Appx H1 - State-level Recruitment Script for the YRBS - supplemental docs

H1. State-level Recruitment Script for the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Supplemental Documents - State Letter of Invitation

Date

Dear:

I am writing to inform you that # schools in your State are among the 200 schools randomly selected across the United States to participate in the 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The YRBS is a survey of students in grades 9 through 12 that assesses priority health-risk behaviors, including (1) behaviors that result in unintentional injuries and violence; (2) tobacco use; (3) alcohol and other drug use; (4) sexual behaviors that contribute to HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies; (5) unhealthy dietary behaviors; and (6) physical inactivity. The YRBS was designed in cooperation with Federal agencies and numerous state and local departments of education and health and is conducted biennially in odd-numbered years.

The CDC respects the educational mission of schools. For that reason, only a small number of classes in each school, one or two at each selected grade-level, are chosen randomly to participate. Data collection will occur during February through April 2013. Questionnaires will be administered during one normal class period by specially trained field staff. Survey administration procedures are designed to protect student privacy and allow for anonymous participation. Counties, cities, school districts, schools, and students will not be identified in any published reports.

As a symbol of appreciation for contributing their time and support, the CDC will provide each participating school with a monetary incentive. One option is to use these funds for prevention curriculum and educational materials. However, no restrictions will be placed on how schools may use these funds. Schools also will receive a copy of the published results report and a variety of educational materials related to the health of young people.

Your support for these surveys will help ensure the voluntary participation of the schools selected in your State. The national YRBS has become the primary source of information on the most important health risk behaviors of high school students and is used by leading educators, public health officials, the media, and others to advocate for and improve school health policies and programs. In parallel to the national survey, the YRBS questionnaire is used independently by many state and local departments of education and health to conduct their own surveys. Results from the national survey serve as an index against which state- and local-level data can be compared and are used by states to support the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective prevention and control programs.

Enclosed are a list of schools selected in your state, the 2013 national YRBS questionnaire, a fact sheet, parental permission forms, and the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance results report. Within one week, a representative from ICF Macro, a nationally recognized survey research firm contracted by CDC to conduct the national YRBS, will contact you. If you have any immediate questions, please call Ms. Kate Flint of ICF Macro at (800) 675-9727 or Dr. Danice Eaton of CDC at (770) 488-6143. Your support for this survey will help assess and improve efforts to reduce priority health-risk behaviors among adolescents throughout our Nation.

Sincerely yours,

Howell Wechsler, Ed. D., M.P.H.

Director

Division of Adolescent and School Health

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Enclosures

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