Change Justification Memo

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Food and

Nutrition

Service

3101 Park

Center Drive

Alexandria, VA

22302-1500

TO: Julie Wise

OMB Desk Office

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

THROUGH: Kevin Kwon and Rachelle Ragland-Greene

Planning and Regulatory Affairs Branch

Food and Nutrition Service

FROM: Chan Chanhatasilpa

Project Officer

Office of Research and Analysis

Food and Nutrition Service

SUBJECT: Justification for a Change to the Round 2 Questionnaire, Enhanced

SFSP Demonstration Evaluation, OMB# 0584-0560

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the US Department of Agriculture is is seeking to include questions approved in The Round 1 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on July 20, 2011include into The Round 2 questionnaire. FNS assumed that the family composition is the same as in Round 1. However, it is possible that in a few cases, the composition will have changed. After further consideration we discovered there may be changes in the household composition between the summer and fall and whether the adult who is contacted in the fall is the appropriate person to speak with to provide information on the children who participated in the Meal Delivery or Backpack demonstration in the summer.

One example of such a scenario might be a grandparent who was the primary caregiver in the summer and was interviewed in Round 1. The grandparent has since returned to his/her own home and is no longer living in the household with the children who participated in the Meal Delivery or Backpack demonstration and currently are participating in school nutrition programs. A second example might be a parent who was the primary caregiver in the summer and was interviewed in Round 1 but left the household, taking one or more children with him/her.

Thus, if a new parent/caregiver must be contacted and interviewed, it will be necessary to add questions on demographic characteristics for which responses cannot be carried over from Round 1 (e.g., household size, number and age of adults in the household, number and age of children in the household, respondent’s gender, anyone in household with difficulty doing day to day activities, Hispanic or Latino, respondent’s race, languages spoken at home by respondent, respondent’s educational attainment, and respondent’s date of birth).

These changes are critical to an appropriate analysis of data to ensure that the determination of household food security applies to the appropriate children who participated in these demonstrations and that the appropriate covariates are included in the analysis. Although it is not possible to estimate with accuracy how many cases will require these new questions, we do not anticipate that these additional questions will increase the number of burden hours in any substantial way.

Attached is a list of the questions that we request to be added to the Round 2 questionnaire.

Attachment

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER