IRB Approval for Assessment of the Contribution of an Interview to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Eligibility and Benefit Determinations Full Approval

May 24, 2012
Dr. Scott Cody
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc
600 Alexander Park
Princeton, NJ 08540
RE: Assessment of the Contribution of an Interview to the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Eligibility and Benefit Determinations (12-NIRB-116)
Dear Dr. Cody:
The IRB has reviewed your revised documents in response to the conditional
approval of the submission regarding the Evaluation Assessment of the
Contribution of an Interview to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Eligibility and Benefit Determinations (12-NIRB-116). On May 24, 2012, the IRB
gave final approval to this study. It has also approved the waiver of informed
consent with regard to the focus group recruitment.
Please note that although the states will be responsible for obtaining individual
informed consent for the QC-like interviews, the IRB should be informed of the
consent process that is implemented in each state.
Please be advised that if there are any changes to the protocol and its procedures,
such proposed changes must be submitted promptly, and before being
implemented, to the Institutional Review Board so that it can determine if the
status of the protocol remains the same or is in need of further determination. This
provision includes any plans to analyze the data for purposes beyond those
described in the IRB submission.
Also, continuing review of this project will be required; this continuing review is
due no later than May 1, 2013. A reminder of this continuing review will be sent
within 6 weeks of the review deadline.
Finally, if any translations are made of the approved documents, these must also be
reviewed by the IRB before they are used in the field.
In the case that your study is not currently collecting gender and race/ethnicity
demographic data on study participants, the Office for Human Research
Protections (which oversees P/PV’s IRB) requires that this information be
provided on study participants. The provision of this information on the project’s
submission for continuing review enables the IRB and OHRP to ensure that
women and minorities are included in human subject’s research.
Congratulations on moving ahead with the project. We wish you much success in
this important endeavor.

Sincerely,

Margo Campbell
Chair, Institutional Review Board
cc: Eric Zeidman and Gretchen Rowe, Mathematica Policy Research; File