A Scan of the Status of States’ Integration of Human Services and Health Insurance Programs

A Scan of the Status of States’ Integration of Human Services and Health Insurance Programs

ASPE Generic Information Collection Request

OMB No. 0990-0421

Supporting Statement – Section B

Submitted: March 14, 2016

Program Official/Project Officer

Alana Landey

Social Science Analyst

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20201

(202) 401-6636

[email protected]

Section B – Data Collection Procedures

1. Respondent Universe and Sampling Methods

Given the goals of the study as described in Section A of the Supporting Statement, the online questionnaire will be sent to state human services program officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The contractor team will utilize their expertise and relationships with state human services agencies to identify the most appropriate officials in each state to send the questionnaire. The main criterion for selection as a respondent will be involvement in and knowledge of a state’s cross-program integration efforts. Primary respondents may choose to share the online questionnaire with other staff for completion of some questions, which will expand the respondent universe. We anticipate a response rate of 90 percent. The contractor staff’s past experience achieving near-100 percent response rates in previous projects with similar activities, including surveys of Colorado county TANF programs and of state TANF administrators regarding federal and state time limits, suggest that such response rates are achievable.

2. Procedures for the Collection of Information

The data collection will be conducted through a voluntary online questionnaire administered to from one primary respondent in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The total number of respondents per state will depend on how primary respondents choose to delegate answers to staff. A research team consisting of MEF Associates (prime contractor), the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), and the Rockefeller Institute of Government (RIG), under contract to ASPE, has developed the data collection protocol and questionnaire with input from the ASPE project officer. Identification of respondents will draw on APHSA’s in-depth knowledge of and connections to state human services agencies. APHSA supports the National Collaborative for the Integration of Health and Human Services, which provides a forum to encourage and support state-level integration efforts, making them uniquely well-suited to identifying the right state human services officials for the questionnaire. RIG will draw on knowledge gained through its ACA Implementation Research Network, a network of 40 state research teams examining the implementation of the ACA, to help identify appropriate state respondents.

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates and Deal with Nonresponse

Participants will be contacted in advance with an email letter from APHSA, co-signed by ASPE, to explain the questionnaire and its purposes and to let them know to expect receipt of the questionnaire within the next few days. A subsequent email will include the link to the questionnaire, a short description of the study, instructions for completing the questionnaire, an attachment of the questionnaire for respondents who want to print a hard copy, and contact information for members of the study team who can answer questions about the questionnaire or how to respond through SurveyMonkey. Recognizing that the respondents may not be able to answer every question themselves, the instructions will indicate they can share the questionnaire link with other staff in their state who might be better able to respond.

The contractor team will use a variety of approaches to maximize response rates, including personalizing the contact emails, emphasizing that other states will be sharing their information, and minimizing the amount of text in the questionnaire. The team will use SurveyMonkey’s analytic tools to monitor progress of completions, and will use customized messaging and personal phone calls to encourage questionnaire recipients who have not responded after two weeks. APHSA will use their relationships with nonresponders to encourage participation.

4. Test of Procedures or Methods to be Undertaken

The MEF contractor team will pre-test the online questionnaire with a state human services program official.

5. Individuals Consulted on Statistical Aspects and Individuals Collecting and/or Analyzing Data

The contractor team working on this ASPE research project includes subject matter experts with extensive experience with administering online surveys to state human services officials. These experts are listed in the table below.

Individual	Affiliation and Position	Role
Sam Elkin	Senior Research Associate, MEF Associates	Project director, led survey drafting, will contribute to fielding
Bright Sarfo	Research Associate, MEF Associates	Will manage fielding
Mike Fishman	President, MEF Associates	Reviewed questionnaire draft
Thomas Gais	Director, Rockefeller Institute of Government	Reviewed questionnaire draft
Erika Martin	Director of Health Policy Studies, Rockefeller Institute of Government	Contributed to questionnaire design, will contribute to fielding
Megan Lape	Assistant Director of the National Collaborative for the Integration of Health and Human Services, APHSA	Contributed to questionnaire drafting and design, will contribute to fielding
Rick Friedman	Consultant, APHSA	Contributed to questionnaire drafting and design
Anita Light	Director of the National Collaborative for Integration in Health and Human Services, APHSA	Reviewed questionnaire draft