CEO D_2 LEA FS Director Web Survey_Near Eligible (NE)
OMB Clearance # 0584-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/20XX
Community Eligibility Option Evaluation
LEA Foodservice Director Web Survey for Near Eligible Non-Participating LEAs
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-XXXX. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 24 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.
Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302.
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food and Nutrition Service
Office of Research and Analysis
Prepared by:
Abt Associates Inc.
Thank you for taking part in our web survey for the Community Eligibility Option Evaluation. Abt Associates has been hired by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct an evaluation of the Community Eligibility Option, a new system of reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Below are a few links that will provide you with detailed information about this evaluation and the survey. They include a fact sheet about the Community Eligibility Option Evaluation, the advance email sent to respondents of this survey describing details about this survey, and a worksheet that describes information you will need to collect in order to complete this survey. To complete this survey you will need to access your records – see details under worksheet link below. Note, if you cannot complete the survey in one sitting, you can save it and complete it at a later date. This survey will take about 24 minutes to complete.
Community Eligibility Option Evaluation fact sheet
Advance email about the Local Education Agency (LEA) Foodservice Director Web Survey
Worksheet for the LEA Foodservice Director Web Survey
Programming Note (PN): When respondent clicks on above link, the appropriate document will be displayed in a PDF format, which the respondent may then print if desired.
Information provided in this survey will be kept private, to the extent provided by law. No data will be attributed to specific survey respondents. De-identified data from this study will be provided to the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S Department of Agriculture, and aggregate measures of subgroups of Local Education Agencies (LEAs) may also be provided. Responses to the study will in no way affect your agency’s receipt of funds from USDA’s school meals program. As you may know, the Healthy-Free Kids Act of 2010 (PL 111-296, Section 305) requires cooperation with program research and evaluation by agencies and contractors participating in programs authorized under the Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
If you have any questions or concerns about your rights as a study participant, call Teresa Doksum. She is the Institutional Review Board Administrator at Abt Associates. Her phone number is 877-520-6835 (toll-free).
Your input is very important to assure the accuracy of this study. We thank you in advance for your time and cooperation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Abt Associates at: 855-759-5752 (toll-free) or [email protected].
CONTACT INFORMATION
PN: Q1, 3, 4, 5 will be populated with information specific to the LEA from the sampling frame. Survey will allow respondent to update/edit the prepopulated information.
Confirm or correct your contact information below and fill in any missing information
Q1. First name: ________________________________ Last name:_______________________________________
Q2. Job
title:
□ Foodservice Director
□ Business
Manager/Chief Financial Officer
□ Superintendent
□
Other, specify: _______________________
Q3. Name of your Local Education Agency (LEA): ____________________________________________________
Q4. Email address: __________________________________ □ Decline to respond
Q5. Phone number: (________)________________________ □ Decline to respond
PN: Ensure standard email address and 10 digit phone number.
DEFINITIONS
Throughout this survey the following definitions will be used. If you come across a question using one of these words or phrases that is highlighted and underlined in green, you will be able to click on the word or phrase and a box up pop with the definition will appear on the screen.
PN: display list of terms and definitions in definition box below. Throughout the web survey allow pop up boxes for the following (except LEA, SBP, NSLP) when respondent clicks on the word.
DEFINITION BOX
LEA: Local Education Agency. Your LEA may be a school district, a group of private schools, or an independent school.
SBP: School Breakfast Program
NSLP: National School Lunch Program
Free and reduced price (FRP) meals: The terms “free” and “reduced price” refer to the type/cost of school meals students receive. Students from families with incomes at or below 130% of the federal poverty level, and students who participate in specified Assistance Programs, are eligible for free school meals. Students from families with incomes between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. Students’ eligibility is determined by direct certification, identification from other agency lists, or by household application.
Direct certification: Students are “categorically” eligible and can be directly certified for free school meals without a household application if any member of their household receives benefits under an Assistance Program, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). To conduct direct certification, the State and/or LEA matches enrolled students with lists of children participating in the Assistance Program. Students reported as enrolled in one of these assistance programs by household application are not considered directly certified.
