Request for a non-substantive change in recruitment protocol for state child nutrition directors

Memorandum

Subject:	Request for a non-substantive change in recruitment protocol for State Child Nutrition Directors by the Farm to School Census (OMB Control No. 0536-0069)	Date:	February 26, 2013
From:	Katherine Ralston ERS Project Manager for the Farm to School Census
To:	Jennifer Park, Statistical and Science Policy, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget

The Farm to School Census (OMB Control No. 0536-0069) is a universe survey of public school district School Food Authorities in the U.S. to collect baseline information on purchases of locally-produced food for school meal programs. It is scheduled to begin fielding March 4, 2013.

Because the State Child Nutrition Directors (SCNDs) are so critical to the success of the Farm to School Census, we are requesting two changes to the recruitment protocol for SCNDs. First, we propose to present a webinar to clarify the request for assistance by SCNDs and to provide an opportunity to answer any questions. The webinar will explain the purpose of the data collection and review the instructions for providing a list of public school district SFAs in the State and forwarding the Census invitation and reminder emails. The webinar would last for 1 hour. The implementation of this proposed recruitment protocol change will result in a total of 51 hours in annual response burden increase. Thus, we request to increase the total annual hour burden for the Farm to School Census (OMB Control No. 0536-0069) from the previously approved 1,953 hours to 2,004 hours, as shown in the modified burden table below.

Farm to School Census Reporting Burden

Description	Estimated Number of Respondents or Non-respondents	Responses or Non-responses Annually per Respondent	Total Annual Reponses or Non-responses	Estimated Average Number of Minutes per Response or Non-response	Estimated Total Annual Hours of Response and Non-response Burden
State Child Nutrition Directors
Forwarding request to participate from FNS Child Nutrition Division to SFA Food Service Directors, plus 3 reminders	51	4	204	15	51
Request to State Directors for list of School Food Authorities and Director Contact Information	40	1	40	60	40
Attendance at webinar	51	1	51	60	51
Non-respondents to request for list	11	1	11	10	2
Total Burden, State Child Nutrition Directors					144
School Food Authority (SFA) Food Service Directors
Farm to School Census for School Food Authority Directors	10,494	1	10,494	9	1,574
Non-respondents	3,135	1	3,135	4	209
Follow-up phone calls for non-response analysis	100	1	100	15	25
Reminder phone calls to Food Service Directors who have not responded after 1 month	3,135	1	3,135	1	52
Total Burden, School Food Authority Food Service Directors					1,860
Total Burden					2,004

In order to invite SCNDs to participate in the webinar before the forwarding of Census invitations is scheduled to begin, we are also proposing a change in the timing and wording of the memo to SCNDs (see attached revision). The original memo to SCNDs was scheduled to be transmitted at the same time fielding for the SFA Food Service Directors Census was to begin; the memo requested SCNDs to immediately forward an attached invitation to SFA Food Service Directors and to provide a list of SFAs to ERS for use in constructing a list frame.

Under the proposed timing change, the memo to SCNDs would be sent several days ahead of the fielding date. We would then send the invitation separately on the date that data collection for SFA Food Service Directors is scheduled to begin, March 11, and request that the invitation be forwarded at that time.

This would provide time to hold the webinar and to ensure that SCNDs are fully prepared to forward the invitation on March 11, and to provide the list of SFAs in that State to ERS for use in developing a list frame.

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