G. Change of Address Form

1¹See Part A page 8 for a table on burden hours.