Identified from other agency lists: Students identified as eligible for free meals, not by direct certification or by application, but from other agency lists, including homeless, runaway, migrant, foster child, Federal Head Start Program, State Funded Head Start Program, State-funded pre-kindergarten programs and Even Start Program fall under this category.
Identified Student Percentage (ISP): Number of identified students divided by number of students enrolled with access to SBP and/or NSLP
Identified
students are identified by:
● Direct certification,
or
● identified from other agency lists
Traditional: Under traditional reimbursement, LEAs determine eligibility of individual students for free and reduced-price meals annually, and count the meals taken by students in each meal eligibility category.
Provision 1: Under Provision 1 schools with at least 80% of children approved for free or reduced price meals are allowed to extend the eligibility of the children receiving free meals for 2 years. There is no requirement to serve meals at no charge to all students. Schools must continue to record daily meal counts by type as a basis for calculating reimbursement claims.
Provision 2: Under Provision 2 meals are served free to all students and applications for free/reduced price meals are required in “base” years only, every 4 years. Monthly reimbursement is calculated by applying the percentage of free, reduced price, and paid established in the corresponding month of the base year to total meal count.
Provision 3: Under Provision 3 meals are served free to all students and applications for free/reduced price meals are required in “base” years only, every 4 years. Reimbursement is not based on meal counts. Annual federal payment remains at the same level as the base year with adjustments for enrollment and inflation.
Note to reviewers: Each survey question identifies the associated research question(s) with blue text in parentheses. This information is for review and will be removed before the survey is administered.
SCHOOLS
First we would like to collect some information about the schools in your LEA.
Q6. What is the number of schools in your LEA for the 2012-2013 School Year? ______ (RQ1, RQ5)
Q7. What types of reimbursement systems for school meals did your LEA use in School Year 2011-2012? (Select all that apply) (RQ5)
□ Traditional □ Provision 1 □ Provision 2 □ Provision 3 □ Other, specify________
PN: If more than one response selected in Q7, display Q7a. For each response selected in Q7, ask for the appropriate information in Q7a. If one response selected in Q7, go to Q8.
Q7a. Of these schools in your LEA that took up the Community Eligibility Option, how many used the following?
Traditional reimbursement: _________
Provision 1: _______
Provision 2: _______
Provision 3:________
[TEXT FROM OTHER SPECIFY in Q7]: _________
CALCULATION OF THE IDENTIFIED STUDENT PERCENTAGE (ISP)
The Identified Student Percentage (ISP) is defined as the number of students directly certified plus the number of students identified as eligible for free meals through other agency lists (such as, runaway, homeless, migrant, foster children) divided by the number of students enrolled. To be eligible for the Community Eligibility Option, a LEA or school must have an ISP of 40% or more.
Q8. What is the identified student percentage (ISP) that was most recently calculated for your LEA?
________% (IDENTIFIED STUDENT PERCENTAGE)
□
Not applicable – LEA only has ISPs
for individual schools (Go
to 8d)
□ Don’t
know
Q8a. Who calculated the most recent identified student percentage (ISP) for your LEA? (Select one)
□ The
State calculated the ISP
without input from the LEA (Go
to Q9)
□ The LEA
provided information to the State to calculate the ISP
□
The LEA calculated the ISP
using its own data
□ Other, specify: ________________
□
Don’t know
Q8b. When was the most recent ISP calculated for your LEA?
|__|__| /
|2|0|__|__|
M M Y Y
□ Don’t know
Q8c. What data were used to calculate the most recent ISP for your LEA? (Fill in the numbers and indicate the date the data were collected in the table below).
