Appendix A-7 Telephone interview invitation email

APPENDIX A-7

INITIAL E-MAIL TO STATE TANF DIRECTORS IN STATE-ADMINISTERED STATES (TELEPHONE INTERVIEW)

OMB #: 0970-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

From: Heather Hahn

To: [STATE TANF DIRECTOR]

Cc:

Subject: Urban Institute Study of County- versus State-Administered TANF Programs

Dear [Ms./Mr.] [NAME],

As I mentioned in [our telephone call/my voicemail message], we at the Urban Institute are interested in interviewing you in your role as [STATE’s] TANF director as part of our study of county- versus state-administered TANF programs. This e-mail provides an overview of our study and identifies the topics we would like to discuss during interview. We hope that you will be willing to participate in our study. For reference, I have attached our discussion guide for material we intend to cover in the call. One of our research assistants [NAME; E-MAIL ADDRESS; PHONE] can work with you (or your designee) on scheduling the call, which we anticipate to take no more than 30 minutes. We would like to schedule the call with [STATE] for a date in [MONTH(s)].

The Study

The goals of the study, conducted by the Urban Institute and ICF International under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are to provide a systematic description of county-administered TANF programs, identify areas of difference between county- and state administered TANF programs, and identify specific technical assistance needs of county-administered TANF programs.

While the primary focus of this study is on the administration and policy choices of county-administered TANF programs, we are having brief phone discussions with some additional states (of which we hope to include [STATE]) to gather broader information about state-administered TANF programs. These phone interviews will assist in identifying characteristics that apply generally to both administrative approaches and areas of difference. Our study will culminate with a report to HHS in summer 2014, and we expect that report to later be made publicly available.

If you wish to contact HHS directly about the study, you may contact our project officer, Michael Dubinsky, at 202-401-3442 or [email protected].

The Telephone Interview

Our general plan for the telephone interview, again expected to average 30 minutes, is to cover roughly nine areas of TANF administration:

1. History of TANF Program Administration

2. Financial Management and Fiscal Reporting

3. State – Sub-State Bureaucratic Structure and Communication

4. Policy Development

5. IT and other resources

6. Program Oversight and Monitoring

7. Service Delivery and Staffing

8. Variation Across State and Over Time

9. Technical assistance Needs

If you have any questions, please let me know. Again, we hope you will be willing to participate in the study and share your TANF program experiences.

Sincerely,

Heather Hahn

Heather McCallum Hahn, Ph.D.

Senior Research Associate

Center on Labor, Human Services and Population

The Urban Institute

(202) 261-5736

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