Appendix B-1-3. Recruitment Letter to CACFP Sponsor

Feasibility of Estimating Meal Claim Errors

for Family Day Care Homes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Appendix B-1-3. Recruitment Letter to CACFP Sponsor

[On MSG letterhead; Cc to FNS project CO]

OMB Number: 0584-XXXX

Expiration Date: XX/XX/XXXX

[DATE]

Dear [contact name]:

As you know, strengthening the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a key goal
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Under the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010 (Public Law 111-204),
the USDA is required to identify and reduce erroneous payments, including overpayments
and underpayments in CACFP.

FNS has contracted with Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG), an experienced program evaluation and research firm, in developing a feasibility study to determine a valid and reliable method of assessing errors in CACFP meal claims at Family Day Care Homes (FDCHs). The project team at MSG has designed two digital data collection platforms and web-based alternatives for use
in the feasibility study: a smartphone application for providers and a text message cell phone application for parents. These technological advancements provide simple means for FDCHs
to report meal serving times, and for parents to report child attendance.

MSG is conducting this feasibility study in two States, collecting data from sampled sponsors, providers, and parents during a three-month period. MSG will gather preliminary administrative data from sponsors and providers for the data collection in November 2016 and February 2017. The study asks sponsors to provide administrative data that include the provider agreement and submitted meal claims for the study period. MSG will then implement the data collection platforms with the sampled sponsors, FDCHs, and parents in March 2017. During the study’s data collection period, providers and parents in participating FDCHs will use the data collection platforms as instructed. Participation in the feasibility study is voluntary but strongly encouraged for sponsors and FDCH providers per Section 305 of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. Parent participation is voluntary.

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 15 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.

You have been selected as a sponsoring organization representing [STATE] for the feasibility study. The MSG study team would like to partner with you, initially to obtain some information needed to complete the feasibility study sampling process within the next 4 weeks. We will use this information to identify and select approximately 15 FDCHs to participate in the feasibility study. We are asking sponsors to provide:

1. A list of all the FDCHs sponsored by your organization, by tiering status (Tier 1, Tier II, or Tier Mixed), which indicates the meals served by tiering status, the total number of homes, and the homes that are active and claimed reimbursement in [MONTH], or in the most recent month available. The list should include the following specific information for each of the family day care providers you sponsor:

• Name, address, and contact information for the FDCH

• Unique identifier (like an ID number) that your sponsoring organization uses when referring to those FDCHs

• An indication of which tier each FDCH belongs to (Tier I, Tier II, or Tier Mixed);

• Total number of children enrolled in each day care home

• Number of meals served by tiering status (Tier I, Tier II, or Tier Mixed) for the most recent month

• An indication of the primary language used by the Provider (if it is not English)

• Whether the provider is new to the CACFP program (joined within the last year),
  if possible.

Please note that we are interested in the list of homes that claimed reimbursement, not whether the claim was approved or modified.

2. An example of the format used by FDCH providers to submit their monthly meal claims to your organization for review for monthly meal reimbursement.

We have a dedicated study representative to answer any questions you may have and make arrangements to receive the information we have requested. This representative will contact you within 2 days of your receiving this letter to answer questions and arrange to receive the data we are requesting. MSG staff will work with you to receive your information by mail, fax, or email. We need your information within 4 weeks, by [DATE]. After the sampling is complete, we will contact you in 2–3 weeks to notify you of the FDCHs that were selected for the feasibility study.

The information MSG collects will not impact your participation in CACFP or any
benefits your sponsor organization or its subsidiary FDCHs are entitled to under CACFP. We will handle the information we collect from all entities privately, never releasing it
with individual child, parent, day care provider, or sponsor identifiers outside this data collection, except as otherwise required by law.

If you have general questions, please contact Veronica Uzoebo, the FNS Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for this study, at [email protected] or 703-305-2105.
If you have specific questions about the study procedures, you may contact Ying Zhang, the
MSG Project Manager for this study, at [email protected] or 301- 828-1346.

I sincerely appreciate your support in assisting USDA in complying with IPERA 2010 through this important feasibility study.

Sincerely,

B-1-3.3