□ If unable to complete this section, check here
Data Category |
Number of Students |
Are these
data as of April 1, 2012? |
Source of Data Retrieval |
Directly
Certified |
__________ |
□ Yes,
as of April 1, 2012 |
□ POS
or other electronic system □ Other
agency list |
Identified from other agency lists (homeless ,runaway, migrant, Head start, foster children, or approved by local authorities) |
__________ |
□ Yes,
as of April 1, 2012 |
□ POS
or other electronic system □ Other
agency list |
Students enrolled in schools offering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) |
__________ |
□ Yes,
as of April 1, 2012 |
□ POS
or other electronic system □ Other
agency list |
Q8d. Who calculated the most recent identified student percentages (ISP) for individual schools or groups of schools in your LEA? (Select one)
□
The State calculated the ISPs
without input from the LEA (go
to Q9)
□ The LEA
provided information to the State to calculate the ISPs
□
The LEA calculated the ISPs
using its own data
□ Other, specify: ________________
□
Does not apply—ISP
not calculated for
individual schools or groups of schools (go
to Q9)
□ Don’t
know
Q8e. When were the most recent ISPs calculated for individual schools or groups of schools in your LEA?
|__|__|
/ |2|0|__|__|
M M Y Y Y Y
□
Don’t know
Q9. Household applications and direct certification with SNAP are required to determine eligibility for free and reduced price meals. What additional sources did your LEA use in School Year 2011-2012 for determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals? (Select all that apply) (RQ5)
□ Direct certification using TANF □ Direct certification using FDPIR
□ Extended eligibility benefits for other children in household of directly certified child
□ Identified as homeless □ Identified as runaway □ Identified as migrant youth □ Identified as foster child
□ Identified as Head Start □ Identified as Even Start □ Identified in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs
□ Other, specify________ □ None of the above
OTHER PROGRAMS
Q10. Does your LEA use free and reduced price meals eligibility data for any purpose other than for school meals eligibility (such as, for other funding eligibility, allocating funds among schools, or identifying economically disadvantaged students) (Select one)?
□ Yes □ No (go to Q11) □ Don’t know (go to Q11)
PN:
In Q10a show responses in one column unless scrolling is necessary,
then show in two columns (6 responses each)
Q10a. Aside from school meals eligibility, for what other purpose does your LEA use free and reduced-price (FRP) meals eligibility data? (Select all that apply) (NO ASSOC RQ)
□ Title 1 Funds
□ National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
□ No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (measurement of adequate yearly progress)
□ Other foodservice programs (Summer Feeding Program, Afterschool Snack Program, etc.)
□ E-rate initiatives
□ Early childhood education programs
□ Vocational and technical education
□ Literacy and reading programs
□ State education funding
□ Student loan forgiveness programs (for teachers)
□ Waivers (AP or other test fees, sports fee, transportation, etc.)
□ Reduced fees/free programs (such as, for summer school, tutoring programs, text books)
□ Other,
specify: ________________________________
□ None of the
above
Q11. Aside from the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, in what other food assistance or USDA Food and Nutrition Service programs does your LEA participate? (Select all that apply) (RQ5)
□
Summer Feeding Program
□ Afterschool Snack Program option
under National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
□ Healthier US
Challenge
□ Team Nutrition
□ Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program
□ Child and Adult Care Food Program
□
Other
□ None of the above
COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY OPTION
Next we’d like to understand more about the communication that took place regarding the Community Eligibility Option.
