A 2-Round 1 Advanced Letter to Parents of Minors-English

Appendix A2

Round 1 Advance Letter to Parents of Minor

Study Participants: English

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 ATTN: PRA (0584-xxxx). Do not return the completed form to this address.

[WITH ABT, WESTAT AND FNS Logos]

ROUND 1 ADVANCE LETTER TO PARENTS OF MINOR STUDY PARTICIPANTS: ENGLISH

<< Date>>

<< {Parent of Minor Selected Respondent} Name>>

<<Address>>

<<City, State Zip>>

Dear <<Honorific>> <<Last Name of {Parent }>>

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) would like you and your son, John Doe, to be part of an important study. The study will look at how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is working for about 3,000 families in Hampden County. SNAP gives you the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card you use to buy groceries. The study is being conducted by Abt Associates and Westat.

We’ll want to talk to you or the person who does the grocery shopping. We’ll call three times to ask you questions about your family, how you shop for food and how you decide what to buy. John will be asked questions about his diet. We want your permission to talk to John since he is under age 18. We’ll call for the first time in the next week or so. Then we’ll call between February and May 2012 and again between August and November 2012.

The first interview will take about 15 minutes for you and 15 minutes for John. We’ll send you (or the main shopper) and John each a $20 check afterwards. The second interview will take about 10 minutes for the main shopper and 40 minutes for John. You or (or the main shopper) and John will each get $30. The third interview will also take about 10 minutes for the main shopper and 40 minutes for John. Each person will get $40 as a thank you.

Taking part in this study is up to you. Deciding not to join the study won’t affect your SNAP benefits. But your answers might help make SNAP benefits better for everyone. There isn’t much risk from being in the study, except that someone could find out you were in the study. We’ll be careful to protect your information and make sure this does not happen.

Only some people from USDA/FNS and the research team will see your answers. Your name will be kept separate from your answers. Your and John’s answers will be put together with answers from the other people in the study and reported as totals and averages. No one’s name will be used. Everyone on the research team has signed a confidentiality form to protect your information, and it will not be shared with anyone outside the researchers for this study, except as otherwise required by law.

Someone from Westat will call you in the next week or so. In this packet is a yellow response card for John to use during the interview.

Please call NAME at our toll-free telephone number XXXXXXXXXXXXX if you have any questions.

Thank you for your help in this important study.

Sincerely,

Susie McNutt

Westat Project Director