Evaluation of FY 2019 Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Demonstrations - State and Tribal Grantees and SFAs (1 of 3))

Attachment B.2: Shortened Grantee Interview Protocol

1. OMB Control No.: 0584-0524

2. Expiration Date:12/31/2022

Evaluation of 2019-2022 Summer EBT Project

Modified Grantee Interview – Wisconsin 2020

I want to start by thanking you for taking time to speak with us today. We are interested in learning about your experiences implementing Summer EBT so far, even though you will not be offering the benefits this summer. We want to hear about your process of implementation, the challenges you encountered, successes you’ve experienced and lessons learned up to this point.

Our reports to FNS will describe the range of responses expressed by staff, and may list the names of agencies and partners who contributed information, but we will not quote you or anyone by name or title. However, because of the relatively small number of organizations participating in the study, there is a possibility that a response could be correctly attributed to you. I expect our conversation will take approximately 30 minutes.

Do you agree to participate in the interview as described? Please respond with “yes” or “no.”

YES  Great, thank you

NO  Do you have questions about the evaluation or the interview that I can answer?

Permission to Record: In order to ensure that we fully and accurately capture the points raised during today’s discussion, we would like to digitally record this conversation. Please note that the interviews will remain private. There is a small risk of loss of privacy, but the research team has taken many steps to reduce this risk. Your identity and any information attributable to you will not be released to anyone outside of the research team except as otherwise required by law. The recording will NOT be shared with FNS, your school or school district, or anyone outside the research team, unless you give us permission to do so. We will only use the recording to ensure accuracy of the transcription. Any identifying information, such as your name or anyone else’s name that may be mentioned, will be omitted from the final transcript. No names will appear in the final report given to FNS. The recording of your interview will be deleted at the end of the study, after all data have been analyzed.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is conducting this study to obtain information about the experiences of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Project by grantees, retailers, school districts and participants.  Participation in this study is voluntary and the information collected will be used to understand how Summer EBT projects are implemented in varying settings. This study does not collect personally identifiable information. Information collected in this study will be kept private to the full extent permitted by law. 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 0584-0524.  The time required to provide this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:  USDA/Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN:  PRA (0584-0524).

Do we have your permission to participate in this interview?

Yes  Thank you. Do you have any questions before we begin?

No  Okay. Thank you for your time.

Do we have your permission to record this interview?

Yes  Thank you. Do you have any questions before we begin?

No  Okay. That is not a problem at all. We would like to ask for your patience, as we will need to take a little more time to note your responses by hand to ensure we accurately capture your insights. Do you have any questions before we begin?

First, do you have any questions for me about the project in general or what we will be discussing today?

B. implementation PROCESSES, CHALLENGES, AND SUCCESSES

Challenges and Successes during Implementation

I’d like to start with a series of questions about implementation challenges and successes.

B.1 We know that grantees can face many challenges when implementing Summer EBT. Please tell me about the challenges you encountered to date in preparing for implementation. We are particularly interested in those that may have delayed project implementation.

Probe for the following topics if not raised by the respondent:

1. How about challenges leveraging or obtaining the resources required, such as personnel, partnerships, information technology, data, and others.

2. Challenges related to working with households?

3. Challenges that result in delays in implementation of your project?

4. Challenges related to your partnerships?

5. Challenges specifically related to building a new program?

B.2 If you could go back to the time prior to implementation, what would you do differently?

B.2a What happened that was unanticipated and how did you deal with those unanticipated issues?

B.3 What worked well this year that you will implement again next year?

B.3a What did not work well that you will not include next year?

C. pARTNERSHIPS

We are also interested in your experiences working with partners up to this point.

C. 1 What partnerships had you developed in anticipation of implementing Summer EBT in 2020? What plans do you have for partnerships going into 2021?

Probe for extent of relationship/challenges/successes with:

1. Other state/local agencies

2. Vendors

3. Community-based organizations

4. Schools/SFAs

5. Other partners

D. Implementation Costs

Now I would like to turn to some questions related to the cost of implementing the project. For these questions, please answer to the best of your ability.

D.1 To date, how do project costs compare with the amounts you had proposed and budgeted? In which cost categories? Have you spent more than expected? Where have you spent less than expected?

What do you think accounts for these differences?

D.2 What unexpected costs, if any, have you encountered? How large were they? Again, I don’t need precise amounts.

E. Implications of Covid-19

E.1 How is COVID-19 impacting Summer EBT implementation?

1. Administrative challenges due to state and/or grant offices being closed or working from home

2. Prioritizing resources, staff, time to implement P-EBT over Summer EBT.

3. Challenges with school closures, working with schools/school districts, obtaining student eligibility

4. Challenges with retailer/grocery closures

5. Challenges with food availability in stores

6. Challenges for participants

E.2 Is there anything else you want to add or feel is important for us to know about why you are not participating in Summer EBT during Summer 2020?