Q12. Prior to being contacted for this survey, was your LEA informed about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select One) (RQ16)
□ Yes □ No (go to Q19) □ Don’t know (go to Q19)
Q13. How did your LEA first hear about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select all that apply) (RQ16)
□ In-person meeting/presentation □ In-person training □ Letter/mail □ Email □ Phone call
□ Webinar □ Press release □ Other LEAs □ Other □ Don’t know (go to Q15)
Q13a. Who provided this information? (Select one)
□ USDA/FNS □ State Official □ Other, specify: __________ □ Don’t know
Q14. Who within your LEA first learned about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select all that apply?) (RQ16)
□ USDA/FNS □ State official □ Superintendent □ Foodservice Director
□ Foodservice Contract Management Company □ Other LEA administrator □ Other , specify: _________________ □ Don’t know
Q15. Did your LEA inform individual schools about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select one) (RQ4)
□ Yes □ No (go to Q17) □ Don’t know (go to Q17)
Q16. How did your LEA initially inform the schools about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select all that apply) (RQ4)
□ In-person meeting/presentation □ In-person training □ Letter/mail □ Email □ School website □ Phone call
□ Webinar □ Press release □ Other □ Don’t know
Q16a. Who provided this information? (Select one) (RQ4)
□ Superintendent □ Foodservice Director □ Foodservice Contract Management Company
□ Other LEA administrator □ Other, specify _______________ □ Don’t know
Q17. Did your LEA inform the community about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select one)
□ Yes □ No (go to Q19) □ Don’t know (go to Q19)
Q18. How did your LEA inform the community about the Community Eligibility Option? (Select all that apply) (RQ4)
□ In-person meeting/presentation □ Letter/mail □ Email □ School website □ Phone call
□ Notice/letter sent home with students □ Local newspaper □ Other □ Don’t know
Q18a. Who provided this information? (Select one) (RQ4)
□ Superintendent □ Foodservice Director □ Foodservice Contract Management Company □ Other LEA administrator
□ Principals of individual schools □ Other, specify: ____________ □ Don’t know
COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY OPTION
Now, we’d like to understand your impressions about the Community Eligibility Option.
PN:
Allow respondent option of up to 5 other specify in Q19
Q19. If your LEA were eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option, which of the following would your LEA consider to be its benefits? (Select all that apply)(RQ1)
Expected Benefits to Adopting the Community Eligibility Option |
□ Increased revenue |
□ Decreased costs |
□ Decreased administrative burden |
□ Decreased stigma for students in need |
□ Improved academic performance |
□ Increased school meal participation |
□ Improved nutritional quality of meals |
□ Relief for families under financial burden |
□ Other, specify:__________________________ |
□ None of the above |
□ Don’t know (go to Q20) |
PN: In Q19a, list each expected benefit selected in Q19
Q19a. Shown below are the benefits of the Community Eligibility Option that you indicated your LEA might expect. Rate the importance your LEA might place on each of these expected benefits.
Expected Benefits to Adopting the Community Eligibility Option |
Very Important |
Moderately Important |
Not Very Important |
Not at All Important |
Don’t Know |
EXPECTED BENEFIT SELECTED IN Q19 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
|
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
PN: Allow respondent option of up to 5 other specify in Q20
Q20. If your LEA was eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option, which of the following possible barriers would your LEA see as making implementation difficult or causing hesitation in adopting the Option? (Select all that apply) (RQ1)
Possible Barriers to Adopting the Community Eligibility Option |
□ Community Eligibility Option not financially viable |
□ Uncertainty or concern about how much reimbursement the LEA would receive |
□ Uncertainty or concern about how the Option will affect funding for educational programs |
□ Not enough time to implement the Option and train staff |
□ Concern about schools participating in the Option being treated differently than other schools |
□ LEAs participating in the CE Option may be viewed as poor |
□ Difficulty establishing a School Breakfast Program |
□ Community not supportive |
□ Key LEA and/or school officials not supportive |
□ Other, specify: ________________________________________ |
□ None of the above |
□ Don’t know (go to Q21) |
PN: In Q20a, list each possible barrier selected in Q20
Q20a. Shown below are the possible barriers to adopting the Community Eligibility Option that you indicated your LEA might consider. Rate the importance your LEA might place on of each of these possible barriers if they were deciding to adopt the Community Eligibility Option.
