Survey Description - TTW Outreach Effectiveness Survey

DOCUMENTATION FOR THE GENERIC CLEARANCE

OF OUTREACH EFFECTIVENESS SURVEYS

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: 2014 Ticket to Work Outreach Effectiveness Survey

SSA SUB-NUMBER: B-01

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY (give purpose of activity, provide specific information; i.e., date(s) of survey, number of focus groups, locations, etc.):

Background

Ticket to Work (TTW) is a Social Security Administration (SSA) program that offers adults receiving Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits or disability/blindness-related Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments choices for receiving employment services. Under this program, SSA issues tickets to eligible recipients, who in turn, may choose to assign their tickets to an employment network (EN) or to their State vocational rehabilitation agency (SVRA) to obtain employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services necessary to achieve a vocational (work) goal. Our outreach efforts informing SSDI and SSI recipients about the TTW program have included social media, call centers, the TTW website, and instructional in-person and virtual events.

In this survey, SSA is seeking to conduct an outreach effectiveness assessment of select SSDI and SSI recipients who may or may not be currently participating in the TTW program, or may have participated in the past but are no longer participating. The purpose of the survey will assist us in determining the effectiveness of our outreach efforts and to identify effective methods of informing SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients about the TTW program.

Description of Survey

We are planning to survey approximately 7,000 SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients who have received their tickets for assignment within the past 12 months (March 2013 – March 2014). We will utilize a 12 month window based on program data indicating that most beneficiaries make a decision to assign their ticket approximately 7 to 9 months after receiving it. The purpose of the Outreach Effectiveness Survey is to collect information from SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients who have made the decision to assign or not to assign their tickets. We will use this information to assess the effectiveness of our outreach efforts in regard to the TTW program. We will also use this survey to collect information regarding recipients’ media and internet habits, as well as information sources, in order to improve communication strategies and better inform SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients about the TTW program.

We developed the 2014 TTW Outreach Effectiveness Survey in conjunction with our contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, and their subcontractor, EurekaFacts. The survey questionnaire covers a variety of topics related to the TTW program including program awareness, participation, and understanding; sources through which participants learned about the TTW program; and behaviors of SSDI and SSI recipients specifically focused on media consumption. The survey questionnaire consists of 19 items comprised primarily of multiple-choice and checklist items. The survey is estimated to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

The survey is organized into the following five sections:

Section 1: “About SSA program” assesses awareness of the TTW program and the sources of information about the program. Questions 1 – 6 measure general awareness of Social Security programs and specific awareness of the TTW program.

• Questions 1 and 2 assess general awareness of Social Security programs and examines the specific sources of that information. Question 3 asks whether the respondent is aware of the TTW program. For those beneficiaries aware of TTW, Question 4 gauges knowledge about the program using true/false/don’t know response options. Question 5 asks respondents to select which sources of information about TTW they utilized with breakdowns according to social media and organizational sources. Question 6 records when the respondent learned of the TTW program.

Section 2: “About Your Participation” precisely targets participation in TTW with Questions 7 – 11.

• Question 7 assesses which potential steps respondents took directly after gaining knowledge of TTW, while Question 8 asks respondents what specific TTW activities they have participated in. We will assess current participation and past participation through Question 9 so respondents provide reasoning for participation in Question 10 or reasons for not participating in Question 11.

Section 3: “Access to and use of information” uses Questions 12 – 15 to determine survey media habits, personal access to sources of information and use of that information.

• We present Question 12 in a table to assess potential sources of information and frequency of utilization according to day, week, month, year, or never. In Question 13, we ask respondents that use the Internet how they accessed it. Further inquiry concerning for what purposes respondents use the Internet is accomplished by Question 14, while Question 15 asks for weekly frequency of radio listening and TV viewing.

Section 4: “Some additional information about you” includes two questions on basic demographics.

• Question 16 asks about type and frequency of public transportation use and Question 17 gauges highest level of education received.

Section 5: “Media profile” includes two further questions on communication and seeking information.

• Question 18 assesses whether respondents received via text message updates and offers from organizations. Question 19 asks respondents what community locations they rely on in finding information on programs, events, or resources.

The data collection process is mixed-mode. First, a postcard in an enclosed envelope will be mailed to the entire sample. The postcard will contain the web address and an individualized password/link to the web version of the survey. We will mail a paper (e.g., self-administered) copy of the survey to invited respondents who do not complete the questionnaire online within 10 days of receiving the initial postcard mailing. We will include an introductory letter in the survey mailing which explains the objectives of the study and invites the individual to complete the survey questionnaire enclosed in the mailing and return it in the postage-paid envelope included in the mailing. Approximately 2 weeks later, we will send a second survey mailing identical to the first to those invited respondents who did not respond to the pre-survey postcard or to the first mailing of the survey.

EurekaFacts, the SSA-approved contractor, will initiate the data collection within 1 month of receiving OMB approval.

The survey responses will be strictly voluntary and anonymous. We will not provide any payments/stipend to participants.

USE OF SURVEY RESULTS:

We will use the results of the study to measure SSDI beneficiaries’ and SSI recipients’ awareness of the TTW program and evaluate the effectiveness of our outreach efforts (i.e., determining the strengths, weakness, and possible areas of improvement) to better inform SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients about the TTW program.

