2013 SIPP-EHC Section B

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Census Bureau

2013 Survey of Income & Program Participation Event History Calendar Field Test

OMB NUMBER: 0607-0957

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. Universe and Respondent Selection

The SIPP respondent universe is the civilian noninstitutionalized population based on the 2000 decennial census, which contains approximately 270 million individuals. The SIPP uses a multistage stratified sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The first stage involves the definition and division of the United States into groups of counties called the Primary Sampling Units (PSU), which are assembled into homogeneous groups called strata. The second stage involves selection of units within the PSU.

The 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test sample is the sixth sample for the SIPP to be fielded from the 2000 redesign of the sample. There are 351 PSUs in the 2000 redesigned SIPP and in sample for the 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test. The selected PSUs in the 2000 SIPP sample design cover both urban and rural areas of the United States and many were also in the 1990 SIPP sample design. PSU definitions, address lists, and area segments are all based on the 2000 decennial census.

Within each PSU, living quarters (LQ) are systematically selected from lists of addresses prepared for the 2000 Decennial Census. Other sampling techniques are used to represent new construction, group quarters, and areas where incomplete addresses are common. Low income households were over sampled from the lists of addresses prepared for the census and from the lists of incomplete addresses. We are taking sample from the 2000 redesign sample from the following states: CT, MA, NY, NJ, MD, PA, MI, OH, IL, IN, MO, OK, CA, TN, VA, FL, GA, LA, TX, and AZ. Basically, we are taking all the unit frame sample we have selected for SIPP from the high poverty stratum in self-representing PSUs in two sample designations. The 2011-13 SIPP-EHC Field Test sample consists of approximately 4,000 designated LQs. The 2012 SIPP-EHC CARI sample consist of approximately 1,300 designated LQs. The combined sample of SIPP-EHC from 2012 and the CARI sample will yield approximately 3,300 occupied LQs at the time of interview in 2013 and about 3,000 will be interviewed. Each household contains an average of 2.1 eligible adult respondents; therefore, the 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test should contain approximately 6,300 survey respondents. The expected response rate for this test is 75-80%. The

2011 SIPP-EHC response rate was 84.92%.

2. Procedures for Collecting Information

In sample households, all people 15 years old and over will be interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules as described in Attachment D. The interviewing period of the 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test is January through March 2013. Approximately 3,000 households are selected for the 2013 SIPP-EHC test. We estimate that each household contains 2.1 people aged 15 and above, yielding approximately 6,300 person-level interviews in the field test. Interviews take one hour on average. The total annual burden for the 2013 SIPP-EHC interviews will be 6,300¹ hours in FY 2013. We will not continue the Re-contact Experiment with the households interviewed in the 2013 SIPP-EHC test.

We expect the minimum detectable differences between the 2013 Field Test and the 2008 SIPP monthly participation rates to be approximately 0.7 for TANF and SSI,

1.6 for Food Stamps and WIC, and 1.8 for Medicaid at the 10% level of significance.

3. Methods to Maximize Response

In all SIPP Panels we make special efforts to minimize non-interviews. In each wave, every household in the active sample receives an advance letter that explains the purpose of the survey and why their cooperation is important. In the 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test each household will be given a brochure (Attachment E) that contains information about the SIPP and informs respondents about the Census Bureau and our commitment to confidentiality. For Type A refusal households, standard procedures include additional visits to the household by another Field Representative (FR) or if needed, a Supervisory Field Representative to convert the household response.

4. Tests of Procedures

The current 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test is part of a program of evaluation and development emerging from a comprehensive reassessment of the SIPP. The

SIPP-EHC is an evolving process and has had multiple developmental and testing stages. The 2013 SIPP-EHC will test the full implementation of the SIPP-EHC, including following movers and feeding back data to respondents from the 2012 interview. These developmental stages were interspersed by a series of smaller, specifically focused content, instrument, and systems tests.

5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection

The Census Bureau will collect and process these data. Within the Census Bureau, the following individuals should be consulted for further information on their areas of expertise:

Sample Design

Tracy Mattingly Chief

SIPP Branch

Demographic Statistical Methods Division

301-763-6445

Data Content

David Johnson Chief

Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division

301-763-6443

Data Collection and Tabulation

Nathaniel McKee Acting Chief

Income Surveys Branch

Demographic Surveys Division

301-763-5244

Attachments

A. 2013 SIPP-EHC Field Test Instrument Booklet

B. SIPP-EHC-105(L) 2013–Director's Letter

C. SIPP-EHC-105(L)(SP) 2013–Director's Letter Spanish

D. Respondent Rules

E. Respondent Rules (Spanish)

F. SIPP-EHC 4006A Brochure “SIPP You Represent Your Nation”

G. SIPP-EHC 4006A(SP) Spanish Brochure

1¹See Part A page 8 for a table on burden hours.