Community Based Organizations- Not for Profit

OMB Control Number: 0584-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Attachment A.5:
CBO employee and volunteer Interview Protocol

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. As a reminder, the purpose of today’s interview is to gather information about the partnership between SNAP and (insert CBO name). This information is being collected as part of a study of the Community Partner Interviewer Demonstration projects, which is the name of the project that allows partnering organizations to conduct SNAP applicant interviews.

During the interview, I will ask about your experiences with local SNAP offices and conducting interviews with SNAP applicants who come to (insert CBO name). I will also ask about other services provided through (CBO name), and about any SNAP-related training that you and other staff may have received. The information and opinions you share will help FNS assess how well the demonstration is meeting its intended objectives.

With your permission, I would like to record the interview so that I have a reliable backup to my notes. The recording will only be listened to by Insight staff, and will be deleted at the conclusion of the study. Is that okay with you?

[If yes, start recorder]
[If no, take detailed notes]

SNAP TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, AND PREPARATION

To begin, let’s talk about your experiences conducting SNAP applicant interviews for (insert CBO name).

1. How long have you been interviewing SNAP applicants? Before you started doing these interviews, were you doing any other SNAP-related activities?

2. Can you describe any training that you have received from SNAP in preparation for conducting SNAP applicant interviews?

3. Did you feel the training adequately prepared you to perform the interview?

4. Has the State been responsive to any questions or concerns you have about SNAP or the application process?

SNAP APPLICATION ASSISTANCE

Let’s discuss the SNAP application process as it happens through (insert CBO name). For the first few questions, I want you to focus just on the application assistance that your organization offers SNAP applicants. Later I will ask questions about the SNAP interview process but for now, just think about the more general types of SNAP assistance offered.

I know sometimes community partners provide SNAP-related services at different sites and at different times, and sometimes applicants go to one central location to get the help they need.

5. Where do you provide SNAP outreach and application assistance?

6. Does the local SNAP office get involved in any way when it comes to finding appropriate locations for providing SNAP application assistance? If so, does it send any SNAP staff to those locations to provide additional support or oversight?

7. Can you describe the process by which a person in need gets SNAP application assistance? Again, I am not talking about the interview here but rather, more general application procedures.

8. What kinds of amenities (e.g., computers, printer, copier, scanner, etc.), if any, do you have to facilitate the SNAP application process?

SNAP INTERVIEW PROCEDURES

That’s all the questions I have about general SNAP application assistance. Now let’s talk about the SNAP interview.

9. How does a person in need go about getting a SNAP interview through your organization/agency?

10. Do applicants typically have to schedule the SNAP interview for some date and time in the future, or do they usually get interviewed “on the spot” or on the same day that they come in to apply? If they need to schedule the interview, how long do they usually need to wait before being interviewed?

11. How long do the SNAP applicant interviews typically last?

12. What happens after the interview concludes? (e.g., who submits the application to SNAP, and how is the application submitted?)

13. Do you think the interviewers (or, do you) feel adequately prepared to conduct SNAP interviews? Are there areas where the interviewers (or you) could use additional training? If so, what are they?

14. What languages are most commonly spoken by the SNAP applicants that your CBO interviews? (If not English) Do any of the interviewers speak those languages? If not, how does (insert CBO name) meet the language needs of non-English speaking applicants?

SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES

I’d like to talk about some of the successes and challenges associated with (insert CBO name) conducting SNAP interviews.

15. In what ways has (insert CBO name)’s involvement in the SNAP interview process benefited SNAP applicants and/or the program itself? What would you characterize as the most successful aspects of the Community Partner Interviewer Demonstration project?

16. What factors do you think made those successes possible?

17. What have been some of the challenges associated with having (insert CBO name) conduct SNAP applicant interviews?

18. What steps, if any, have been taken to address those challenges?

SNAP APPLICANT EXPERIENCES

Finally, I’d like to ask you a few questions about how the SNAP applicants who come to (insert CBO name) respond to the SNAP outreach and assistance you provide. For these questions, I want you to think generally about the overall experience of applicants – from the time they first come through your doors, to the completion of their SNAP applicant interview.

19. Describe, from your perspective, how SNAP applicants describe their experience with your organization.

20. Do you ever hear them compare their experiences with (insert CBO name) to their experiences at a SNAP office? If yes, can you provide any detail about what you hear?

21. What do you think are the reasons that some applicants apply to SNAP through your organization as opposed to going to a SNAP office?

WRAP UP

Those are all the questions I have for you. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Thank you again for your time.

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 60 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection.

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