State and Local WIC-Screener, Staff, Personnel

OMB Approval No. 0584-XXXX

Approval Expires: XX/XX/20XX

A ppendix BB

Request for WIC Administrative Data for Core Participants

This document provides specific information about the data Westat needs to obtain from your WIC administrative files for the Feeding My Baby study. We have already discussed with you in some detail the most efficient way to collect this information in your State, and are prepared to work with you to make the process as simple as possible over the next 3 years. Westat will resend these specifications in an email each time we make a data request.

Data Request Periodicity

We will ask you to transmit data to Westat three times during the study period on the schedule presented in the table. If you prefer a more frequent transmission schedule because of your data extract and archiving schedule, we will work with you to accommodate that request. We will make a request in the months and years listed below, and will ask you to submit your data within 4 to 6 weeks of that request.

	Westat requests data:	State submits data to Westat:
Request 1	June 2014	July 2014
Request 2	June 2015	July 2015
Request 3	May 2016	June 2016

Required Data Elements

Following are the data elements we will ask you to provide:

1. Food Package Type. Provide the code for the type of food package each enrollee is receiving. This code is defined as “a code representing the interim rule food package descriptor”¹. This descriptor uniquely represents the FNS food package number (I through VII), participant type, and breastfeeding status.

2. Weight. Provide weight measured to the nearest one-quarter pound. The weight may be reported in grams if it is not collected in pounds.

3. Length/height. Provide length or height measured to the nearest one-eighth inch. The height/length may be reported in centimeters if it is not collected in inches and eight inches.

4. Date of Height and Weight Measures. Provide month, day and year of the height/length and weight measures associated with weight and length/height measurements.

Data Specifications

The data specifications are the same as those used for the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2012 Minimum Dataset.

Based on these specifications, Westat will provide you with the specific elements required for delivery within the query. In addition to the data elements described in Section I, we will provide Study Case ID, WIC Individual ID, WIC Family or Grouping ID (if applicable), and date of birth to enable selection of the correct participant record. The file you will submit will include only the Study Case ID and the data elements requested for the participant. Having said that, we will work with each State individually to develop procedures and data transfer protocols as needed that best protect participant identity while maintaining data integrity.

File Delivery

Submit data. We recommend that you submit the data in an electronic Excel or comma-separated values (CSV) file that can store tabular data in plain text form without regard to numeric or character values, as this is the simplest file format for you to download your data.

Upload data. Westat will provide a secure file transfer protocol (FTP) site for you to upload the data. You will be provided a link to the FTP site, and can simply drag and drop your file onto our site. If you prefer to encrypt the data and burn to a CD, we will provide you a pre-paid FedEx account number to mail the data. Lastly, we can also receive the data via email if you choose to encrypt the data and send it in that format.

Help support. You may contact us at any time with questions at 800-XXX-XXXX.

Data Security

We will store all data securely, regardless of source or format (i.e., electronic or hard copy). Hard copy materials will be kept in locked file cabinets at Westat when not in use. Electronic files will be stored on a network drive accessible only to authorized project staff. All Westat project staff have signed data confidentiality agreements in place as well as up-to-date documentation of Human Subjects Protection Training.

1 WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2012 Minimum Dataset Definitions & Specifications

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 20 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.