Possible Barriers to Adopting the Community Eligibility Option |
Very Important |
Moderately Important |
Not Very Important |
Not at All Important |
Don’t Know |
POSSIBLE BARRIERS TO ADOPTING THE COMMUNITY ELIGIILITY OPTION IN Q20 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
|
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
Q21. To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements about the Community Eligibility Option? (Provide a response for each statement) (RQ6)
I believe that the Community Eligibility Option would... |
Strongly Agree |
Somewhat Agree |
Somewhat Disagree |
Strongly Disagree |
…be more costly to implement than what is currently in place. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…be well-received by school staff and students. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…be confusing to implement. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…result in increased meal participation that would be overwhelming to the staff. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…result in increased meal participation that would benefit students (access to more foods, healthy foods). |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…create issues for determining eligibility for other assistance programs due to lack of free and reduced price data. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…result in a lot more work to serve breakfast. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
…increase plate waste. |
□ |
□ |
□ |
□ |
Q22. If your
LEA were eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option,
how much lead time do you feel would be enough to prepare for the
implementation of the Community Eligibility Option? (Enter number of
weeks or months)
(Select one)
NUMBER: _______ □ weeks □ months
FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY OPTION
The following questions are about the multiplier that the Community Eligibility Option applies to the ISP to obtain the claiming percentage for free meals. If you require further explanation about the multiplier, click here: Explanation of the multiplier
PN: If respondent clicks on “Explanation of the multiplier” the description and example in the box below appears.
The Community Eligibility Option reimbursement is based on the identified student percentage (ISP). To determine how much each school is reimbursed, the Identified student percentage is multiplied by a factor of 1.6. This new percentage is applied to the total number of meals served to determine how many meals are reimbursed at the free rate. The rest of the meals are reimbursed at the paid rate.
Example: A
school under the Community Eligibility Option has an ISP of 50%. The
ISP is multiplied by 1.6 to for an 80% free reimbursement rate
(50x1.6 = 80). The remaining meals (20%) will be reimbursed at the
paid reimbursement rate.
At the end of the month if the
school counted and served 10,000 reimbursable meals, 8,000 would be
claimed at the free reimbursement rate and 2,000 at the paid
reimbursement rate.
The factor of 1.6 is called the “multiplier”.
Q23. Do you feel that the Community Eligibility Option multiplier of 1.6 is too high, about right, or too low? (Select one) (RQ8)
□
Too high
□ About right
□ Too low (go
to Q26)
□ Don’t
know
Q24. If eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option, would your LEA participate if the multiplier was less than 1.6? (RQ8) (Select one)
□ Yes
□
No (go to
Q26)
□ Don’t
know (go to
Q26)
Q25. For each of the multipliers listed below, would your LEA, if eligible, participate in the Community Eligible Option? (For example, at an ISP of 50 and a multiplier of 1.6, the average reimbursement per lunch would be about $2.27, whereas, if the multiplier was 1.3, the average reimbursement per lunch would be $1.89.) (RQ8)
|
Yes |
No |
Don’t know |
1.0 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
1.1 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
1.2 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
1.3 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
1.4 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
1.5 |
□ |
□ |
□ |
Q26. Do you think a 4-year term is an appropriate amount of time for a LEA to be eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option? (Select one) (RQ12)
□ Yes (go to Q27) □ No □ Don’t know
Q26a. What term length would be better? (Select one) (RQ12)
□ 2 years □ 3 years □ 5 years □ 6 years □ 7 years □ 8 years □ More than 8 years □ Don’t know
Q27. If your LEA were eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option, how concerned would your LEA be about meeting the eligibility requirements for a second 4-year term, once the first 4-year term was up?(Select one) (RQ12)
□ Very concerned □ Moderately concerned □ Slightly concerned □ Not concerned at all □ Don’t know
Q28. If eligible for the Community Eligibility Option, how likely is it that your LEA would participate?
□
Very likely □ Somewhat likely □ Somewhat unlikely □
Very unlikely □ Don’t know
END SCRIPT: That concludes our survey. Thank you very much for your participation. Your input is very valuable. If you have any questions about this survey, contact us at 855-759-5752 (toll-free) or [email protected].
LEA
Foodservice Director Web Survey for Near Eligible Non-Participating
LEAs
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Anne Garceau |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-30 |