EDECH Individuals & Households

OMB Control No: 0584-XXXX

Expiration date: XX/XX/XXXX

Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood Hunger (EDECH)

Attachment B.4.a. Participant in-depth interview topic guide (ENGLISH)

EVALUATION OF DEMONSTRATIONS TO END CHILDHOOD HUNGER (EDECH)

In-Depth interview topic guide

Thank you so much for meeting with me today. My name is __________ and I am with a company called Mathematica. We are assisting the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service on a study of projects designed to help parents feed their families. We are located in Washington, DC. We are not from the [NAME OF STATE AGENCY/ITO ADMINISTERING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT] and do not work for [IDENTIFIABLE NAME OF STATE/ITO DEMONSTRATION PROJECT].

Our discussion today is part of a larger study we are doing. This study will provide information on how [IDENTIFIABLE NAME OF STATE/ITO DEMONSTRATION PROJECT] and other efforts like it in other States and on Indian Tribal lands are working and how they have affected the families and children they were designed to help. We are talking to parents like you to better understand how households deal with a broad range of issues that relate to feeding your children and family while also making ends meet.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. This discussion will last about 90 minutes. During our conversation, anything you say will be private to the extent of the law and we won’t use your name or any other identifying information when we report the results of our study. You may also choose to not answer any question you do not want to answer. I would like to record our conversation so I don’t miss anything. No one will hear the tape except for the study team at Mathematica and the Food and Nutrition Service. Is it okay with you if I tape this conversation? [INTERVIEWER: TURN THE TAPE RECORDER ON] If you want me to turn the tape off for any reason or at any time, just say so.

A. Household Structure and Dynamics

1. Household composition

• Number and ages of all household members and their relationship to one another

• Changes in household composition in the past year (e.g., separation, death, incarceration, birth of new children, other family members or other family moved in; when changes occurred)

• Whether and how changes in household composition affected child(ren)’s and household’s food security/insecurity

2. 

   According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control 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 90 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.

   
   

   Decision-making roles and dynamics regarding household finances, budgeting, paying bills, and spending

3. Roles and responsibilities of household members related to feeding children, purchasing food and meal/snack preparation

B. Social Network

1. Network size and composition—extended kin, friends

2. Supports provided by members in social network

• Level and types of support provided (e.g., emotional, instrumental—financial and nonfinancial)

3. Supports provided by household members to others in their social network

4. Changes in social network (composition, level and types of support, when changes took place)

5. Whether and how changes in social network affected child(ren)’s and household’s food security/insecurity

C. Feeding the Family: Purchasing and Preparing Food/ Eating at Home and Eating Out

1. When and where food is typically obtained

• Ease of/lack of access to grocery stores/food retailer

• Use of local farmers markets

• Use of restaurants/fast food (frequency, circumstances)

• Use of personal garden or community garden

2. Types of food purchased last week from grocery stores/food retailers; rationale for making these purchases

• Use of coupons, store rewards, items on sale

• Food preferences of household members, especially infants and children

• Influence of health conditions on food purchase decisions (e.g., food allergies, diabetes)

3. Interest and experience with cooking and food preparation

4. Perceptions/knowledge of nutritious versus non-nutritious food, particularly related to nutritional needs of children

5. Experiences with budgeting for food, meal planning

6. When, what and where child(ren) ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks in the previous week/in a typical week

• Perceptions of whether child(ren) had access to sufficient amount of food and why they did/did not

• Perceptions of whether child(ren) had access to sufficient amount of nutritious food and why they did/did not

7. Perceptions and experiences regarding times when child(ren) received/consumed insufficient amount of food; how frequently and why this occurred

• Strategies used to feed child(ren) when schools or child care are closed, especially during the summer or holidays; types and level of difficulty (if any) in ensuring child(ren) have access to sufficient amount of food when schools or child care settings are closed

8. Perceptions and experiences regarding times when adult members in household did not have sufficient amount of food; how frequently and why this occurred

D. Community Supports

1. Knowledge of available emergency food or services from local community resources (e.g., churches/synagogues/other religious organizations; soup kitchens, shelters that serve food, nonprofit organizations that distribute food)

2. Experiences with accessing and using community resources for food assistance—circumstances prompting use, frequency of use, ease of access

E. Current Use and Experiences with Food Assistance Benefits/Services and Other Income Supports

1. Experiences with typical nutrition assistance programs

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• ITO Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

• School Breakfast Program (SBP)

• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)

• Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

• Other (e.g., NSLP Afterschool Snacks, NSLP Suppers at School, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); backpack programs at school or child care)

2. Perceived gaps and shortcomings in typical nutrition assistance benefits/services; if children participate in SBP or NSLP, experiences when school is not in session

3. Experiences with [NAME OF STATE/ITO DEMONSTRATION PROJECT]

4. Use of other assistance and income support programs (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

5. Receipt of child support (formal and informal); regularity of child support payments

6. Whether and how changes in receipt or loss of any benefits/services have affected family functioning related to child(ren)’s and household’s food security/insecurity

F. Employment and Economic Stability

1. Current employment status of respondent and other adults in household (both formal and informal employment)

2. Type of current job, tenure to date with employer; work schedule and typical number of hours

• Stability of job, stability of work schedule/hours worked

3. Employment history over past year; job stability, fluctuations in work schedule and hours worked; how changes and fluctuations in employment have affected economic stability, especially related to child(ren)’s food security/insecurity

4. Typical monthly bills and ability to pay

• Use of credit cards and credit standing

5. Consequences when there is not enough money to pay all the bills, particularly as it relates to food; strategies used to make ends meet

G. Health and Housing

1. Health status of household members

• Presence/absence of physical disability or other physical health challenges (e.g., food allergies, asthma, diabetes) experienced by household/family member

• Presence/absence of behavioral health problems and challenges (e.g., depression or other mental illness, substance use disorders); behavioral health services needed and received; overall emotional well-being and level of stress

• Changes in health status (when and for whom)

• Impact of health related problems on employment/economic stability and family functioning related to child(ren)’s and household food security

2. Changes or challenges regarding housing (e.g., eviction, difficulty paying rent, doubling up);

• Impact of housing changes or challenges on economic stability and family functioning related to children’s and household food security

• Impact of season on housing costs (e.g., air conditioning costs in the summer, heating costs in the winter

H. Wrap Up

1. Biggest hopes for child(ren)’s future

2. Anything else respondent wants to share related to topics discussed today

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