BURDEN HOUR COMPUTATION (Number of responses (X) estimated response time

(/60) = annual burden hours):

Number of Responses: 7,000

Estimated Response Time: 10 minutes

Annual Burden hours: 1,167

NAME OF CONTACT PERSON: Debbie Larwood, 410-966-6135

Quantitative Surveys:

For quantitative surveys, you will need to complete the questions below.

A. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Provide, in tabular form, data on 1) the number of entities in the universe covered by the collection, 2) the corresponding sample for the universe as a whole, and 3) each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If you have conducted the collection previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

The sampling universe is all SSDI beneficiaries and SSI recipients who received a ticket in the last 12 months, between March 2013 and March 2014. We adopted a stratified sampling approach to include in the survey beneficiaries and recipients who have assigned their ticket (i.e., chosen to participate in the TTW program), those who have not assigned their ticket, as well as different age brackets as laid out in the table below. We expect a total of 200 completed surveys per cell, defined by usage and age bracket. We anticipate the response rates below based on both previous experiences with the TTW surveys and survey fielding in general: engaged individuals (ticket users) tend to respond at a higher rate than non-engaged ones (non-users), older individuals tend to respond at a higher rate than younger ones. We defined the sample size for each stratum to account for the expected responses and the anticipated response rates.

OESS STRATIFIED SAMPLING FRAME
AGE BRACKET	Ticket Users				Ticket Non-Users
	Universe	Sample	Expected Responses	Anticipated Response Rate	Universe	Sample	Expected Responses	Anticipated Response Rate
18 - 25	6,997	960	200	21%	108,090	1,300	200	15%
26 - 39	2,155	900	200	22%	124,175	1,200	200	17%
40 - 55	4,552	700	200	29%	442,207	900	200	22%
56 - 64	2,671	520	200	38%	458,289	620	200	32%
Total	16,375	3,080	800	26%	1,132,761	4,020	800	20%

We expect the overall response will be around 28 percent, which is typical for this type of survey. While we included in the research plan some elements to increase return rate, (i.e., multiple formats for completion {internet and paper based}, advance notice, follow-up {mail}, and postage-paid, addressed envelopes), it does not include any incentives for respondent participation.

B. Describe the procedures for the collection of information:

The evaluation uses a mixed-mode, multi-stage, and bilingual approach to data collection that draws on the Dillman Tailored Design Method. Respondents will receive an initial pre-notification post-card contained within a sealed envelope. The postcard contains the web address and an individualized password/link to the web version of the survey. We will mail postcards in an envelope, printed in both English and Spanish. We will ensure the availability of a Spanish version of the online questionnaire for those respondents with a Spanish-language preference as identified in our electronic data files.

We will mail a paper (e.g., self-administered) copy of the survey to invited respondents who do not complete the questionnaire online within 2 weeks of receiving the initial postcard mailing. We will also include in the survey mailing an introductory letter that explains the objectives of the study, and invites respondents to complete the survey questionnaire enclosed in the mailing or to complete the survey online using a personalized link. We will include a postage-paid envelope with the mailing for return of paper-based copies.

We will send a second survey mailing, identical to the first mailing, to invited respondents who do not respond to the pre-survey postcard or to the first mailing. We will send the second survey mailing approximately 2-3 weeks after the initial mailing.

C. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with the issues of non-response.

We are using multiple efforts to maximize response rates. As noted above, we will mail potential recipients a pre-notification postcard in an enclosed envelope explaining the purpose of the survey and encouraging them to participate online. To those who did not complete the survey online, we will also mail a paper version of the survey with an addressed, postage-paid envelope, as well as the URL and PIN for an online response option for the survey.

Within 2 to 3 weeks of the original mailing, we will mail non-respondents a reminder letter, another copy of the survey, a postage-paid envelope, URL and PIN for optional online completion. We will mail surveys in the language of preference (Spanish or English) on record. There are no unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures.

D. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. When possible, OMB encourages testing of procedures as an effective means of refining collections of information to minimize burden and improve utility. However, this is not always necessary.

EurekaFacts, an SSA-approved subcontractor administered last year’s and current TTW Employment Network Beneficiary Satisfaction survey. Based on the knowledge we earned from those surveys and in consultation with contractor staff supporting the TTW program and providing TTW participant outreach services, EurekaFacts developed a survey to address SSDI beneficiaries’ and SSI recipients’ awareness of the TTW program and assess outreach effectiveness. Individuals with expertise with the TTW program, members of the program manager and contractor team, and Social Security staff have reviewed the current survey.

Prior to deployment of the survey, EurekaFacts conducted nine in-person cognitive interviews with the population who are currently receiving Social Security benefits to pre-test and refine the survey questionnaire and ensure the questionnaire is clear and understandable for the surveyed population.

E. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals you consulted on statistical aspects of the design. If you are using a contractor who will actually collect and/or analyze the data, provide their name as well.

Consulted on statistical aspects of the design and to collect and analyze the data:

Jorge Restrepo (240) 403-1636

Bohdana Sherehiy (240) 403-1637

Djass Mbangdadji (240) 403-1640

EurekaFacts, LLC (Subcontractor to Booz Allen Hamilton)

Michael Greenberg (240) 207-3467

Booz Allen Hamilton

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